All 49ers

49ers Draft Georgia Defensive End Mykel Williams with 11th Pick

This is a good pick.
Grant Cohn|
Jan 9, 2023; Inglewood, CA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Mykel Williams (13) against the TCU Horned Frogs during the CFP national championship game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Jan 9, 2023; Inglewood, CA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Mykel Williams (13) against the TCU Horned Frogs during the CFP national championship game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

In this story:

San Francisco 49ers

This is a good pick.

The 49ers just drafted Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams with the 11th selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. Williams is just 20 years old and was a key starter for the Georgia defense since he was a freshman.

Physically, Williams is built like a young Aldon Smith -- tall, long arms, extremely powerful. The difference is that Williams is much more advanced as a run defender than Smith was coming out of college and Smith was much more advanced as a pass rusher.

Williams is the best edge-setting defensive end in this draft. Opposing offenses will have an extremely difficult time running the ball at him which means they'll have to run the ball at Nick Bosa. The 49ers haven't had this good of a run defender at defensive end since they had Samson Ebukam.

In addition, Williams has the traits to develop into a productive pass-rusher as well. He just needs more space and freedom. At Georgia, he often lined up inside the offensive tackle. On the 49ers, he will line up almost exclusively outside the tight end, which means he'll have many more opportunities to create pressure and sack the quarterback.

The 49ers could have drafted a defensive tackle instead, but Walter Nolen probably would have been a reach. And it's possible the 49ers wanted to take Texas offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., but the Saints took him with the 9th pick.

Overall, the 49ers most likely took the best player available at a position of need.

Grade: A

Read more

Published
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.

Share on XFollow grantcohn
Home/News