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Two ESPN Analysts Project 49ers DE Mykel Williams to Win DROY

Williams could have a pass-rush explosion as a rookie.
Grant Cohn|
Former Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams runs a drill during UGA Footballs Pro Day in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Representatives from all 32 NFL teams are on hand to watch former UGA football players in action.
Former Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams runs a drill during UGA Footballs Pro Day in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Representatives from all 32 NFL teams are on hand to watch former UGA football players in action. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

ESPN recently asked 17 of its analysts to project which player will win the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year Award next season. Two analysts, Stephania Bell and Lindsey Thiry, picked 49ers defensive end Mykel Williams.

Here's their analysis:

"Bell: Mykel Williams, Edge, 49ers. They knew they needed to improve their run defense, and their selection of Williams in the first round confirmed that commitment. His ability to set the edge is going to be fun to watch opposite of Nick Bosa. Returning defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has to be excited about molding the talented rookie into a perennial elite defender."

"Thiry: Williams. He could be a quick study under Saleh, who produced a top-10 defensive unit in the final two seasons of his previous tenure with the 49ers. Williams will play opposite of a former Defensive Rookie of the Year in Bosa, and on a unit that includes four-time All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner. So Williams could go undetected on certain plays but also learn from some of the league's best."

MY ANALYSIS: I agree with Bell that Williams will be an outstanding edge-setter in the run game from Day 1. But run defense won't win him the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award -- pass-rush production will. He most likely will need double-digit sacks or tons of pressures to win.

And Williams didn't produce much as a pass rusher in college. To be fair, he often played inside the offensive tackle and took on lots of double teams. On the 49ers, he'll play outside the offensive tackle more often and get double-teamed much less frequently because teams will double-team Bosa instead.

So Williams could have a pass-rush explosion as a rookie. Most likely, he'll take time to develop that part of his game.

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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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