The San Francisco 49ers added to their defensive front with DLRomello Heightout of Texas Tech, selected with the No. 70 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. A high-energy edge rusher with a unique journey to the NFL, Height brings both production and personality to The Bay.

"We feel like Romello is at the top of this draft in terms of the effort, the tenacity, the relentlessness with which he plays," president of football operations and general manager John Lynch said. "And we were all in on that."

Here are five things to know about Height:

Coming out of high school, Height was a highly recruited prospect, ranked as high as No. 32 among Georgia recruits by ESPN. He ultimately chose Auburn over offers from Florida, Tennessee, Miami, South Carolina, Kentucky, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, and Ole Miss.

That early attention set the stage for a well-traveled college career. Height played six seasons across four programs (Auburn, USC, Georgia Tech, Texas Tech), gaining experience in multiple systems before a breakout senior season at Texas Tech, where he earned First-Team All-Big 12 honors. He finished his collegiate career with 111 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, and 16.5 sacks, including 10.0 in his final season.

If there's one thing that defines Height's game, it's effort. Both Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan emphasized his relentless play style, with Shanahan noting he 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 embracing the opportunity ahead,sharing his excitementabout playing alongside Nick Bosa:

"Man, Nick Bosa is a beast and I can't wait to play on the other side of him we're gonna wreck havoc."

When Height got the call from the 49ers, he celebrated by jumping into a pool fully clothed. The moment matched perfectly with defensive coordinator Raheem Morris' pre-draft comment about "throwing a pool party" for the right prospects, and Height wasted no time getting it started.

Nicknamed "Mello" by teammates, Height has been shaped by discipline, family, and balance off the field. Height comes from a big family with one brother and five sisters and credits his father Ronnie, a Marine veteran, as a major influence in his life.

"You couldn't do many push-ups at a young age," Height toldLubbock Avalanche-Journal. "Well, some people can, but I couldn't but he would make me do 25 for my punishment. It would just go up by the year as I got older."

Away from the field, he enjoys bass fishing and earned a degree in American Popular Culture from USC, adding another layer to his personality beyond football.

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 5 for DE's in both categories. Combined with his energy and motor, that explosiveness translates directly to his ability to disrupt plays.

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