49ers Draft OT Dominick Puni With Pick No. 86

An offensive tackle has finally been taken by the 49ers. They do it in the third round of the draft at pick No. 86 with Kansas offensive tackle Dominick Puni.

The first trade up by the San Francisco 49ers has been executed.

San Francisco is trading pick No. 94 in the third round and pick No. 132 in the fourth round to the Philadelphia Eagles in order to move up to pick No. 86. With that pick, the 49ers drafting Kansas offensive tackle Dominick Puni.

So, an offensive lineman has finally been taken in the NFL draft by the 49ers. Puni measures in at 6 foot 5 inches tall at 320 pounds. He spent two seasons at the University of Kansas for a total of 15 games and has shown great improvement from year one to year two.

That may have to do a lot with his position change. In 2022, Puni was a left guard for the Jayhawks, then switched to left tackle in 2023 where he found his most success. He never allowed a single sack in his two years at either position and only allowed 15 hurries.

Pro Football Focus gave Puni a grade of 80.6, which is an excellent score to receive. Given his versatility and size, it is tough to tell where the 49ers envision Puni to play for them on the offensive line. It feels like, at least initially, that they will look to him to play inside at guard.

Or perhaps he is a future replacement for Trent Williams. Every year is always a toss up as to whether or not it will be Williams' last. There is also the possibility the 49ers move him to right guard. It wouldn't be the first time the 49ers forced a player to play out of position like that. They tried it with Aaron Banks two years ago.

Right guard is the most glaring hole on the offensive line and if they can get Puni to transition smoothly, then they will have upgraded the spot easily.