Prospect Profile: Dominick Puni, iOL, Kansas

Pass Protection

He’s an explosive athlete for his size and the position and he gets out of his stance quickly in pass protection. He played Guard and Tackle but does seem more suited to playing inside at the next level given the two different years of tape we have to go on. His best strategy to adopt in pass protection is a jump set working with independent hands and an inside strike. His inside strike is remarkably consistently well placed and well timed allowing him to control his opponent in spite of the counters they might throw at him. He’s patient in response to counters and is able to re-fit his hands if the defender disengages from him. He also has a good change-up with his two-handed strike on jump sets where he can shoot his hands inside and demonstrate his grip strength – he is hard for interior DL to disengage once he gets his hands on.

His outside strike can be a little wide with its placement; it’s less frequently used, it can allow DL with better hand usage to threaten his outside but he can bring his inside hand in to help him recover. His recovery skills in general are good, he mirrors well when he is engaged and is able to change direction comfortably – he has excellent reactive athleticism when he has to move laterally. If he’s in slide protection and has to move further inside to block a 0 technique, he can drop his head and savvy inside rushers can take advantage of this. When he’s reacting to counters, facing a bull rush, facing speed to power or facing speed from distance, he’s able to drop a very good anchor and is rarely in trouble with power. One thing that does creep in on jump sets and is more pronounced on vertical sets is his pad level – he doesn’t consistently sink his hips and maintain leverage and it puts him in some trouble against better pass-rushers. Speaking of this, when he’s in vertical sets, he crosses his feet to make it to his landmark and pitches his feet up and down too much. Against bigger DL with good upfield burst and good hand usage, if they can affect his inside hand with better timing or good placement to prevent him landing it or dislodging him, they can put him in trouble.

Run Blocking

He excels in space because of his explosion and change of direction ability. He is so patient when getting out to the second level, can create angles for himself and sticks blocks on second level defenders, often finishing and flattening them. He springs big runs because of his prowess in space, and this will be invaluable at the nest level if it can translate, which it should. Staying with Zone blocking, on the back-side of Outside Zone, he can reach a 1 technique, with or without help, and wall off from the runner. On the play-side he can reach anything inside of a 5 technique. On Gap blocks, there is exceptional power when he meets a defender in the hole after pulling from the Guard position. He moves so well laterally, locates and positions well. He has an impressive hit rate in making blocks as a puller. He can lift and drive when he meets the defender and at worst makes the block functional. He positions, fits and finishes on Down and Drive blocks. His footwork is technically very good; he won’t dominate as a mauler but he will be able to steer the defender at the point of attack and make the block functional.

SUMMARY
Plug and play Left Guard. Good on jump sets, nice inside strike, good anchor in pass pro. Great mover in space and sticks blocks on 2nd level defenders. Great puller.

PRODUCTION
SR: 728 snaps at LT
JR: 848 snaps at LG
INJURY: Missed 2 games due to hip injury (2021)

RAVENS FIT
Toughness 4
Intelligence 4
Versatility 5
Grit 4
Scheme 5