The 49ers addressed one of their biggest defensive needs, with Romello Height an excellent quarterback hunter ready to play right away.
The San Francisco 49ers were very poor going after the quarterback in 2025, with a league-low 20 sacks coming about due to injury and a lack of depth.
The Niners went a long way towards addressing that this offseason, however. The trade for Osa Odighizuwa will give the interior some punch, and the San Francisco then went one step further with picking a true quarterback hunter in Romello Height with the No. 70 pick.
Read More: 49ers 2026 NFL Draft tracker: Full list of picks, roster needs, targets and more
Height fit the bill for Day 2, and really burst onto the scene with 10 sacks for Texas Tech this season as he helped anchor a strong defensive line that had some high draft picks in David Bailey and Lee Hunter.
Height is a little undersized as an edge, given he's 6-foot-3 and 239 pounds, but he has a strong base to work with. He finished the year proper with finished with 38 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and the aforementioned 10 sacks while earning first-team All-Big 12 honors and impressing in the Senior Bowl.
Height passes the eye test. He has a wicked and explosive first step off the line of scrimmage, utilizing a wide array of pass-rush moves to get past the tackle and to the quarterback. With teams focusing on Nick Bosa, Height will have the chance to tee off on the quarterback in 2026.
While by no means a big defender, Height makes up for that given his freakish athletic ability. 49ers fans should be thrilled that the team has landed him at this point.
The concern for Height is his age (25) means there's not a ton of upside, and he can get lost in run support.
But for a true pass-rushing specialist who fills a desperate position of need, Height is a fine pick for No. 70 and should be able to play right away.
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