{"id":760060,"date":"2026-02-18T10:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/760060\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T10:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:03:14","slug":"49ers-news-combine-is-already-less-than-a-week-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/760060\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers News: Combine is already less than a week away"},"content":{"rendered":"

49ers continue D-line rebuild in Daniel Jeremiah\u2019s 2026 NFL mock draft<\/a>
\u201c\u201cHunter can hold the point against the run, and he showed flashes of his upside as a pass rusher at the Senior Bowl,\u201d Jeremiah wrote. \u201cRecent 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter spent three seasons at UCF before transferring to Texas Tech for his final year. Over his collegiate career, he recorded 172 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, one pass defensed, and a forced fumble.<\/p>\n

At 6-foot-4 and 321 pounds, Hunter has the prototypical size to anchor the middle of an NFL defensive front. According to Pro Football Focus, he posted career-best marks in 2025, including an 80.9 overall defensive grade, an 84.5 run-defense grade, and a 72.1 pass-rush grade\u2026..\u201dHunter is a two-gapping nose tackle for odd or even fronts,\u201d Zierlein wrote. \u201cHe has the size, strength, and length to do battle in the heart of the trenches, but requires better block take-on technique to sit firmer in his grass. He won\u2019t win in the gaps, but he can stack and shed single blocks or slide and stabilize his run fit against zone blocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHunter\u2019s girth and length are advantages when aligning over the center as a run defender. He doesn\u2019t have enough quickness or skill as a rusher to see many passing downs, but he can dent the pocket with his power. Hunter projects as an early down space-eater who can make interior offensive linemen work for their gaps.\u201d<\/p>\n

The War Room: The Denzel Boston of it all<\/a>
\u201cKeldric Faulk, EDGE, Auburn: Call me a sucker for a power edge. He will draw Mykel Williams comps, but Lance Zierlein\u2019s comp of Carlos Dunlap is a bit better. Like Williams, he\u2019s just 20, and underdeveloped as a pass rusher. He\u2019s a bit springy\/bendier, but far clumsier and I worse with his hands. If you watch the Kentucky tape, he\u2019s a world beater. If you watch the Arkansas tape, he\u2019s a run-oriented, limited edge. There are an enormous range of outcomes here, but he\u2019s a velociraptor in the run game, and on the reps it works in the pass game, he\u2019s son\u2019ing people. There\u2019s steep upside and downside.<\/p>\n

Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee: I kind of think every corner in this draft is incredible? Brandon Cisse might be the exception (extremely high upside, and can be deployed in a variety of ways, particularly as a blitzer, but has to land in the right spot), but Hood is sound. Ideal frame, athletic ability, and a very sharp zone corner who tackles very well.<\/p>\n

Avery Smith, CB, Toledo: This is a Shrine Bowl crush of mine. I think he\u2019s a very high IQ corner whose athletic limitations could be a real problem. You see plays when he\u2019s ready to jump a route because of something he\u2019s seen on film. He, a la Richard Sherman (not a player comp, but a mental one) wins a lot before the play.\u201d<\/p>\n

49ers named best fit for Super Bowl champion CB set to hit free agency<\/a>
\u201cImproving the interior of the offensive line is a must for Kyle Shanahan\u2019s offense,\u201d Bowen wrote. \u201cSeumalo can displace defenders in both zone and gap run concepts, plus he would keep the pocket firm in pass pro for quarterback Brock Purdy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seumalo (6-4, 303) brings significant NFL experience, appearing in 125 games with 104 starts, including 14 starts for Pittsburgh in 2025. According to Pro Football Focus, he has earned at least a 73.3 offensive grade in four of his last five seasons. In 2025, he posted a 76.4 pass-blocking grade and a 67.1 run-blocking grade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 10-year veteran has the foot quickness to redirect defenders and the body control to wrestle back against power rushers,\u201d Bowen added. \u201cSeumalo\u2019s 97.3% pass rush win rate with the Steelers this season ranked second among 65 qualifying guards, and his 76.9% run block win rate checked in at fourth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ranking the 49ers\u2019 free agents: From Jauan Jennings\u2019 price to special teams standouts (paywall)<\/a>
\u201dDid Burford, the team\u2019s fourth-round pick in 2022, finally find a home at left guard? He started the season as the backup left tackle but slid into the guard spot when injuries piled up. He handled himself pretty well. A year ago, 49ers guard Aaron Banks signed a four-year deal worth $77 million with the Packers and teams are always willing to pounce on young offensive linemen. It\u2019s why Burford is higher on this list than you probably thought he would be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"49ers continue D-line rebuild in Daniel Jeremiah\u2019s 2026 NFL mock draft\u201c\u201cHunter can hold the point against the run,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":760061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,52307,7,6,1161,252,1137,2624,2623],"class_list":{"0":"post-760060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-49ers-links","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","14":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-news","15":"tag-sanfrancisco","16":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116091067030322243","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/760061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}