Breaking down the 49ers taking Romello Height at No. 70

After not making a single trade in the 2025 NFL Draft and sticking with all 11 of their draft picks, the San Francisco 49ers traded back for a third time on Friday night, moving from No. 58 to No. 70, where they selected Texas Tech edge rusher Romello Height.

San Francisco moved down with the Cleveland Browns, who traded up to take sliding safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, receiving the No. 107 pick while sending back the No. 152 pick as well.

Let’s evaluate the trade back and the draft pick, as the 49ers added another edge rusher to their arsenal.

Should the 49ers have traded back?

San Francisco moved back for a third time, acquiring yet another asset in the fourth round while offloading the fifth-round pick they received from the Dallas Cowboys in the Dee Winters trade on Friday.

According to the Jimmy Johnson trade value chart, it was a slight underpay on the Browns side, but in a draft that isn’t considered strong on Day 3, acquiring more midround picks, which they can either use or package in another trade.

When you consider the players that were taken between Nos. 58 and 70, I don’t think there were many picks that San Francisco would’ve truly considered. Three tight ends, two safeties, a linebacker, and a quarterback were among the picks taken, while there were several defensive linemen and edge rushers taken as well.

And of the latter, only Keyron Crawford, who went at No. 68 to Las Vegas, would’ve made sense for the 49ers. So, while it is underwhelming, San Francisco didn’t really miss out on much with the move back to 70.

Who else was available at 70?

This is the bigger question. Who else could the 49ers have targeted at No. 70?

We do know that the 49ers were targeting an edge rusher, and Height is one of the better pure pass rushers in the class (more on that below), but who else would’ve made sense at 70?

An offensive lineman still remains a need, and Iowa’s Gennings Dunker, Northwestern’s Caleb Tiernan, and Oregon’s Emmanuel Pregnon, who was considered by many as a potential second-round pick, were all on the board. But they all fell far past the 49ers pick at No. 70, so it doesn’t seem like San Francisco misread the board there.

There were also a couple of defensive tackles on the board, but that wasn’t the biggest need for the 49ers, especially in comparison to an edge.

A running back could’ve made sense, with Arkansas’s Mike Washington Jr., being the top pick. But there’s also better depth in the fourth round, where the 49ers are well equipped to make a move.

Really, at this pick, an edge rusher or an offensive lineman made the most sense, and the 49ers took their pick of the litter.

Evaluating the Height pick

After reaching in comparison to consensus for Stribling, the 49ers were right around consensus for Height, who was seen as a Day 2 pick by most evaluators.

Coming into this draft, I had edge rusher as a key need for the 49ers, specifically a pass-rush specialist with a special get-off. That’s Height, who essentially fills the Bryce Huff role after the veteran’s retirement this offseason.

Height’s pass rush win rate was second among all edge rushers in this class at 22.5 percent, which Kyle mentioned, and he seems to fit exactly what the 49ers need as a rotational pass rusher.

Now, Height is listed at 239 pounds, so he’ll need to get stronger, but the 49ers got a good fit at a position of need without reaching here. Pretty good evaluation after trading back and picking up additional assets.