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The 49ers' Most Dangerous Addition of 2025

The 49ers did any many dangerous players in free agency this year.
Grant Cohn|
May 9, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Mikel Williams (98) works out during the teamís rookie minicamp. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
May 9, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Mikel Williams (98) works out during the teamís rookie minicamp. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers did any many dangerous players in free agency this year.

Instead, they said goodbye to some dangerous players and attempted to replace most of them with rookies.

That's why Bleacher Report says first-round pick Mykel Williams is the 49ers' most dangerous addition of 2025.

"A year ago, buzz started to swirl around Georgia defender Mykel Williams as the potential No. 1 overall talent for the 2025 NFL draft," writes Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski. "The premise was built upon him realizing his upside after converting from the defensive interior to a full-time edge-defender. While that projection didn't come to fruition, the San Francisco 49ers still bet on the defensive lineman with this year's 11th overall draft pick.

"Two things held Williams back during his final season on campus. He never became a consistent pass-rush threat off the edge and didn't produce at a high level. An ankle injury slowed him throughout the process, though.

"Niners personnel are banking on Williams' potential.

"A fully-realized Williams opposite Nick Bosa is nightmare fuel for opposing offensive coordinators."

Williams is only 20, so if he takes a year or two to reach his full potential, that wouldn't be surprising. But he certainly is the 49ers' most important addition of the offseason. He's the one who has a chance to be truly special.

Right away, Williams should improve the 49ers' run defense. As a pass rusher, he should benefit from all the attention Nick Bosa draws. For the first time in his life, Williams won't be double-teamed constantly.

Look for Williams to have a big rookie season.

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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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