How Burford, Feliciano have taken 49ers rookie Puni under their wing

How Burford, Feliciano have taken 49ers rookie Puni under their wing originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Dominick Puni has had no shortage of mentorship in his young NFL career.

The rookie guard, who was drafted by the 49ers with the No. 86 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, quickly is learning the ways of the game from a pair of teammates.

Speaking to reporters after practice Tuesday, Puni gave an inside look into his productive student-teacher relationships with Spencer Burford and veteran journeyman Jon Feliciano.

“They’ve been super helpful,” Puni told reporters in Santa Clara. “Spence, when I would come off the sideline, I would ask him all of the questions in the world.”

And on the flip side, Burford, who is entering his third NFL season, is teaching Puni all he knows about holding down San Francisco’s offensive line.

“He would come up to me and tell me things that he thinks I could work on,” Puni said. “He’s been super helpful in that way because, obviously, that’s something he doesn’t need to do.”

Despite not having played a single regular-season snap, the 24-year-old out of Kansas knows that the guidance he’s receiving from Burford and Feliciano – both of whom currently are out of 49ers training camp with injuries – is an anomaly in the game.

“I’ve seen on other teams [that] they’ll kind of not mentor the young guys just because it’s a difficult thing to do,” Puni added.

Whether it’s on or off the gridiron, Puni, who recently has impressed coach Kyle Shanahan during his reps with the first team at right guard, is learning on every level of the game.

“Spence and Jon, they’ve been super helpful with me,” Puni concluded.

“When we watch film, they always help me out because they know all the little details [and] have all the experience that I don’t have. So, anything they tell me, I’m listening for sure.”

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