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Will 49ers DE Mykel Williams Win Defensive Rookie of the Year Award?

Mykel Williams will have an opportunity to put up big numbers next season.
Grant Cohn|
Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams (13) celebrates with Georgia linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson (10) after sacking South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler (7) during the second half of a NCAA college football game against South Carolina in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023. Georgia won 24-14.
Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams (13) celebrates with Georgia linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson (10) after sacking South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler (7) during the second half of a NCAA college football game against South Carolina in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023. Georgia won 24-14. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

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San Francisco 49ers

Mykel Williams will have an opportunity to put up big numbers next season.

In college, he didn't have as many opportunities. He played in a deep defensive-line rotation at Georgia which limited his snaps. And he often played 4i technique which means he lined up slightly inside the offensive tackle. It's hard to rush the quarterback from that spot. In addition, opposing offenses regularly double-teamed Williams because they saw him as the biggest pass-rush threat on Georgia's defensive line.

On the 49ers, Williams will be in a completely different situation. And that's why Pro Football Focus analyst Dalton Wasserman says Williams is a prime candidate to win the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.

"Drafted to an extremely thin 49ers defensive line, Williams will have plenty of opportunities to rack up pass-rush production," writes Wasserman. "He’ll need to improve upon his 11.1% pass-rush win rate from last season, though his high floor in run defense will keep him on the field for all three downs."

On the 49ers, Williams won't get double-teamed -- Nick Bosa will. Which means Williams will have more one-on-one matchups than he ever got at Georgia. In addition, he won't play much 4i technique on the 49ers. He mostly will line up outside in the 49ers' Wide 9 defense, so his pass-rush win rate should improve dramatically.

Don't be surprised if Williams records 10 sacks while playing elite run defense next season. And if he accomplishes those two things, he just might win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

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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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