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San Francisco 49ers rookie first-round draft pick Mykel Williams enters his first season in the NFL with high expectations. Williams never recorded more than five sacks during one season with the Georgia Bulldogs, but that did not stop the 49ers from drafting Williams with the No. 11 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Williams has a chance to immediately start for a San Francisco defense that features All-Pros like linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa. Williams’ ability to stop the run gives him a low floor in the NFL as long as he can stay healthy.
Williams was limited for a significant portion of his junior season at Georgia because of an ankle injury. He entered the 2024 college football season as a potential No. 1 pick, so the 49ers may have gotten one of the steals of the draft. Quite a few NFL experts love how Williams fits in with San Francisco.
NFL experts are predicting Williams to win defensive rookie of the year
ESPN’s Stephania Bell predicts that Williams will win the defensive rookie of the year award. Several of Bell’s colleagues at ESPN agree with her.
“(The 49ers) knew they needed to improve their run defense, and their selection of Williams in the first round confirmed that commitment,” Bell said. “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.”
Williams may not produce a ton of sacks as a rookie, but he’ll certainly have the opportunity to face a single blocker frequently with Nick Bosa lined up on the other side of the formation.
Pamela Maldonado, Ben Solak and Lindsey Thiry all agree with Bell and have Williams as their early pick for defensive rookie of the year. Only New York Giants rookie Adbul Carter received more support to be defensive rookie of the year than Williams.
Williams is fresh off signing a four-year, $25 million rookie contract and is eager to prove himself at the NFL level.
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