Dominick Puni once dreamed of facing Aaron Donald.
The San Francisco 49ers rookie right guard grew up in St. Charles, Mo., and idolized Donald, who began his career just down the road for the St. Louis Rams.
Puni started out as a defensive end in high school. As a junior, his rapidly expanding frame prompted him to move to the offensive line.
His aspirations changed, too. Early on, he wanted to be Donald. A few years later, he yearned to block Donald. He wanted to experience what it was like to go against the best defensive lineman in the world.
During down moments, he’d turn to a buddy on the offensive line and ask: If you had 100 chances, do you think you could block Donald once?
“And my delusional friend thought he could!” Puni said, a smile spreading across his face.
Donald retired one month before the 49ers drafted Puni in the third round in April, denying him a chance to test himself against the man he spent so many hours watching on television. But on Sunday he’ll get the next best thing, a defensive tackle from the other side of the state, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones.
And truth be told, Jones has been a bigger thorn in the 49ers’ side than Donald ever was.
There was Jones at the end of Super Bowl LIV in 2020, swatting down two Jimmy Garoppolo passes and foiling a last-ditch 49ers drive. In Santa Clara in 2022, Jones had two sacks and a forced fumble in a 44-23 Chiefs rout. And in February, Jones was again his disruptive self, delivering six quarterback pressures in the Super Bowl rematch, including one on one of the most pivotal plays of the game.
The 49ers had surprisingly elected to receive the ball to start overtime, which seemed like a good decision when they methodically marched downfield on a 13-play drive.
But it stalled on third-and-4 from the Chiefs’ 9-yard line when no one picked up Jones. Brock Purdy had to rush a throw to Jauan Jennings and missed Brandon Aiyuk running free in the end zone. The 49ers settled for a field goal and the Chiefs answered with a game-winning touchdown.
“He shows up in big moments,” Puni said of what stands out most about Jones. “I think that’s his X-factor and what he brings to the table.”
Asked why San Francisco’s offensive line largely had success against Donald in their twice-a-season matchups but have been routinely done in by Jones, the 49ers had diverse answers.
“They’re different players,” right tackle Colton McKivitz said. “I mean, 95 (Jones) is obviously bigger than Donald was. He’s a hard dude to block, man. He’s one of the strongest players that I’ve ever played. You try to put as many hands as you can on the guy. And then obviously when you have protection breakdowns, it doesn’t help.”
Center Jake Brendel said the Chiefs have a better supporting cast for Jones than the Rams did for Donald, and they alternate their approach more often. That is, there’s more to worry about when facing Kansas City.
“Looking back at those Rams games, we weren’t as concerned about a ton of other people on that defensive roster,” he said. “I think a lot of them were good players, but they weren’t as high-level threats as the Chiefs have.”
“There are just different variables they do with their stuff,” he said. “It’s sometimes a little bit harder to eliminate (Jones), where he goes, and just some of the pressures they do. But he definitely deserves that attention. He’s as good a player as there is and we try our hardest to take him out, but he makes that pretty hard.”
Jones versus Puni seems one-sided. One has started six NFL games while the other is in his eighth season, has been to five Pro Bowls and has 78 1/2 career sacks.
But along with upgrades at cornerback, the right guard spot is one of the areas the 49ers can say has improved since February. In fact, it’s probably in better hands now than it’s ever been in Shanahan’s tenure.
That’s because right guard traditionally has been the team’s budget position.
Back in February 2020, it was manned by Mike Person, a seventh-round pick by the 49ers in 2011 who played for six other teams before returning to San Francisco at the end of his career.
Eight months ago in the Super Bowl, Jon Feliciano, a free agent on a one-year contract, began the game, got hurt and was replaced by Spencer Burford, who’d lost the starting job to Feliciano months earlier. It was Burford who failed to slide over and pick up Jones on the fateful third-down play in overtime.
Puni, meanwhile, might merit consideration for Offensive Rookie of the Year if not for the fact the award never has gone to an offensive lineman. He’s missed just one snap so far, has yet to give up a sack and has been flagged for one penalty — illegal man downfield in Week 3 — despite playing in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and Lumen Field in Seattle, which are two of the NFL’s loudest venues.
There’s nothing flashy about him. He’s not pancaking opponents every other play. But his maturity has been impressing coaches since he was drafted in April. Before he’d even been in the building, he asked for a video copy of every coaching session he’d missed to that point.
“He’s a very intelligent kid,” offensive line coach Chris Foerster said. “Doesn’t say a word. Very, very smart. Very tough. Strong. And he doesn’t sway. He is just steady Eddie.”
Right guard is the one offensive line position Puni never played in five seasons at Central Missouri, Kansas and at the Senior Bowl. But Feliciano’s knee injury and a broken hand for Burford forced him into that position in late July.
Foerster and Shanahan initially were uncomfortable with the notion of a rookie starting there this season, especially considering the Week 1 game would be on “Monday Night Football.” But after a week of practice, they began to think that maybe Puni could handle the prime-time spotlight. After two weeks they were sure.
“When he got in, he looked really good at first and didn’t look overwhelmed and you’re just kind of waiting for it to happen,” Shanahan said. “And it never did.”
Puni’s calm can be seen in his pregame ritual.
He’s usually the first 49er to come out of the tunnel and onto the field. He’s not out there working himself into a tizzy two and a half hours before kickoff. He might stroll the perimeter a couple of times before finding a spot on the bench and enjoying the quiet.
He said it’s a ritual he started at Kansas, a way to “clear my mind of the noise” and focus on the three-hour storm that lies ahead.
On Sunday, he’ll have a lot to think about.
McKivitz said one of the things the Chiefs do best defensively is “muddy things up,” especially at the end of games. That is they’ll play a certain style for large chunks of the contest, then suddenly switch up coverages and send blitzers in crunch time.
“They really dial it up in those key moments,” he said. “That’s where they’ve really been good and that’s where they’ve gotten us. The gotta-have-it moments in games — they’ve come through and we haven’t.”
McKivitz’s advice to Puni this week?
“Get ready!” he said with a laugh. “It’s the NFL, we all get paid to block guys. But certain weeks, he’s going to play guys that can wreck games.”
