Dominick Puni was eagerly waiting for his name to be called up in the 2024 NFL draft. After spending three years at Central Missouri and one year at Kansas, Puni got his dream call-up by the 49ers as their third-round 86th overall pick. Sharing his excitement of getting the opportunity, Puni stated, “I want to come and make an instant impact. I’m going to make sure they know they chose the right pick and that I was the right decision.”

Born and brought up in a house full of athletes, Puni had sports blood running through his veins. Dominick’s parents, Teu and Jessica, both of them went to Truman State University, where his father played football while his mother was part of the college volleyball team. Even his brothers Derrick and Devin are associated with Central Missouri college football. But that’s not all, as Puni’s sister Brianna plays basketball for Illinois State. Well, hailing from a family of athletes, Puni showcased his capabilities at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

– What is Dominick Puni’s 40-yard dash time?

In this year’s NFL scouting combine, Puni showed flashes behind the reason that got the 49ers excited about his capability. Puni took just 5.35 seconds to complete a 40-yard dash alongside a 30-inch vertical jump and ending with a broad jump of 8 feet and 11 inches. Seeing Puni’s impressive NFL combine report, Lance Zierlein, an NFL analyst, couldn’t help but praise the offensive guard, “plays with excellent feel for arm extension and maintains his feel for pass rushers.”

But this was not the only accolade that Puni added to his resume before getting picked up by the 49ers. He also became one of the highest-ranked offensive tackles who racked up 90.4 pass block grade, a 72.3 run block grade and an overall grade of 80.6 last season. After analyzing those numbers, Pro Football Focus stated, “Puni is a massive player who is tough to get around from size alone. He has the power to displace people when he gets them between the shoulders.”

Standing at just over 6 foot 5 inches, it is no wonder Puni would be enjoying an aerial advantage over others. Weighing 313 pounds, this would also help him thwart any pass-rush attempts, also using his arm length of 33 inches and an approximate wingspan of 81 inches. All of those numbers are considerably above average compared to other players in his position. Well, Puni’s College stats speak for themselves while helping us get an idea of why the 49ers decided to pick him in this year’s draft.

– Dominick Puni’s college stats

After completing his high school from Francis Howell Central, Puni made his way to Central Missouri to kick-start his college career. However, in his four seasons at Missouri, Puni only managed to play for two seasons, among which 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic, while in 2021, he was placed on the injured list, having played just one game.

In his freshman year, Puni played seven games while starting 13 games in his breakout year, thereby bringing him the honorable all-conference player recognition in 2019. Among all those years spent in college, the 49ers’ rookie career started to lift off after his switch to Kansas in 2022.

But his breakout campaign was recorded last season when Puni finished with 342 pass block snaps, zero sacks, zero QB hits and a 90.4 pass block grade. From then on, it was no looking back for the 24-year-old. As he took home his first-team All-Big 12 honors, and later that year, his wish of playing in the NFL was fulfilled by the 49ers.

However, the big question is whether Dominick Puni will get his chance at the Bay Area. Or does the rookie have to wait for his chance, which could come anytime throughout the season?