49ers use a fourth-round pick on a punter. That’s the highest pick for a punter since ...

Punters are getting plenty of love these days.

Saturday saw the San Francisco 49ers use a fourth-round pick on Utah’s Mitch Wishnowsky, regarded as the top punter in this year’s draft class.

The Australian-style rugby punter is the earliest punter to be selected since the 2012 NFL Draft when Cal’s Bryan Anger was taken in the third round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Hall of Famer and longtime Dallas Cowboys personnel director Gil Brandt praised the selection.

“Mitch Wishnowsky is the former Aussie Rules rugby player,” Brandt wrote on Twitter. “He’ll change the position of the field for the 49ers. Tremendous punting talent in mold of Michael Dickson. I love this pick in Round 4.”

Wishnowsky is a three-time All-American, and won the Ray Guy Award as college football’s top punter in 2016. He was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award three times, the first punter to accomplish that feat in NCAA history.

Wishnowsky had 62 career punts of more than 50 yards in his career at Utah.

Wishnowsky is viewed as a similar difference-maker as Dickson, the former Texas Longhorns punter. Dickson was a fifth-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks last season, and earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie.