Kansas’ Dominick Puni is described as a “strapping, powerfully built prospect” with “girth.” Could he be of interest to the Browns?

Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Cleveland Browns have one of the game’s best offensive lines when all five of their starters are healthy.

The problem, at least in 2023, is that injuries rocked the line all season long, forcing the Browns to dig far deeper into the roster than is advisable.

On the bright side, they got to see rookie Dawand Jones for nine games at right tackle before he was lost for the season with an injury. The dark side is that they also got to see the likes of Geron Christian, Leroy Watson, James Hudson III, and Ty Neskhe – all guys who try hard but are extremely limited.

Even if the injured all come back healthy this fall, the line could use some fresh faces on the second unit, which could lead general manager Andrew Berry to consider guard Dominick Puni of Kansas in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Kansas' Dominick Puni says most teams see him as a guard/center. But a few still believe he can be a left tackle at the next level. pic.twitter.com/HH7nJT66w1

— Brent Sobleski (@brentsobleski) March 2, 2024

Name: Dominick Puni

Position: Guard

Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 313 pounds

College: Kansas Jayhawks

Stats (6 seasons): 41 career starts between Central Missouri and Kansas. Played 1,593 offensive snaps with the Jayhawks, split between left guard (848) and left tackle (729).

Relative Athletic Score

Dominick Puni is a OG prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 8.27 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 251 out of 1445 OG from 1987 to 2024.

Splits projectedhttps://t.co/btHMUkqce1 pic.twitter.com/9fvI6bwflT

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 4, 2024

Average “Big Board” Position As of Publishing Date

92nd Overall (NFL Mock Draft Database)

PFF Big Board Rank: 96th

What an Expert is Saying

#Kansas LT Dominick Puni picked up a Senior Bowl invite and after watching him operate as a run blocker, it’s easy to see why. Mauler tendencies w/the athleticism to work in space.

Played LG last season before moving to LT in ‘23. Played 4 years at DII school Central Missouri. pic.twitter.com/SW5C9fBzBz

— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) November 10, 2023

Pros and Cons

Dominick Puni took the long route from a zero-star recruit who landed with Central Missouri in 2018 to a First-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2023 with Kansas. He started 25 consecutive games with the Jayhawks, splitting time between guard and tackle, and did not allow a sack, despite being somewhat limited in space as a pass blocker, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

While he saw time in college at tackle, Puni seems better suited to play guard at the NFL level, according to NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein:

(Puni is a) guard prospect with good size and nimble feet whose pass protection is ahead of his run blocking at this stage. Puni has a proportional, well-built frame but is much better on the move and playing with angles and positioning than he is at pushing defenders around. Puni plays with an excellent feel for arm extension and maintains his feel for pass rushers. His mirror and hand placement stymie simple rush approaches, but inconsistent body control could be an issue for him against athletic sub-package rushers. Puni appears to have middle-round value but (is a) future starting talent for a move-oriented scheme.

Puni also receives high praise from The 33rd Team for his “nimbleness and tenacity:”

Dominick Puni is a multi-position offensive lineman who plays with nimbleness and brings enough tenacity to hold up against the most physical defenders at the next level. A big-time volleyball recruit coming out of high school, Puni looks more like a tight end when moving in space. When watching his film, he plays with a savviness reserved for veteran NFL offensive linemen.

Using low, quiet feet, Puni can vary his set and mirror any flavor of pass rusher from any alignment. Frequently beating his man to the spot, Puni initiates hand fighting and can sit into his anchor while using independent hands to control his opponent’s wrists.

It is no surprise that Puni posted a 99 Total Points Rating on pass blocks in 2023. His ability to protect the passer and line up at all five offensive line positions will likely lead to him being drafted higher than expected.

Keeping with the trend, Bleacher Report likes Puni’s “girth” and ability to “unlock jolting power;”

Overall, Puni is a strapping, powerfully built prospect with an impressive blend of girth, body control, and pad level that unlocks jolting, sudden power on contact. He boasts the steer and sustain skills to compete and win a starting guard job within his first contract. He also has the ability to play tackle in a pinch.

Kansas LT Dominick Puni last season:

🔵 342 Pass Block Snaps
🔵 Zero Sacks Allowed
🔵 Zero QB Hits Allowed
🔵 90.4 Pass Block Grade pic.twitter.com/CWSMSWk72W

— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 21, 2024

Browns Player Drafting Could Impact

Depth is always good, especially depth on the offensive line as the Browns learned the hard way in 2023. The fact that Puni has some experience playing tackle is nice, and he did spend some time at center at the Senior Bowl. While he projects as a guard in the NFL, having a least some level of versatility is a plus. If the Browns were to go with Puni in the draft, that would put Drew Forbes, Hakeem Adeniji, James Hudson III, and Leroy Watson on the roster bubble.

Priority

Medium: It is always sound practice to keep adding an offensive lineman every year in the draft. The question this year comes down to whether or not general manager Andrew Berry wants to address depth at offensive tackle or guard in this year’s draft.

Browns Offseason Workout Schedule Released

The NFL’s never-ending schedule churns forward with the announcement of the Browns offseason workout dates.

The offseason is truly turning from 2023 to 2024 with free agency wrapped up and the NFL Draft around the corner. With the approaching draft, we get key information on just when this season’s version of the Browns will get together to gear up for the season.

Throughout the offseason, each organization gets a nine-week program to foster workout environments and eventually get practice sessions in on the field. Those with a new head coach get an earlier start and a longer duration, but those without get the same period of time to get prepped for the coming year.

Each offseason you will see a three-phase approach that allows each team to get nine weeks of time together. The phases are as follows according to the NFL website:

1. In phase one, the team gets to have meetings, strength and conditioning sessions, and physical rehabilitation only
2. In phase two, an uptick in onfield work starts with individual or group instruction and drills, as well as “perfect play drills,” and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted at a walk-through pace. No live contact or team offense vs. team defense drills are permitted.
3. In phase three, over the course of the next four weeks of the program, teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or “OTAs”. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.

Those new coaches can hold a voluntary minicamp as well as the mandatory minicamp each team gets. The Browns will obviously only be getting one minicamp and it will be up to those players individually to decide if they will attend each session of the workouts, OTAs, and any voluntary session. Some have workout bonuses attached to their contract and those will be applied through these phases.

Each organization will also be allowed to hold a rookie development program for a period of seven weeks and during this period”no activities may be held on weekends, with the exception of one post-draft rookie minicamp, which may be conducted on either the first or second weekend following the draft. The dates of each club’s post-draft rookie minicamps will be circulated at a later date.”

The Browns have ironed out the following dates:

•  The first day of reporting will be April 15th
• OTA Offseason Workouts will be May 28-30, and June 3-6
• Mandatory Minicamp will be June 11-13

After the release of minicamp, the next team session will be their arrival to the Greenbrier once again to kick off their 2024 Traning Camp. The OBR will be there to cover every aspect of an exciting season to come.