The San Francisco 49ers defense is counting on early contributions from its rookie class after a significant offseason overhaul that saw several veteran departures.
Five of San Francisco's first draft picks were defensive players, led by first-round selection Mykel Williams, a high-potential pass rusher already turning heads in training camp. Williams looked dominant during Monday's practice—the first padded session of the summer.
"Mykel, he's going to be a hell of a football player," defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said after practice. "And [LB] Nick Martin's doing a really nice job. [CB] Upton's [Stout] doing a nice job. There's some young guys—[DT] CJ West is doing a really nice job—all the way across the board. [S Marques] Sigle, he's getting his legs underneath him, [DT] Alfred Collins. They didn't get any OTA reps, so they're coming along."
Collins and Sigle were dealing with injuries during organized team activities, but have been actively participating since the start of training camp.
"But it's a promising group," Saleh continued. "It's exciting to work with those guys. They're sponges. Every day is something new, and they're doing a very nice job."
Mykel Williams making his case to start
Williams is already competing for significant playing time opposite All-Pro Nick Bosa. A reporter asked Saleh if there was any offseason discussion about the chances of Williams earning a starting role as a rookie.
"Even if it was a discussion, it doesn't take long," Saleh responded. "Just look at him, right? He's very powerful. He's got great hands. He's got great leverage. He has great flexibility to go inside and out. He's unique in that regard, which we knew, which is why we were so excited to go get him."
Williams continues to develop, but Saleh sees him as a potential cornerstone of the 49ers' defensive front.
"But every day, he's just going to get better and prove that he belongs," Saleh added.
Last week, left tackle Trent Williams compared Mykel Williams to a young DeForest Buckner. Saleh was asked about the comparison and if the rookie reminds him of anyone in the league.
"Buck—that's a tremendous compliment for a young man," Saleh shared. "He's got the lankiness and the fluidity, the basketball body that him and [DL] Arik [Armstead] both had. But the ability to play D-end on the outside and then be able to kick on the inside when he needs to, he's got that great flexibility.
"But trying to think of guys, I don't want to pigeonhole him. I don't want to put a ceiling on what he's capable of."
A cautious approach to rookie development
In addition to Saleh noting that Stout has been doing a good job in his first NFL offseason, the coach added that the learning curve is not too big for the young defensive back. However, he emphasized the importance of a patient approach to rookie development.
"We've got to be careful as a coaching staff," Saleh said. "You've still got to slow-play it. Regardless of how smart you feel like they are, there's still a lot of things that they're still learning. We'll push the envelope, but never too far to where he can't execute his job.
"But that's stuff we're learning, trying to figure out who he is and what he's capable of. And that's really for everybody on the defense. It's finding out what they're capable of and pushing the envelope to meet that line of their ability to execute to their God-given ability."
CJ West: A "fire hydrant" on defense
Rookie defensive tackle CJ West may lack the towering frame of some of his fellow first-year defensive linemen—he's 6-foot-1 compared to Williams (6-foot-5) and Collins (6-foot-6)—but he's already making an impression.
"He's like a little fire hydrant," Saleh said. "He's powerful, he's got heavy hands. He's gonna be fine. Like a lot of rookies, there's so many things that they're learning that, especially on the interior of the D-line, it's a game within a game.
"The first thing they learn is pocket push, and then they learn how to capture an edge and rush from there."
West stood out in one-on-one drills Monday. While Saleh didn't see every rep, he heard the praise from others and players and is eager to review the practice film.