Most intriguing position battles for San Francisco 49ers in 2024
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: Interior offensive line
Players to watch: Dominick Puni, Jarrett Kingston, Jon Feliciano, Spencer Burford
There was an accurate line of thought that pointed toward the Niners using a first- or a second-round draft pick on an offensive lineman, especially considering this unit was easiy the biggest offensive weakness in 2024.
Right tackle was the consensus pick for the job needing an upgrade, yet San Francisco placed faith in incumbent Colton McKivitz by not drafting a pure tackle.
Instead, the 49ers' O-line additions via the draft were to grab interior lineman Dominick Puni in Round 3 and the versatile Jarrett Kingston in Round 6.
Now, Puni did play tackle in college. But he's likely going to be a guard at the next level, possibly a long-term replacement for either left guard Aaron Banks or right guard Jon Feliciano, both of whom are free agents in 2025.
That said, Feliciano is anything but safe in his role, and the interior of the O-line was a major reason why the Niners fell short in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs last February.
Should Puni exceed expectations, seeing him in the starting lineup wouldn't be the most unreasonable result.