The San Francisco 49ers bolstered their defensive line by selecting defensive lineman Romello Height from Texas Tech with the No. 70 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Known as a high-energy edge rusher with a distinctive path to the league, Height brings both production and personality to the Bay Area.
“We feel like Romello is at the top of this draft in terms of the effort, the tenacity, the relentlessness with which he plays,” said president of football operations and general manager John Lynch. “And we were all in on that.”
Here are five key facts about Height:
1. His journey to the NFL spans four programs. Coming out of high school, Height was a highly recruited prospect, ranked as high as No. 32 among Georgia recruits by ESPN. He chose Auburn over offers from Florida, Tennessee, Miami, South Carolina, Kentucky, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, and Ole Miss. His college career took him through Auburn, USC, Georgia Tech, and Texas Tech over six seasons. He had a breakout senior year at Texas Tech, earning First-Team All-Big 12 honors and finishing his collegiate career with 111 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, and 16.5 sacks, including 10.0 in his final season.
2. He plays with “hair on fire” energy. Both Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan highlighted his relentless style. Shanahan noted that Height graded at the top of the team’s “hair on fire” category. “The way he played, the style he played, is exactly what we want, very relentless,” Shanahan said. “We have a ‘playing with your hair on fire’ grade, and he was the top of it.” Height is already eager to line up opposite Nick Bosa, saying, “Man, Nick Bosa is a beast and I can’t wait to play on the other side of him… we’re gonna wreck havoc.”
3. He made a splash on draft night. When Height received the call from the 49ers, he celebrated by jumping into a pool fully clothed. The moment matched defensive coordinator Raheem Morris’ pre-draft comment about “throwing a pool party” for the right prospects, and Height wasted no time starting the party.
4. “Mello” on and off the field. Nicknamed “Mello” by teammates, Height comes from a large family with one brother and five sisters. He credits his father Ronnie, a Marine veteran, as a major influence. “You couldn’t do many push-ups at a young age… but he would make me do 25 for my punishment. It would just go up by the year as I got older,” Height told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Away from football, he enjoys bass fishing and earned a degree in American Popular Culture from USC.
5. His explosiveness shows up in his athletic profile. Height’s athleticism stood out at the NFL Combine, where he posted a 39-inch vertical and a 10-foot-5 broad jump, ranking among the top five for defensive ends in both categories. Combined with his energy and motor, that explosiveness translates directly to his ability to disrupt plays.
