The 49ers’ 2025 draft was defined by a commitment to getting *a lot* bigger on the defensive side of the trenches, with the selections of two behemoths in Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins in the first two rounds supplemented by that of the, slightly, less formidable figure of CJ West in the fourth round.
It is impossible to grade those selections this early, especially with Williams having missed the second half of the 2025 season with a torn ACL he suffered in the Week 9 win over the New York Giants. Yet there were enough flashes from the first-round edge rusher and interior defenders Collins and West — especially against the run — to suggest the 49ers are onto something good with that trio.
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Still, the 49ers need to continue building their depth on the D-Line through the middle and on the edge. While there is reason to believe the Niners may look to add more proven quantities up front, San Francisco needs to continue getting younger. As such, it would make sense for the 49ers to spend another premium pick on the D-Line to solidify the long-term future of their rotation.
In his second mock draft of the season, NFL Media’s draft expert Daniel Jeremiah has them doing just that and using the 27th overall pick in the first round on Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter.
Writing about the pick, Jeremiah said: “Hunter can hold the point against the run and he showed flashes of his upside as a pass rusher at the Senior Bowl. Recent Super Bowl winners have featured waves of defensive linemen they can rotate. Hunter joins 2025 draft picks Alfred Collins and CJ West to form a talented young trio on the interior.”
Hunter is another massive human being who measured in at 6’3½” and 320 pounds at the Senior Bowl, with huge 34⅞” arms allowing him to consistently win the leverage battle and hold his ground when defending the run. Put simply, he is another defender in the mold of Collins who figures to be a significant aid to the 49ers’ cause in stopping opposing ground games. Given how the 49er run defense often struggled when Collins and West were not on the field in 2025, it would be an extremely prudent move to reduce the chances of such drop-offs by selecting Hunter.
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The question with Hunter surrounds pass rush production. While he had 10.5 tackles for loss for the Red Raiders in 2025 after transferring from UCF, he registered just 2.5 sacks. His career-high in college was three in the 2023 season.
Yet at the Senior Bowl, it was obvious that, when he is able to stay low and play with leverage, Hunter can be an impactful pass rusher. Though his sack numbers were low, Hunter finished his final collegiate season with 26 pressures, putting him 19th among draft-eligible interior defensive linemen with at least 100 pass rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus. The belief, as Jeremiah articulated, is that there is untapped upside with Hunter, and the encouraging pressure numbers reflect that.
The 49ers gambled last year in betting that Williams, Collins and West would eventually blossom as pass rushers despite mediocre production in college. Still to see tangible dividends from those bets, it could be considered a risk to do the same with Hunter in a year where the 49ers arguably have bigger needs.
However, it is tantalising to think about what the 49ers’ interior defensive line could become if Collins and West take the desired step forward and they strike gold with the selection of Hunter. Defensive line might not be quite as pressing a need as it was last year, but Hunter could be a very difficult prospect for the 49ers to pass on if he falls to 27.
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