The 2026 NFL Draft
is in Pittsburgh! This draft season, we’ll be scouting as many of the top prospects that the Pittsburgh Steelers could have their eye on. We’ll break down the prospects themselves, strengths and weaknesses, projected draft capital, and their fit with the Steelers.The Steelers took a defensive lineman in the first round of the 2025 draft, so some might think it is less of a priority this time around. However, with the Cam Heyward retirement on the horizon and Keenau Benton’s rookie
contract nearing an end, the Steelers might feel it’s prudent to select another defensive lineman should they be the best player available. Enter Lee Hunter.
The basics on Lee Hunter
- Position: DL
- Class: SR
- Size: Height 6‘3 1/2, 318 pounds, 33 1/4” arms, 80 5/8” wingspan
- Age: 23 (07-02-2002)
- Projected draft round: Late 1st – early 2nd
Defensive stats via Sports Reference
Lee Hunter scouting report
In the entire 2026 rookie class, there are few players with a higher Q-rating than Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter. He was one of the most talked-about players during my week in Mobile for the Senior Bowl. Peruse all the mock drafts being posted online, and Hunter is a popular pick for teams needing help in the defensive trenches.
Hunter grew up in Eight Mile, Alabama, a community named for its distance from Mobile. Graduating from Blount High School, Hunter was a four-star recruit who signed with Auburn after being heavily recruited by Gus Malzahn. However, Malzan was fired after the 2020 season, and Auburn hired Bryan Harsin. Harsin was a controversial coach, and his treatment of players during Hunter’s redshirt season in 2021 led to a mass exodus of players. Hunter was among them, alleging on his way out that Halsin “treated players like dogs,” a sentiment that received support from several Auburn players. Hunter ended up reuniting with Malzahn at Central Florida, where he played for three years before Malzahn left for a job at Florida State. Hunter then decided to transfer for his final season, joining Texas Tech.
On the field, Hunter is comfortable playing all along the line, but he’s at his best playing the positions between 0-tech (nose tackle, directly over the center) and 3-tech (1-tech shades the center’s shoulder, 2-tech shades the guard’s inside shoulder, 3-tech shades the guard’s outside shoulder). While his game is primarily based around power, he’s more smooth and agile than you’d expect from someone of his body type. Throw his Relative Athletic Score from his combine testing out the window, Hunter is slippery when the situation calls for it, and explosive over short distances.
Against the run, Hunter is one of the best in the class. In 2025, the percentage of run defense snaps that ended with him making a stop (11.9%) ranked third in the class. His average depth of tackle (0.6) against the run is better than that of other highly touted tackles such as Kayden McDonald (1.5) and Peter Woods (1.8). So is his 2.9% missed tackle rate on these plays — McDonald clocks in at 3.6%, while Woods sits at a whopping 16.1%.
Hunter has shown he is capable of two-gapping (check out 0:09 in the reel above), a technique that asks a player to be responsible for, you guessed it, reading two gaps, diagnosing the play, and then shedding or moving their blocker to fill into the correct gap to make a stop. Get him a one-on-one and ask him to penetrate, and he’s got game-wrecking ability there, too.
And when teams elect to double-team him, Hunter’s strength and ability to hold the line are on full display.
Hunter has less production as a pass rusher, but watch his tape, and you see glimmers of his potential. He’s able to penetrate in the same way he can against the run, and he’s got a swim/club move, a swipe move, and a longarm stab in his toolbox.
It’s also an area Hunter is hoping to improve on in the NFL.
While nobody will compare him to Aaron Donald as a pass rusher, his production numbers hold up well against some of the other big names in this defensive tackle class.
And while this might not matter to some, Hunter’s got a winning personality and has unquestionable confidence. He’s been a leader and team captain, and is the type of personality I think the Steelers would benefit from adding to the locker room.
Strengths
- Ideal size for the modern nose tackle
- Shows power and balance while taking on double teams
- Violent hands, shows ability to stack and shed blockers, and has arm over and hump moves in his bag as well
- Moves well laterally
Weaknesses
- Needs to develop a pass rush plan
- Lacks quickness at the snap as a pass rusher
- Needs to work on consistent pad level. Looks like a superstar when playing low, but can play too high
What others are saying about [PROSPECT]
Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
Hunter is a two-gapping nose tackle for odd or even fronts. He has the size, strength and length to do battle in the heart of the trenches but requires better block take-on technique to sit firmer in his grass. He won’t win in the gaps, but he can stack and shed single blocks or slide and stabilize his run fit against zone blocks. Hunter’s girth and length are advantages when aligning over the center as a run defender. He doesn’t have enough quickness or skill as a rusher to see many passing downs, but he can dent the pocket with his power.
Matt Holder, Bleacher Report
Hunter is built like a true NFL nose tackle. Hakes on blocks with his hands and displays impressive upper body strength to stand up offensive linemen at the line of scrimmage. Hunter is hard to move with one-on-one blocks and holds his gap when he keeps his pads down against double-teams, solid at absorbing contact against the run. He recognizes down blocks, shifting his eyes and hands to hold ground and avoid getting washed inside. Hunter presents several ways to escape blocks, with the strength to stack-and-shed, while also showing hump and arm-over moves to catch offensive linemen leaning. He’s showed flashes of working the hands as a pass-rusher.
Lee Hunter’s fit with the Steelers
Hunter would provide an immediate impact on the Steelers’ run defense. His presence on the roster would allow the Steelers new staff to move Benton to his more natural position as a 3-tech or walk in the 2027 free agent market. Built like a true nose tackle and showing two-gapping prowess, Hunter would provide a more solid anchor in the middle of the Pittsburgh line.
Hunter would not provide much early on as a pass rusher — few nose tackles do — but he has flashed powerful hands and a quick burst once he gets into the backfield. His first step isn’t as quick as you’d like, and he needs to develop his moves and a pass rush plan if he wants to impact this area more in the pros. Still, he’s shown enough on tape that there is some hope he can develop in this regard.
TL;DR: Hunter is a run-stuffing lineman who is good at eating up space and stuffing run lanes. Hunter has been praised as a leader, and his best ball may still be ahead of him.
What are your thoughts on Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter? And which draft prospects would you like to see profiled next? Let us know in the comments below!
