2026 NFL DRAFT
PROSPECT PROFILE
LEE HUNTER
DL, TEXAS TECH, 6-3, 325
Strengths
- Extremely thick build that holds the POA easily
- Violent punch and heavy hands off the snap
- Elite shed and tackle run defender
- Does the dirty work by taking on double teams and 2 gapping when necessary allowing teammates to make tackles
- Powerful leg drive that allows him to bull rush and press the pocket
- Very sure tackler. Once he gets his hands on you it’s a wrap
Weaknesses
- Offers nothing from a pass rush perspective except a power bull rush
- Does not always take the best angles making plays laterally
- Stamina can be an issue at the next level, possibly forcing him to be a 2 down player or part of a regular rotation in the NFL
- Can play high at times losing leverage
- Does not possess the foot speed to make many tackles or sacks in pursuit
With Hunter, what you see is what you get. He is a mountain of a man that can be effective anywhere from a 0 to 3-tech alignment. I couldn’t help but compare him to Vince Wilfork as I watched him, but Wilfork was much better with his hands than Hunter at this point. I think his best fit is as a zero or 1 tech playing over or shading the Center. This position allows him to effectively 2 gap and let’s his power dominate. When he plays with pad level he is almost immovable and can shed blockers at the POA and make tackles. His presence is felt more from the dirty work he does clogging rush lanes and holding the POA for teammates, rather than contributing with splash plays. Hunter should be equally as effective as a 3-4 NT or as a 4-3 DT where his anchor and power win. While he does not offer much as a pass rusher, that is not what you are asking him to do. His skill as a dominant run stuffer is elite and it will always be a need in the NFL.
Any team whose main defensive focus will be upgrading the run defense could have Hunter as DL1 in their board, but he is not as versatile as some other linemen in this class. If the Chargers were going to go with a defensive linemen in Rd1, I would prefer someone with more positional flexibility and a more varied skill set, namely pass rush. If he were the choice, I could understand the need to prioritize having a stifling run defense, especially if some more versatile players were added via free agency. However, if Hunter were acquired after a trade down, it would make the selection more palatable, because I think better DL will be available at 1.22. There is no doubt Hunter has an elite skill set, but is that one trait enough to warrant a round one selection?
This is a very interesting one, Erick! This is the first time where we’ve written some things that are contradictory. Maybe it has something to do with which games we watched. I think at UCF, Hunter was much more of a risk-taker trying to make splash plays and was a little unreliable at maintaining his gap. Here are my notes. Reminded me a little of Kenneth Grant actually, massive man but with a finesse playing style.
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Watched games v Colorado (2024), TCU (2024), Utah (2025), BYU (2025, Big 12 Conference Championship) & Oregon (2025, College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, Orange Bowl)
Summary:
· Hunter is a thick, long-armed Nose Tackle who plays with violence and a penchant for making plays behind or around the line of scrimmage. He plays with active hands making it a tough day in the office for any IOL tasked with stopping him. He has the versatility to play from true 0-tech to the 3-tech but play stamina may limit his snap count at the next level. Bull rushing is not really a feature of his game, but with his attacking/slanting playing style, he’s the type of player every team is looking to add to their Defensive Line in the modern NFL. He is a late-first, early-second type of a player who should have a long, productive career if he can control his weight and play stamina.
Strengths:
· Girthy human who College Centers found it nearly impossible to stop consistently from Nose Tackle alignments (eg, Sam Hecht, Kansas State (2025)). Hunter will find his way into the backfield with a variety of swims and hump moves, plus a ‘long arm’ and push/pull using his 34” arms; and players who offer pass rush production like this from 0 and 1-tech alignments are a sought-after commodity.
· Finishes tackles well using long arms and wingspan.
· Good motor with legs and arms always working to beat his opponent and get hands up into passing windows.
· Hulking presence, who can two-gap, threaten the QB’s wellbeing and test their eye discipline as they “feel him” up the middle.
· Plus athlete at his size. Multiple instances at UCF where he got to the sideline and tackled the pass catcher on screens.
Question Marks:
· Excessive forward lean getting off the ball. This plus a sluggish get-off limit his effectiveness as a bull rusher.
· Somewhat out of control playing style with a few too many negatively graded reps (particularly at UCF).
· Overly aggressive angles off the snap lead to a consistent loss of gap integrity. There are better true two-gappers or ‘run first’ players in the class.
· Play stamina likely to be a question at his size. Can he carry a full-time workload or is he a two-down/rotational player?
· You probably only want one player on your Defensive Line who plays the way Hunter does. He’ll make splash plays but also cost your team some TDs through recklessness (shades of Teair Tart in this respect).
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We agree on his play stamina but I clearly think he’s closer to being the rare type of 1-tech who can offer true pass rush upside. With a 10.6% pass rush win rate this season and about ~25 pressures each of the last three seasons, I think he’s more than a pocket pusher. The Wilfork comps came to my mind too. Such a big human!
I didn’t see much (if any) evidence of a bull rush, so I might return to watch a few more games of him before the end of the process with that in mind.
Keep ’em coming, Erick!
I did not watch any reps of his UCF days, as I only had the DVR games from this season. I think his “bull rush” was just more of a leg drive with no hand fighting. Maybe this was a stamina issue that was creeping in? There were definitely plays that he seemed to take off to catch his breath and gather himself. I think he is a fantastic shed and tackler which really shows his power. If you look at the pass rush wins, some of those were stacked in multiple games against lesser teams like West Virginia, BYU and Oregon State and even in those games, he never got home, but let’s be honest you aren’t drafting him for pass rush. Anything you get from him there is gravy. His bread and butter is the anchor and run stopping ability.
Like I said, his skill set will always be a hot commodity in the NFL, but I am not sure with the defensive line as currently constituted a 2 down run stuffer is the priority at 1.22? I will probably bang out my evals on five DT before moving onto another position. Next up will be Kayden McDonald. I just hope I can focus on him and not drift my attention to Sonny Styles.
I’d be rather disappointed if this was our pick at 22. Yes, he’s a space eater but I think we need someone on the interior with more pass rush ability if we’re gonna spend 1.22 there. I see him as a late 1st guy at best.