The San Francisco 49ers decided to bolster their defensive line in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting defensive end Mykel Williams out of the University of Georgia.
The pick didn't exactly come as a shock, considering the need the 49ers have on the defensive line, along with the fact Williams (6-5, 265) was a player who was matched with the 49ers in a number of mock drafts heading into Thursday's first round. Williams was the second edge defender selected in the draft after Abdul Carter of Penn State, who landed with the New York Giants at pick 3.
What should 49ers fans know about Williams as he heads to the Bay? Let's take a look.
Coming off an injury
Williams revealed in recent months that he played the 2024 season with a grade 2 ankle sprain sustained in Georgia's season opener against Clemson. The injury has been cited as the reason by Williams and various draft analysts why he didn't quite play up to his potential as a junior in 2024 before declaring early for the NFL Draft.
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Williams decided against working out at the NFL Scouting Combine in February due to the injury, telling reporters he played at "less than 60 percent" during the 2024 season.
"I was injured the whole year, never healthy," Williams said, per ESPN.com. "I was messed up pretty bad. It was extremely frustrating [with people] not knowing the full story. I decided to take the first two to three weeks [after the season] to rest my ankle and try to get it back under me."
Drafting a player coming off an injury is never particularly ideal, but Williams suggested he was putting it in the rearview mirror even though he didn't go through combine drills.
"This is the healthiest I've been all year," Williams said.
The tools -- and youth -- are there
Williams doesn't have eye-popping numbers in some respects, as he totaled 14 sacks in three seasons at Georgia while running a reported 4.73 40-yard dash at his pro day. But scouts have been high on Williams' potential for years, dating back to his days as a top 100 recruit at Hardaway High School in Columbus, Georgia.
"When he's 100% healthy, as big and built as he is, he's very fast off the ball," Williams' high school coach Michael Woolridge told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. "So his combination of size and speed is scary."
NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who ranked Williams as the No. 22 prospect in the draft, said Williams can become an impact player when he's injury-free.
"Williams is a talented edge rusher with rare physical traits," Jeremiah wrote. "When healthy, he has a dynamic get-off and can win early from the edge or when he's reduced inside. He has extremely long arms and blockers struggle to get to his chest. He has a nasty shake/bull move and he also flashes a violent swipe move to generate pressure. Against the run, he still found a way to set a physical edge even when he couldn't put much weight on one leg because of his injury. His effort never wavered. Overall, the 2024 tape isn't a fair representation of Williams' talent. He has game-changing tools when healthy and locked in."
Williams is still just 20 years old as well, giving him a larger window for development with the 49ers. In contrast, last year's 49ers first-round pick, wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, will turn 25 in September. Williams will turn 21 in June.
A prolific high school career that turned into a fast start at Georgia
Williams put up eye-popping numbers at Hardaway High School, totaling 10 tackles and 18 tackles for loss as a sophomore, 17 sacks, 57 total tackles and 19 tackles-for-loss as a junior, and 12.5 sacks, 81 total tackles and 20.5 tackles for loss as a senior. Williams originally intended on going to college at USC before switching to Georgia late in the recruiting process.
That decision turned out to be a good one, as Williams became a Freshman All-American with 4.5 sacks, 28 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. Williams followed that up with 4.5 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, 18 total tackles, and one forced fumble as a sophomore, which saw him earn the first of two second-team All-SEC selections.
Check out Williams' 2024 highlights below:
He likes to work
49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is known for his slogan, "All gas, no brake." It sounds like he won't have an issue in that regard with Williams, who wanted scouts to know at his pro day that his work ethic is one of the advantages he has over his opponents.
"I feel like some of what I'm trying to relay to them is my work ethic and my mentality about work," Williams said, per 247Sports. "I feel like I'm trying to get that point across because I feel like that's what I'm different from a lot of other people in this class. I feel like I've got a different mentality about work and how I go about my work. The intensity that I do it at and the focus that I have while I'm doing it, that's what I feel like is different."
Woolridge says Williams has been that way since high school, telling DawgNation.com in 2020, "When we have a day off, he's trying to do a pass rush drill or go to Atlanta to work with a pass-rushing specialist who played in the NFL to try and get better. Normally, that doesn't go hand-in-hand. Your best player is normally not your hardest worker because they can get by off their athletic ability. But he wants to be great. He wants to be the best. That's what I love the most about 'Kel is he is always looking for a way to get better."
A leader on and off the field
Woolridge told the Ledger-Enquirer that Williams is a role model for other players, saying, "He doesn't let his fame and all this attention exclude him. … He leads by example, but he also can be a vocal leader." But Williams is already showing leadership in the community as well.
Williams started a youth football camp in 2024 as a way to give back to Columbus, Georgia.
"This is huge for me personally," Williams said, per WTVM-9 TV. "It means so much to have the community behind me the way it is. It really affects me in a positive way and I really appreciate the community and the City of Columbus for that."
The camp isn't the first way Williams has shown his appreciation to the community.
"He had a community service project where he gave away bikes at Odis Spencer Stadium," Woolridge told the Ledger-Enquirer. "So it's things like that, outside the field, that show the kind of person he is to be worth a first-round selection."