Rumors circulated in recent days with what the San Francisco 49ers were going to do with the 11th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. Some believed that General Manager John Lynch was going to trade up, while others believed a trade down was in order especially with the needs the team has. Instead, he elected to stay and take Mykel Williams a defensive end out of Georgia.
Williams during the 2024 season battled through an ankle injury. He recorded career-highs of five sacks and nine tackles for loss. He had a total of 21 tackles with two forced fumbles and two passes defended. Even more impressive was that his best games of the season came against a team that has plenty NFL quality offensive linemen on the roster and that was the Texas Longhorns. In both games he recorded three tackles including two that went for loss and two sacks.
Overall in three seasons at Georgia he recorded 67 tackles and 23 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, four passes defended, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. He was a Freshman All-American, and in back-to-back seasons Second-team All-SEC.
The good news for Williams is that he is excellent against the run, so he will get plenty of opportunities to find himself on the field. More importantly he gets to learn and likely play opposite of one of the best pass rusher in the NFL, Nick Bosa.
Here is a look at the reaction in regard to the selection of Williams.
The #49ers are drafting Mykel Williams at 11.
Georgia defensive end is an excellent run stopper. He’s been called a “freak athlete” and is only 20. #FTTB pic.twitter.com/pU1DoKIgYe
— Matt Lively (@mattblively) April 25, 2025
.@49ers @MykelWilliams_ time to rebuild the DL; nothing like starting with a Dawg @GeorgiaFootball #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/4onUUgQJnA
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) April 25, 2025
Mykel Williams, folks. Our evaluation from the Dieter and Hutch Draft Guide, available on our YT channel pic.twitter.com/bg0lKRxOOR
— Jake Hutchinson (@hutchdiesel) April 25, 2025