Puni’s dedicated work ethic has 49ers rookie on path to greatness originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SANTA CLARA — If you didn’t know any better, you’d assume 49ers rookie Dominick Puni is a 10-year NFL veteran based on how he carries himself on and off the field.
The 2024 third-round draft pick has been among San Francisco’s best players to begin his first professional season, which comes as no surprise given his incredible attention to detail and relentless work ethic.
“If you don’t work hard, talent don’t matter,” Puni told NBC Sports Bay Area after the 49ers’ 30-13 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. “So, we still got to work hard and go out there and play hard.”
Puni was outstanding in the victory, finishing Sunday’s win over New England as San Francisco’s highest-graded offensive player (85.8) at any position, per Pro Football Focus. The rookie guard didn’t allow a single quarterback pressure on 29 pass-blocking snaps, playing a critical role in keeping quarterback Brock Purdy upright against the Patriots’ formidable defensive front.
Puni isn’t allowing himself to get complacent despite his early success, remaining focused on what can be improved rather than getting lost in celebrating the spoils of victory.
“I feel like there’s still a lot of things to clean up, but just the way we were able to move the ball today … we were moving as one,” Puni said. “Like everybody was just on their keys and everyone just knew what they were doing. I would say we’re hitting our stride.”
The rookie guard now has four NFL regular-season starts under his belt, and pointed to the playbook as the area he’s experiencing the greatest growing pains while making the leap from college to the pros.
“I would just say the playbook still,” Puni said. “It’s just little details in every play that you just got to try and master. I don’t feel like I’ve done that yet. Like timing of the play, when the ball is going to cut back, when it’s going to hit front…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/punis-dedicated-ethic-49ers-rookie-031406826.html
Author : NBC Sports BayArea
Publish date : 2024-10-02 03:14:06
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