Entering the 2026 NFL Draft, there was a lot of speculation the San Francisco 49ers would select an edge rusher. Some thought it might happen in Round 1, but they traded down and drafted Romello Height out of Texas Tech in Round 3.
Former 49ers safety Donte Whitner compared Height to Kayvon Thibodeaux, a player the Niners were connected to in trade rumors last season.
Whitner was not exactly doing this to be complimentary of Height. Here is why he drew a comparison:
"You know who I compare Romello Height to? I compare him to Kayvon Thibodeaux. Kayvon Thibodeaux came out of Oregon in 2022. He was explosive. He was the most dominating DE in college. What happened when he got over to the New York Giants? Dud. All hype."
Basically, Whitner is predicting that Height will end up being something of a bust. That’s a bit of a harsh assessment especially since Thibodeaux has not been completely awful in the NFL. He had 11.5 sacks in 2023, which has been his best NFL season so far, but outside of that, he has struggled a bit.
Last season with the Giants, he played in just 10 games and had only 2.5 sacks. That’s not all that great, but with how banged up the 49ers were at edge rusher and how bad the Giants were, it seemed like potentially a nice trade fit for both sides. But nothing came to fruition.
How does Height compare, though?
In his senior year of college, he had 10 sacks but only had 6.5 sacks his previous two seasons combined. He finished strong, which is not quite like Thibodeaux. The Giants edge rusher had arguably his best collegiate season in his first year at Oregon, as he recorded nine sacks and then had three and seven the next two seasons.
So one could argue that Height may be on the rise, while Thibodeaux was somewhat on the decline from his peak when he got drafted.
We obviously don’t know for sure what that will mean for Height and his development, but the Niners will be hoping he is a solid presence on the defensive line.
Honestly, if they could sign up for Height replicating the numbers Thibodeaux has put up in his career thus far they might go for it. Thibodeaux hasn’t been as awful as Whitner thinks, and the Niners haven’t exactly had the greatest success drafting edge rushers as of late.
Obviously, they’d be hoping for more, but getting a 10-sack season out of Height within his first few years in the NFL would have to be viewed as a huge win for San Francisco.
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