The San Francisco 49ers’ need for speed became a priority after Bryce Huff retired. The selection of Romello Height was as close to a 1-for-1 as you can get for Huff’s style of play.
Height comes into the NFL off a fantastic collegiate season playing for one of the best defenses in the sport. He was as much of an impact player as his teammate, who went No. 2 overall.
Last week, I asked defensive coordinator Raheem Morris to discuss the stress that a first step puts on the opposing offense and why there’s
so much emphasis on that today, and whether that’s part of the reason the team brought Height in:
“It’s just the belief in National Football League, right? It’s really less about that, but more about how do you mentally and physically affect the quarterback and having the stress of knowing that you’ve got guys with great get off is one of those ways to definitely mentally know that’s going to be a part of it. But, getting to the quarterback and getting to those spots, being able to close space, being able to if you don’t sack them being able to bother people. That’s certainly what Bosa’s has been able to do and obviously Myles. So being able to go out and get guys like Romello and different guys across the board to be able to help us do some of the same things is definitely going to be helpful for us.”
If you’re Height, you’re licking your chops at the situation you’re walking into. Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek couldn’t hide his excitement about Height, who was in a tier of his own during individual drills last week. His flexibility and speed were something the Niners could’ve used to threaten quarterbacks last year.
Basic Info
Age: 25
Experience: Rookie
Height: 6’3
Weight: 239 pounds
Cap Status
Height’s rookie deal will take up 0.3% of the 49ers’ cap space this season. His base salary is $885,000. Spotrac has the rookie wage scale for every pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Height should have a signing bonus of roughly $1.32 million this year. His total contract value over four years will reach $7.29 million.
History has been kind to 3rd-round pass rushers
The Rams drafted a pass rusher out of Michigan in the late third round last season. Despite only playing 360 snaps, he had 26 pressures on three sacks.
A player the 49ers could end up trading for, Alex Smith, was selected in the third round by the Steelers in 2020. As a rookie, Highsmith had 24 pressures, two sacks, and six tackles for loss. He peaked in his third year with 14.5 sacks.
The Eagles just rolled the dice on Jonathan Greenard. He was drafted in the same round and year as Highsmith. Greenard had one sack as a rookie, but exploded in Year 2 with eight sacks.
There are some home runs in the third round, like Justin Houston and Danielle Hunter. Situation is almost as important as skill set. Height, an elite athlete as evidenced by a 94th percentile vertical jump and an 89th percentile broad jump, is walking into a role where he gets to play alongside two of the best pass rushers in the league during the past couple of seasons.
Unlike other rookies, Height will have the opportunity to play. Take Jalyx Hunt of the Eagles, a third-rounder from 2024. He rarely stepped on the field as a rookie. But in 2025, Hunt took advantage of his playing time and had 57 pressures and 6.5 sacks.
Jonah Elliss of the Broncos might be the most realistic outcome. The third-round rookie in 2024 had five sacks, 18 pressures, but also had eight tackles for loss. The 49ers would love that type of production.
The ceiling and best-case outcome would be if Height turned out like another third-rounder Raheem Morris coached: Byron Young. As a rookie in 2023, Young had eight sacks, 47 pressures, and an absurd 16 tackles for loss. He’s heavier than Height, but both had 90th percentile jumps.
Those jumps translate into elite get-off times, allowing the pass rusher to threaten the pocket and cause chaos. It would take a perfect storm for Height to produce as Young did, but it’s for the same defensive coordinator and, like Young, Height won’t be the No. 1 priority for opposing offenses.
