The San Francisco 49ers certainly received plenty of flak for their many reaches throughout the 2026 NFL Draft.
But one player who didn't exactly garner too many of those accusations was Texas Tech defensive end Romello Height, grabbed by the Niners in Round 3 at No. 70 overall.
At 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds, Height is certainly undersized when looking at prototypical edge defenders in a 4-3 base. And, at age 25, he's also a significantly older rookie than the predominantly 21- or 22-year-old first-year pros joining the league after getting drafted.
That said, San Francisco certainly thinks it can turn Height into a role player it so desperately needs after failed attempts at trying.
With organized team activities having wrapped up already, defensive line coach Kris Kocurek recently showered praise on Height in a media session, one shared by NBC Sports Bay Area's Nick Avila:
Just the speed, athleticism, his explosion on get-off, and then, just natural pass rush ability. It’s been really impressive so far. We’re not in pads or anything yet, so that’ll be the determining factor for the whole thing, but just the way he moves.
At the end of the day, we drafted him to rush the passer, and he’s really excelled at that. His get-off has been really, really good, being able to put tackles behind the eight ball with his get-off and making them set differently and protect differently and getting on them quickly.
Indeed, Height flashed that potential in his final collegiate season, tallying 10 sacks with the Red Raiders after transferring there from Georgia Tech.
Should that kind of prowess carry over to the 49ers, it'd be a welcome development.
49ers are hoping Romello Height solves their No. 2 pass-rushing void
The Niners have long sought a complementary pass-rusher to pair with All-Pro Nick Bosa, but those efforts have regularly come up short. Aside from castoff free-agent pickups who held the line—Arden Key, Clelin Ferrell and Samson Ebukam, to name a few—the overwhelming majority of drafted picks have failed to secure that detail in tandem with Bosa.
Drake Jackson failed to pan out. Robert Beal Jr. didn't amount to much. And the book is still out on 2025 first-round pick, Mykel Williams.
While Williams still carries plenty of hope after suffering a torn ACL a year ago, Height is the true edge rusher in third-down situations, and the initial review of his pass-rush abilities in the opening phases of team activities is promising.
Granted, San Francisco doesn't need Height to be a Bosa-like player.
But, should the older rookie take even modest pressure off the 49ers' best pass-rusher, the investment should pay off handsomely.
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