Former Kansas offensive lineman Dominick Puni became the highest-drafted Jayhawk since 2008 when he went in the third round to the San Francisco 49ers at No. 86 overall.
Puni came to KU from NCAA Division II Central Missouri in 2022 and ended up starting all 25 possible games for the Jayhawks before he opted out of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
In 2023 he served as the Jayhawks’ left tackle and earned first-team all-conference honors.
He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 11 offensive tackle in Division I college football with a score of 80.6, though he projects as an interior lineman at the next level and even spent some time working at center ahead of the draft.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound lineman, who is originally from St. Charles, Missouri, attended the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine as part of his offseason preparation.
Puni is the 187th KU football player drafted overall, according to Pro Football Reference. He is the first third-round pick since linebacker Ronnie Ward went to the Miami Dolphins in 1997 and the first offensive lineman since Hakeem Adeniji got selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020. Adeniji is still active in the NFL and signed with the Cleveland Browns in March.
The 49ers traded up eight spots with the Philadelphia Eagles in order to obtain the selection they used to draft Puni, giving away the No. 132 pick in the process.
KU had a chance to get one more player in the pros by the end of Friday night. However, while former KU defensive end Austin Booker was projected close to Puni in many mock drafts, he will have to wait until Saturday for the final four rounds and the possibility of hearing his name called. At the end of the night he ranked No. 10 on ESPN’s list of the best players available.
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
