49ers' top scout dishes on Romello Height, Kaelon Black and team's draft class

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Three picks are 24 or older, and one of the players who could line up next to Williams at times, defensive end Romello Height, turned 25 last month. The youngest of the 49ers’ eight draftees is linebacker Jaden Dugger, who turned 22 in February. However, there are upsides to having players who have been around the block, according to the team’s vice president of player personnel, Tariq Ahmad. The team’s top college scout, Ahmad has been watching the rookie class, currently integrating into the team’s offseason program, over the last week. The 49ers will have their first full-squad OTA practices next week. Ahmad spent about 45 minutes discussing what drew the 49ers to each of their picks. Last month, Shanahan went on “The Rich Eisen Show” and revealed that he’s just like us when it comes to evaluating draft prospects: He begins the process in February and starts with a prospect’s highlight reels, which, in his case, his position coaches make for him. “And I always tell them, ‘If I don’t like the highlight tape, then I’m not gonna watch anything after,’” he said. “So those guys have to put a lot of work into the highlight tape.” It turns out that the team offers up as many as three highlight reels for a prospect: one by the position coaches, another by scouting assistants and sometimes a third that assistant general manager RJ Gillen and the 49ers’ pro scouts put together. When it came to Stribling, there was plenty of material. Not the most well-rounded route runner, but big-bodied with great hands and a pro mindset. He spent five college seasons at three schools, each of which emphasized something different from its wide receivers. That meant Stribling’s reels, including the one composed by receivers coach Leonard Hankerson, showed him doing a variety of things. “When we make these tapes, we want to show what these players can do, what their maximum talent is and also how they fit for us — what we’ll do with them,” Ahmad said. “You’re able to sell that vision of what that player can do when they’re here with us.” The diversity of skills — including blocking and downfield speed — likely means Stribling won’t be typecast into one role with the 49ers. For example, the way he took out nickel cornerbacks at Ole Miss suggests he might be able to step in at Jauan Jennings’ former slot receiver spot as a rookie. Ahmad said one trait that stood out at every stop — Washington State, Oklahoma State and finally Ole Miss — was Stribling’s hands. He had nine drops in five seasons and only one last year. “We felt he could really pluck the ball,” he said. “I thought he was excellent at just ripping the ball out of the air on contested catches.” John Lynch wasn’t just being descriptive when he said the 49ers had a high “hair on fire grade” for Height, whom they took early in the third round. As Ahmad explained, hair on fire is an analytics measurement the team uses, one that examines where a defensive player is in proximity to the ball. One of the things that impressed the 49ers about Height was his motor — he was determined to be in on the play even when it was on the opposite side of the field. “He does not stop,” Ahmad said. “It is incredible watching him strain. It was one of the many things that I absolutely loved about his tape.” Before he became the team’s vice president of player personnel, Ahmad was the scout who cross-checked defensive linemen in the run-up to the draft. You could say it’s his specialty. And it was clear Height was among his favorites in this year’s class. “I thought the combine interview was awesome,” he said. “I fell in love with him at the combine. He’s serious. I mean, you could feel how much passion he has. He comes on a 30 visit, and it’s the same thing. He just loves football.” Smaller than most successful Edges — but keeping him blocked is easier said than done. Ahmad noted that Texas Tech had an impressive defensive line in 2025, including the No. 2 pick David Bailey and No. 49 pick Lee Hunter. The school, however, said Height was the alpha of the group. “We talked to teammates of his — he was the guy they’d want to bring with them,” Ahmad said. “He was a guy they believed in. It’s exciting that everything Texas Tech told us about his passion, we’ve seen out here the last few weeks.” A theme in this year’s draft: players who went deep into the college playoffs didn’t take part in the Senior Bowl (late January), the combine (late February) or both. Stribling, for example, declined a Senior Bowl invitation after Ole Miss’ season extended into January. Black, however, was an exception. Despite logging 41 snaps in Indiana’s championship victory on Jan. 19, he was on hand when Senior Bowl practices began the following week. “I think he wanted to prove something,” Ahmad said. “He wanted to prove that he could be a real NFL running back, and I thought it was a tremendous stage for him.” Ahmad said Black got high marks in football character, including from Indiana’s strength coach, who said Black was one of his favorite players he’s ever coached. The 49ers also thought he was one of the “best pure runners” in this year’s class. A short, well-built back who punches above his weight class; pass-catching needs work. “The vision, reactions, the way he finished runs, the contact balance,” Ahmad said. “We all just loved the runner.” He said the 49ers weren’t concerned with the tailback’s lack of pass-catching production at Indiana. He said Black looked good in that area at the Senior Bowl, as well as early on in the 49ers’ offseason program. “It’s more of a reflection on the (Indiana) offense instead of what he cannot do,” Ahmad said. “We’ve been really happy with his hands, his route running.” When scouting offensive linemen, the 49ers like to watch them face a common opponent. One unit they used extensively to that end in 2025 was Oklahoma’s defensive line, which included a couple of promising underclassmen