Most of the focus on San Francisco 49ers edge rusher and 2025 1st-round pick Mykel Williams has pertained to his recovery from a torn ACL suffered in Week 9 of his rookie season.
The harsh truth is that the No. 11 overall pick wasn’t very good before the injury, and Pro Football Focus NFL reporter Bradley Locker put Williams at the top of his list of players under the most pressure to perform in Year 2.
“Williams was touted as a raw but high-upside prospect coming out of Georgia,” Locker wrote on July 7. “The 49ers took a shot on him with the 11th overall pick in 2025 but will need to see much more of the latter. Williams played only 385 snaps after suffering a torn ACL in Week 9, but the results were generally subpar. His 51.9 PFF pass-rush grade ranked 90th out of 95 qualified edge defenders, as he tallied just 19 pressures on an 8.8% pass-rush win rate. Despite his run-stopping prowess in college, Williams wasn’t dominant in that department either … after Bryce Huff’s retirement, the 49ers are counting on Williams to be a legitimate running mate for the returning Nick Bosa.”
Mykel Williams Didn’t Dominate College Foes
Williams only played 3 years at Georgia and was consistent but not dominant — meaning there wasn’t a marked improvement from his 1st season until his 3rd and final season.
While Williams never had more than 5.0 sacks in 3 seasons, he also never had less than 4.5 sacks on the way to being a Freshman All-American in 2022 and a 2-time All-SEC selection in 2023 and 2024.
“An upside prospect with loads of traits, Williams simply needs more snaps and more time to fill out his frame,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “He is an explosive athlete who uses his exceptional length to keep tackles and tight ends at the end of his punch. He plays a little too tall at the point and needs to get stronger to shed blocks more quickly, but he plays with good physicality in the trenches and is never pushed around. He’s still learning moves and counters but already has a big bull rush, good secondary effort, and the closing burst to become a sack blanket in the pocket. He’s not there yet, but Williams’ improvement to become an impactful 4-3 base end feels inevitable.”
49ers Added Another Edge Rusher in 2026 NFL Draft
While the 49ers still have faith in Williams, they hedged their bets in the 2026 NFL draft with 6-foot-3, 239-pound edge rusher Romello Height in the 3rd round (No. 70 overall).
Height had a wild college career, playing for 4 schools in 6 seasons with stops at Auburn, USC, Georgia Tech, and 1 final season at Texas Tech in 2025. With the Red Raiders, Williams had a breakout season, earning All-Big 12 honors with 10.0 sacks in 14 games playing opposite edge rusher and No. 2 overall pick David Bailey.
“After fielding the worst pass rush in the NFL last year, the Niners waited a bit longer than expected to address it, but it’s no surprise they spent an early pick on a pass rusher,” ESPN’s Nick Wagoner wrote in April. “Height had 10 sacks and 58 pressures for the Red Raiders last year and he should have a chance to step into the specialized third-down pass rusher role Bryce Huff filled for the 49ers last season. With Huff off to retirement, the Niners needed another option off the edge even though Height’s size (6-foot-3, 239 pounds) doesn’t necessarily translate to contributing much on running downs right away.”
49ers 1st-Round Pick Flagged After ‘Subpar’ Rookie Season