While the San Francisco 49ers have been battling through training camp and their first two preseason games, they’ve dealt with several injuries, including at guard, with Ben Bartch dealing with an elbow injury that’s kept him off the field recently.

Then, during Saturday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, the 49ers lost right guard Dominick Puni to an injury on a special teams play in the first quarter, and luckily for them, rookie offensive lineman Drew Moss was able to step right into the job.

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Moss began his collegiate career at Lamar University, where he started 22 games at right tackle over his first two years before transferring to Colorado State in 2023. As a junior, Moss started 12 games at guard and was named an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention. He followed that up by starting 13 games in 2024 and earning All-Mountain West honors.

The 49ers signed the former Ram as an undrafted free agent this offseason, and while the 22-year-old was expected to be fighting for a roster spot with other depth offensive linemen Nick Zakelj, Drake Nugent, Matt Hennessy and seventh-round pick Connor Colby, he may have put himself over one or two of them this past week.

In fact, Pro Football & Sports Network’s Bjorn Bergstrom recently highlighted Moss as San Francisco’s “most impressive rookie” during the team’s meeting with the Raiders.

“Recently making headlines as the new boyfriend of Brock Lesnar’s daughter Mya, Drew Moss has also been making plenty of waves as an undrafted rookie for the San Francisco 49ers in the preseason,” Bergstrom wrote. “Moss has been a lone bright spot for a San Francisco offensive line that has otherwise struggled blocking the run, having just 3.1 yards per carry as a team. He ranks seventh among 31 rookie guards with a 73.3 PFF offensive grade.”

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Moss has a long way to go before he’s seen as a starter, but he’s on his way to proving that he belongs in the league and that the teams that passed on him, including the 49ers, were wrong to do so.

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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers rookie Drew Moss receives massive respect for play vs. Raiders