The San Francisco 49ers have their rookies and veterans back in the building, as they officially started training camp on Sunday at their SAP Performance Facility with offensive line coach and assistant head coach Chris Foerester filling in for Kyle Shanahan.
One of the more surprising aspects of the team's first training camp session was defensive end Nick Bosa's involvement after the star pass rusher suffered a torn ACL last year. It was unclear whether or not he'd miss some time to start the 2026 season, but it looks like he should be ready to go for Week 1.
While everyone is excited to have Bosa back, the five-time Pro Bowler shared just how impressed he's been with one of his teammates - rookie defensive end Romello Height.
“For rookie wise,
I’ve never seen a guy come in and get the scheme as quickly and seamlessly as he has," Bosa told Brian Murphy and Markus Boucher of KNBR on Monday. "Even when vets come in, who haven’t played in this scheme, he’s gotten it quicker than I did. Just the way he picked it up, it seems like it’s second nature to him and he’s SUPER explosive. He’s got a bag of tricks in his pass-rush that you can tell he’s been coached well. He’s a little older and that might be a part of it for a rookie, but I think he’s going to contribute pretty quickly.”
Height, 25, was San Francisco's first of two picks in the third round of the 2026 NFL draft. He spent six seasons in college between four different schools, as he played two years at Auburn, two years at USC, one at Georgia Tech and one at Texas Tech. He left Monday's practice on a cart, but avoided serious injury. The team told reporters the rookie was dealing with cramps during the second training camp session.
In 48 games over six years, Height recorded 111 tackles, 16.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
If Height can prove himself throughout camp and the preseason, he could play a huge role for the 49ers in 2026, especially if 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams misses time early on while he recovers from his own torn ACL.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers star gives glowing early scouting report on rookie defender
