SANTA CLARA, Calif. — It might have taken a little longer than many expected, but the San Francisco 49ers finally selected a big man up front to close their second day of work at the 2024 NFL Draft.
That pick in the third round — at No. 86 — was Kansas offensive lineman Dominick Puni, analyst Dane Brugler’s fifth-rated guard in this draft pool. Puni didn’t give up a sack over 784 pass-blocking opportunities in his two seasons with the Jayhawks. He played both guard and tackle for Kansas before seeing reps at center during the Senior Bowl, making the 49ers optimistic that Puni can be a valuable contributor wherever he’s needed across their front.
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“It’s not often that you can say about a player that he can play all five,” 49ers general manager John Lynch said. “And we believe that’s the case with him. He’s a solid football player.”
Two reps from @KU_Football OL Dominick Puni — one at center, one at guard. He is a strong dude. 6-4, 323 lbs. He has the power potential to be a interior starter at the next level pic.twitter.com/kwncycebD7
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) January 31, 2024
Offensive line was a glaring position of need entering this draft. The 49ers struggled with pass protection ahead of quarterback Brock Purdy last season. They ranked in the 20s across several metrics and allowed nine unblocked pressures on blitzes in the Super Bowl. Beyond that, starting guards Aaron Banks and Jon Feliciano are both under contract for only one more season and left tackle Trent Williams turns 36 in July.
The 49ers had hosted Puni on a pre-draft visit earlier this month, although it had gone unreported in the media until after Friday’s selection.
“There was a good feel there during that visit,” Lynch said. “We liked the tape. We liked the versatility and we wanted to make him a Niner.”
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The 49ers’ desire was strong enough to jump up eight spots in the third round to grab Puni. They sent their original pick, No. 94, and a fourth-rounder (No. 132) to the Philadelphia Eagles for the jump up to No. 86.
It had appeared the 49ers might select an offensive lineman as their second-round pick, originally at No. 63, approached about an hour earlier. But the Baltimore Ravens picked speedy Washington offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten, whom Lynch and 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster had visited for a workout earlier this month, at No. 62. After that, the 49ers swapped picks with the Kansas City Chiefs, moving back to No. 64. They sent a sixth-round pick to Kansas City in exchange for a fifth-rounder to make that one-spot drop happen.
The Chiefs selected BYU offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia with No. 63 before the 49ers grabbed Florida State cornerback Renardo Green at No. 64.
“We had a group of players we liked — Roger was one of them,” Lynch said of the 49ers’ process before that cluster of picks. “But we knew we were very comfortable with Renardo as well. We had a couple more players (we liked), so we thought that going back one (pick), we had the freedom to do that and still end up with a guy we liked. And we were able to get the guy we really liked. So that was cool for us.”
The 5-11, 186-pound Green specializes in press-man coverage, which the 49ers promise to emphasize under new defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen. Green ran a 4.49 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, so he isn’t blazing fast, but he plays with a feistiness that might remind the 49ers of their veteran cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. Green broke up an ACC-best 13 passes last season. He had a particularly good game covering LSU receiver Malik Nabers, the No. 6 pick in this draft. Green intercepted a pass and allowed only two catches for 20 yards against Nabers.
“He’s got a heck of a mentality,” Lynch said of Green. “That’s the thing we really liked about him: 186 pounds but he wants to hit you.”
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Said Green of the 49ers via a Zoom call with local reporters: “They fit me. They fit me. They play like some savages, they play like some dogs. Everybody flies around to the ball, everybody makes plays on the ball, everybody comes to hit and play.”
Green shared a story from his pre-draft conversation with 49ers defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks.
“He said he wouldn’t want to fight me, and I asked him why,” Green said. “And he said, ‘I feel you’d fight until you die.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s supposed to be like that. That is what a dog is. You ever seen a dog fight?’”
Lynch smiled when that story about Green was relayed to him.
“That’s what the film looks like and we like that,” Lynch said. “He told us 15 times when we called him, ‘You got a dog. You got a dog.’”
The 49ers believe that Green, who played primarily outside cornerback at Florida State, is rugged enough to also play nickelback.
It’s clear that positional adaptability has been on their mind with all three picks so far in the draft. After nabbing wideout Ricky Pearsall with the No. 31 pick in Thursday’s first round, coach Kyle Shanahan glowed about the incoming rookie’s ability to play all of the 49ers’ various receiving positions.
Pearsall, who’s from Phoenix, made the flight from Arizona to the Bay Area with his family for an introduction at Levi’s Stadium on Friday.
Ricky Pearsall and family. His dad was an All-American receiver and returner at Northern Arizona pic.twitter.com/tghjcMRL3n
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) April 26, 2024
Pearsall, who was teammates with 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk in 2019 at Arizona State, revealed that he also recently met Deebo Samuel, who’s been training in Arizona this offseason.
“He’s good people, too,” Pearsall said.
It’s very likely that Aiyuk, Samuel and Pearsall will make up a key triumvirate of the 49ers’ receiver room in 2024, as the 49ers have now passed through the first two days of the draft without trading either of their veteran wideouts.
“We didn’t entertain any of that today,” Lynch said. “We’re happy with our wide receiver group. Actually, more than happy. We’re really thrilled with it. Thrilled to have added Ricky to that group and make it even stronger.”
Now, the 49ers have one more draft day to strengthen the totality of their roster. The team owns seven more picks. The final four rounds of the draft begin Sunday morning.
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Lynch noted earlier this week that this draft, thanks to changing dynamics of college football that encouraged more players than usual to remain in school during this cycle, might have a thinner talent pool on the back end.
“But there’s still good players out there,” Lynch said. “That’s our job to go find them. I do think there’s probably not the quantity that there typically is in the draft. It probably runs out of some gas. But our challenge is to find the guys who have an opportunity to help make our team better.”
(Photo of Dominick Puni: Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
