The 49ers have three rookies who are all either fighting for a starting job or a roster spot.
The San Francisco 49ers added three rookie offensive linemen to their roster this offseason, drafting Dominick Puni and Jarrett Kingston in the third and sixth rounds, respectively, while adding Drake Nugent as an undrafted free agent.
Puni, arguably the headliner in San Francisco’s entire 2024 class, has looked strong in his first offseason, building his way to becoming a Week 1 starter at right guard.
Kingston, who played tackle at USC, has seen time at both right tackle at guard, and seems to be slowly coming into form as a potential back-of-the-roster option come the 53-man cutdown date.
Nugent, who played center at Michigan, is an undersized offensive lineman, but has seen opportunity due to the injuries to Jon Feliciano and Ben Bartch, working in with the second-team offense.
What’s head coach Kyle Shanahan’s assessment of the offensive line and how the rookies have fit in?
“Yeah, I think the competition there has been very good,” Shanahan said about the offensive line. “Just comparing it to other years in the past, I think we’re deeper there. I think guys who have been around here who, whether it’s practice squads or the last guys on the roster who haven’t started much, I think those guys have all gotten better. And the more you can do that, obviously the better these guys get.”
“But there’s no harder position to develop than O-Line, because you get better at O-Line by playing football. And the O-Line, really that’s been taken away from them in the offseason. I think those guys get hurt the most, with just how offseason rules go. Training camp is so much faster, so they always are behind on it. And college football O-Line play is night and day different, I’d say like 95-percent of the schools, than NFL O-Line play. So it’s really a tough deal for those guys. But if they can hang in long enough, whether it’s the last guy on the roster, whether it’s practice squad. If they’re made of the right stuff, and they have the ability, all those guys usually do get better. But it’s very tough with their timeline.”
The play of those rookies may be more important, as Shanahan revealed that veteran offensive lineman Jon Feliciano recently underwent surgery, likely keeping him out until the middle of the year.
“Yeah, it could linger for a while,” Shanahan said of Feliciano’s injury. “He ended up having to get some type of, I don’t know exactly the surgery he got, but he got something done and he’ll end up probably starting on IR and hope to have him back towards the middle of the year.”
At the moment, the 49ers have a few locks along the offensive line, as their five starters seem fairly set in stone: Trent Williams, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Dominick Puni, and Colton McKivitz.
With the backups, San Francisco will likely take two offensive tackles as they did last year, rather than going with a swing tackle, as Jaylon Moore is the frontrunner for the top spot, while veterans Chris Hubbard and Brandon Parker seem to be battling for the other.
That leaves two probable openings to round out the group. Normally, Feliciano would fill in, but he’s injured and seemingly going on Injured Reserve.
That opens up a chance for Kingston, who has been playing well in the preseason, to earn one of those final spots as a backup interior linemen, where others like Nick Zakelj and Ben Bartch are competing as well.
Nugent is on the outside looking in probably, as Zakelj and Bartch can both play center, so whoever earns that spot will likely fill in that role. But, he could be a practice squad candidate if the 49ers can get over the undersized frame.
Thus far, though, the offensive line group from the 2024 NFL Draft has produced some positive early returns. We’ll see if that can continue in the final preseason game against Las Vegas on Friday.