49ers Should Avoid DE Mykel Williams With the 11th Pick

Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams is an easy pass for the 49ers with the 11th pick. Here is why.

Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams (13) goes in for a sack on Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) during the second half of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. | Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Plenty of options will be available for the San Francisco 49ers when they make their 11th pick at the NFL draft on Thursday night.

It's likely the 49ers will look somewhere on the defensive line. That is their most glaring need after all, so it makes sense to find a cornerstone player there in the first round.

The 49ers will have a few good players to choose from. However, there is one player they must not consider -- Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams.

The 49ers should avoid drafting Williams with the 11th pick. Aside from him being a potential reach, Williams is currently hampered by an ankle injury, per Albert Breer of The MMQB.

"Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams had just a so-so workout last week and told teams he wasn’t at his best because an ankle injury from the fall hampered him a little," Breer wrote.

Williams would be a questionable move with the 11th pick if he were fully fit. But the fact that he didn't have a great workout for a team last week due to an injury more than half a year ago is alarming.

His injury isn't breaking news. It's just eye-opening that he still can't attain full fitness yet. How will that make any team drafting him feel comfortable?

That should rule him out for any team picking in the top 20 or even the entire first round. Williams was always a question mark, but now I think he should be out of the question for the 49ers.