The 49ers need as much help as they can get with their defensive line that heavily struggled throughout the 2025 NFL season.
In his second 2026 NFL mock draft, NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah has San Francisco addressing one of its biggest positional needs with the No. 27 overall pick.
27. DT, Lee Hunter, Texas Tech
“Hunter can hold the point against the run, and he showed flashes of his upside as a pass rusher at the Senior Bowl,” Jeremiah wrote.
“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 played his first three collegiate seasons with the University of Central Florida, in which he recorded 114 total tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, and four sacks combined in 25 games during his sophomore and junior seasons in 2023 and 2024.
In 2025, the 6-foot-4, 321-pound defensive lineman transferred to Texas Tech and totaled 41 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and two and a half sacks in 14 games to close out his collegiate career.
The 49ers already have brought in reinforcements to their defensive line during the 2025 NFL Draft, with first-round pick Mykel Williams, second-round selection Alfred Collins, and fourth-round pick CJ West.
Star edge rusher Nick Bosa also is set to return from a torn ACL injury, which would be an instant upgrade to a defense that recorded a league-worst 20 sacks in 2025.
Jeremiah initially had the 49ers select Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq in his first mock draft as a possible replacement for George Kittle, who is recovering from an Achilles injury he suffered in January.
However, Sadiq went higher to the Los Angeles Chargers with pick No. 22 in Jeremiah’s latest mock draft, which would unite him with the Bolts’ newest offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel.
If the 49ers do end up selecting Hunter at No. 27, San Francisco’s new defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris, would acquire a solid rotation of players on the team’s interior defensive line.