Lee Hunter: Broncos' Draft Target

0:00It's April 20th, NFL news today starts now, AI powered and game ready. I'm Cory with the story. Draft Weeks heating up for the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, and one name Broncos fans should circle as Lee Hunter, the defensive tackle, out of Texas Tech. This 6'3.5 inch 318 pound beast is 23 years old with the size and strength to plug right into an NFL. Line, his projection screams second round, top 64 pick overall. Hunter kicked off at Auburn, red-shirted, then bounced to UCF for three solid years before dominating as a senior at Texas Tech with 41 tackles. 10.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Across 52 games and 37 starts between UCF and Tech, he racked up 172 tackles, 32 for loss, and 7.5 sacks. Scouts love his run stuff in chops, with a 12% stop rate in plays in the backfield, plus real pass rush juice from 46 hurries, and 66 pressures.

1:04He splits doubles, shoots gaps, and had a monster senior bull. For Denver, facing DJ Jones' contract questions, heats up to Hunter brings that day one rotation impact to beef up the front. He's not perfect, leans heavy on the bull rush, lacks a quick first step, and could stay lower against doubles, plus he skipped agility test showing. Some stiffness, still, his long arms compensate, and that low missed tackle rate under 9% stands out in this class. If Hunter slides to the Broncos' pick at 62, they grab him for long term disruption on rundowns, and pressure up front exactly the trench, upgrades to build around.