and was considered one of the nation’s best. During those study sessions, however, it was an upperclassman, Halton, who caught their eye. “And he just kept showing up — over and over and over again,” Ahmad said. Halton didn’t have much buzz entering the season. But he took a leap as a senior and then was one of the standouts at the Senior Bowl, where he was put in situations that mimicked what the 49ers want from their defensive linemen. Said Ahmad: “He really got off the ball, got on that edge, was able to win quickly, be disruptive — all the acceleration and get-off that we’re looking for.” The 49ers were heavily criticized for taking Stribling and Black earlier than expected, but it was the opposite for Halton. Everyone, including the 49ers, thought he’d be taken on Day 2 but instead lasted until the seventh pick of the fourth round. “I think we did really well on the D-line this year,” Ahmad said. “I think last year, our first- and second-round picks, Alfred (Collins) and Mykel, were good. And I think if Mykel didn’t get injured, we’d be really, really excited about how (he) finished the year. And now it’s exciting adding this next group to that one. We got younger, we got more explosive, we got more pass rushers.” A twitchy, disruptive big man who will thrive in a part-time role. The 49ers like to have offensive line coach Chris Foerster meet or work out prospects before the draft, something that happened with both Willis and fifth-round pick Enrique Cruz Jr. “Chris doesn’t need to talk to every offensive lineman who’s on the board,” Ahmad said. “He trusts us a great deal to narrow that list down for him. But there is an element of — for guys who could potentially go into the (offensive line) room — he should speak to those guys and have a feel for them and how they fit in the room.” Willis played in a similar system at Washington, which ought to make for a smooth transition with San Francisco. The 49ers also were impressed by his demeanor. He struck them as smart and mature — he turned 24 last month — and someone who could play center for them in the future. As of now, Willis will line up at guard. “He’s a bright, impressive kid,” Ahmad said. “For offensive linemen, that definitely stands out. You’ve got to be consistent, you’ve got to be mature, you can’t make mistakes, you’ve got to do the right thing over and over again.” The 49ers went against type with Prysock. In recent drafts, they’ve had success with shorter, grittier cornerbacks who can play inside or outside, like Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green and Upton Stout. Prysock stands nearly 6 feet 4 and has an 80 ½-inch wingspan. That’s more than 6 inches longer than that of the top cornerback in this year’s draft, Mansoor Delane, whom the Chiefs drafted at No. 6. Ahmad said prospects with Prysock’s length rarely fall to the penultimate spot in the fourth round, which is why the 49ers took him there. “The defensive coaches absolutely loved EP,” he said. “He would have been in the conversation for them very early in the draft. Very, very early.” Prysock also stood out to the 49ers at the Senior Bowl. “He was top two, in my opinion,” Ahmad said of the cornerbacks there. He said teams place a premium on length like Prysock’s because it gives a player more room for error. “When you’re smaller and you lack length, everything has to be perfect,” he said. “Length gives you more ability to recover, more ability to get in the way, more span for tackling.” The last two players drafted are similar in one sense: They’re athletic with high upside, but they will probably need some time to develop before they compete for starting roles. Ahmad said Dugger was a steady mover up the team’s draft board in the spring because he got high grades from two key figures. First, national scout Chip Flanagan, who cross-checks the linebackers, gave Dugger sterling marks at both the East-West Shrine Bowl and with his cross-check grade. At the same time, Dugger caught the attention of the team’s new linebackers coach, K.J. Wright, a former linebacker who bears a strong resemblance to Dugger in physique. K.J. WrightHeight: 6-4Weight: 246Arm:: 34 ⅞Round: 4 (2011) K.J. Wright’s newest pupil, Jaden DuggerHeight: 6-4 ¾Weight: 242Arm: 35Round: 5 (2026) — Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) April 25, 2026 “As a scout, as a coach, you want to eliminate all your biases, right?” Ahmad said. “You want to be very aware of your prejudice. But then on the other side of it, you can see the potential. You can see why they’re excited about what the future holds.” Dugger played safety at Georgetown before moving to outside linebacker at Louisiana in 2024 and middle linebacker at Louisiana last season. The 49ers haven’t said where he’ll line up as a rookie, though the normal progression for young linebackers is to start on the weakside, which allows them to be more reactive. For example, that’s where 2025 third-round pick Nick Martin practiced last season. The word Ahmad used multiple times to describe Cruz: gifted. He ran a 4.94-second 40-yard dash at 313 pounds at the combine. He had a 35-inch vertical jump, which was 3 inches higher than that of the top tackle in the draft, Utah’s Spencer Fano. His hands measure nearly 11 inches. “He has a lot of top-10 percent talent in his body — the acceleration, the explosiveness,” Ahmad said. “He’s a very physically gifted guy.” Cruz also got positive feedback from his former coaches despite transferring from Syracuse to Kansas after he lost his starting job in 2024 when Fran Brown took over as head coach. Ahmad said he talked to Brown about Cruz. “Fran fully endorsed him,” he said. “Fran wished he’d never left, gave me a lot of good insight on him from that season at Syracuse.” Cruz also got a workout from Foerster in the run-up to the draft. “Chris loved him on tape,” Ahmad said. “Then Chris came back from the workout even more convicted. And everything we’ve seen so far is really encouraging.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms