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49ers to Host Ohio State D-Tackle Tyleik Williams on Top-30 Visit

Williams is one of the best run defenders in the draft.
Grant Cohn|
Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (91) against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (91) against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers desperately need to improve their run defense.

They gave up 24 rushing touchdowns last season -- third-most in the NFL. They also gave up 2,118 yards on the ground, which was subpar.

So it should come as no surprise that the 49ers will host Ohio State defensive tackle Tyliek Williams on a pre-draft top-30 visit. That means Williams will be one of 30 draft-eligible players who will have a formal meeting with the 49ers at their facility this offseason.

Williams is one of the best run defenders in the draft. At 6'3". 334 lbs., he's huge, but he's also an explosive athlete. He's so explosive, he actually fell down while running his 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. Fortunately, he didn't seriously injure himself.

On tape, Williams looks like he can run a 40-yard dash in fewer than five seconds. He can seriously move for a big man. And most importantly, he can shut down the run between the tackles. The 49ers haven't had a defensive tackle who can do that since they released Arik Armstead.

The 49ers almost certainly will draft one defensive tackle, perhaps two considering this offseason they released both starters -- Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins.

They could draft a defensive tackle as early as Round 1, but this year's class of D-tackles is incredibly deep, so they could be wise to wait until Round 2 and take Williams. He instantly would improve their run defense, and anything he would give the defense as a pass rusher would be a bonus.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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