The 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl is here, and the Panini Senior Bowl is just days away. Draft season is fully upon us even if the NFL playoffs are still headed to their pinnacle. The Bucs needing to address the defense, my focus this offseason is heavily on that side of the ball. And as the Senior Bowl is so close, I have had a specific focus on players who have accepted invites to that All-Star event.

A quick rundown of evals already completed:

• Ohio State Linebacker Sonny Styles
• Oklahoma Linebacker Owen Heinecke
•  Pitt Linebacker Kyle Louis
• Ohio State Linebacker Arvell Reese

Another player who should be in Mobile next week is Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter.

Lee Hunter Background

Lee Hunter was a four-star prospect out of Eight Mile, Ala. in 2021. He was ranked the fifth-best prospect from the state of Alabama and 105th best prospect in that draft class. Hunter was known as a strong player with a powerful punch. Two traits that have remained over the past five years.

College Career

He committed to Auburn out of high school and red-shirted his freshman year there before transferring to UCF in 2022. In three years at UCF, Hunter recorded 131 tackles, 21.5 for a loss and five sacks.

Hunter transferred once more in 2025 to Texas Tech, teaming him up with David Bailey along the Red Raiders’ front line where he recorded 41 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

2025 Contextual Production

Something I have not provided with my earlier evaluations is a breakdown of production in percentiles. With Lee Hunter I am going to start that. Here is a look at how he ranked this year compared to other defensive tackles with at least 200 snaps.

Scouting Report

Games Watched: Kansas State (2025), UCF (2025), Kansas (2025)

Athleticism

Per PFF

Height: 6-foot-4

Weight: 330 pounds

His arms look short and could make a transition to the NFL difficult working with a length disadvantage. His strength is elite moving offensive linemen with ease. His balance and first step oscillate between below average and fantastic.

Run Fitting

Lee Hunter utilizes a powerful club to displace blockers and create paths to the backfield for himself. His balance working laterally is impressive for his size and helps him find gaps to slip and make plays in the backfield.

Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Michael C. Johnson

He is adept at taking on double teams although his consistency at anchoring down stands to improve. Hunter plays with a consistently low pad level which amplifies his strength and makes him someone who must be accounted for first and foremost in the blocking scheme.

If left in a one-on-one situation he is going to win the point of attack most of the time and so his mere presence on the field helps in the numbers game. Hunter’s motor at his size is impressive. He keeps working to the ball even in space. It evokes thoughts of Vita Vea.

Lee Hunter. Strong Human. pic.twitter.com/Jf41VYFp99

— Josh Queipo (@JoshQueipo_NFL) January 24, 2026

Pass Rush

Lee Hunter has a specific role as a pass rusher. He can push the pocket, but his lack of high-end movement skills late in the rep will make it difficult for him to finish with quarterback takedowns. He will be most helpful occupying additional blockers and stunting to help set up loops and crashing the pocket as a chaos agent.

Texas Tech DT Lee Hunter – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nathan Giese

Hunter possesses knock-back power in his initial strike to create cracks in the offense’s protection plan. And his quick first step will help him win with the occasional cross-face to gain a path to the passer. He is able to threaten around blockers which gives him an edge over other traditional nose tackles who tend to only work vertically.

He has heavy and active hands that will keep interior offensive linemen busy and if they make a wrong move he will make them pay. But his overall profile won’t be too dissimilar to Vita Vea’s in that he will contribute through pressure more than sacks.

Best Traits

• Strength – His upper body strength creates knock-back power that offensive linemen struggle to match
• Balance – for his size, Hunter is incredibly light on his feet. This helps him slip gaps even as a larger lineman.
• Strong hands – Hunter can deliver devastating strikes to displace linemen in his path
• Quick first step – he can cross face quickly to put protection plans and run blocking schemes in a bind

#TexasTech NT Lee Hunter is an enjoyable player to study on tape. Watch his power, awareness, and movement skills at 6-4, 330 pounds. This is only the past two games.

An anchor in the middle. pic.twitter.com/4cE2l1lwlN

— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) November 17, 2025

Best Role And How He Fits The Bucs’ System

Lee Hunter’s best role in the NFL is as a shade or nose tackle, occupying A-gaps and commanding double teams. With the Bucs he would provide needed depth at defensive tackle and work as Vita Vea’s primary backup. With Vea turning 31 this spring, he could help ration Vea’s snaps and keep him fresher late in games. Vea is also entering a contract year and Hunter could be his long-term replacement (in role, but not necessarily impact).

Hear Lee Hunter Speak

NFL Draft evaluations are as much about the person as the player. Teams want to understand the person as much as the player. How do they think? How do they interpret the game? Who are they as someone who must integrate into a locker room? We can’t see nearly as much of this as teams do in their in-person interviews, but this year I want to help all of us hear more from the players that we evaluate.

Here is a media availability Hunter participated in just before the Red Raiders took on his former team, the UCF Knights, this year.

Not much to take away from this interaction, but I did like hearing how he has consciously worked on improving his hand usage this year.

I have a 6.5 tape grade, 7.5 production grade and a 6.6 overall grade on Hunter. This puts a third-round designation on him by my scale (a future four-plus-year starter).