The grades are in for the 49ers first round pick. It’s mostly in the B range, but still solid.
The San Francisco 49ers walked away from the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft with Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams. The team was reportedly interested in trading up for Williams, but at the end of the day, he was there for them at No. 11.
Draft grades have been coming in overnight and for the 49ers, the view is this was a safe and solid pick. You can read through various pieces of analysis, but grades range from as high as A to as low as C+. I did a quick gpa assessment and it comes out to a 2.97, which is a shade below a B but clearly above a B-. Pro Football Focus did not use traditional grades, instead calling it “average”, so I did not include them in the gpa analysis.
SB Nation: A
Outside of Travis Hunter to the Jaguars, this might be my favorite pick in the draft so far. Williams is the best run defending EDGE in the entire class, and his pass rush upside is high. I think Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart might have more athletic upside, but Williams is ready right now to help the Niners’ defense, and getting him in that defensive line room should rule.
The Athletic: A
The 49ers needed a bookend to play with Nick Bosa, and Williams fits the description. After the 49ers lost a ton in free agency and were faced with salary-cap situations, this pick was more than solid — Williams can become a decade-long starter, if he stays healthy.
At Georgia last year, however, he dealt with repeated ankle issues, which kept his starts and rotational snaps down. But as a team captain, he was still productive (five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss). Williams possesses huge arms (34 3/8 inches) and a giant wingspan (82 7/8 inches). He is a physical edge capable of moving anywhere along the line of scrimmage on passing downs.
The Ringer: C+
The Niners look to bolster their defensive line here, grabbing a high-upside but unproven edge rusher in Williams. The former Bulldogs stalwart has an absolutely massive frame and plays with plenty of power, and he brings a high floor as a run defender. But this feels like a big project for San Francisco, and I worry about Williams’s lack of a pass-rush game and his overall lack of production. Williams has traits, but he still has a long way to go in his development.
NFL.com: B
Williams could become an excellent starter on the edge for the 49ers, who needed bodies there, given the release of Leonard Floyd and the lack of production from the team’s current reserves.
Williams showed more potential than production at Georgia, partially because he played through injury last season. His length is a plus, and he can lock out offensive tackles at the line of scrimmage to play the run or attack the passer. Still, Williams will need to make more plays for the Niners than he did with the Bulldogs to be worthy of this pick.
San Francisco passed on cornerback Jahdae Barron despite having a strong need at the position after Charvarius Ward departed in free agency.
PFF: “Average”
The 49ers’ defensive line was looking thin around Nick Bosa, so defensive linemen were always high on their list of likely targets with this pick. Williams brings a range of traits for Robert Saleh to work with and is projected as one of the safer NFL transitions in this class. He stood out particularly as a run defender over the past three seasons, ranking in the 97th percentile among NCAA edge defenders in PFF run-defense grade during that span.
CBS Sports: B
They had to get pass rush help to go with Nick Bosa. Williams didn’t play as well in 2024 as he did in 2023, but the talent is there. He gives them a bookend to go with Bosa.
FOX Sports: B-
The 49ers needed to add new blood to their front seven and few offer as much upside as Williams, a physically-imposing 6-5, 267-pounder who comes with more tools than the local Home Depot. He lacked eye-popping statistics at Georgia yet offers burst off the edge, as well as terrific length and strength to hold up in the running game. There is some risk to Williams, as he is far from a finished product, but this is the kind of blue-collar selection the 49ers needed to rebuild a defense struggling after the salary-cap bloodletting of this offseason.
USA Today: B
When John Lynch spoke this week about the importance of “setting a firm edge,” he might as well have been discussing Williams. The 6-5, 260-pounder is plenty powerful and stout against the run, making him a sensible fit to occupy the spot opposite Nick Bosa. He still has plenty of developing to do as a pass rusher, but there’s few better places to do that than under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. San Francisco still has more work to do to firm up its defensive line, but it can return to a deep defensive tackle class on Day 2.
Yahoo! Sports: B
Mykel Williams isn’t the most explosive pass rusher, but he’s a steady run defender that should pair well with Nick Bosa and his aggressive style of play. The 49ers needed to add more sturdiness to their defensive line and Williams brings that — and gives them a chance to get back to playing dominant defense.
Player comparison: Robert Quinn
Sports Illustrated: B-
The 49ers are adding help for Nick Bosa. The hulking 6’ 5”, 267-pound Williams has the skill set to make an immediate impact. Williams didn’t have the monster junior season many expected him to have for the Bulldogs partly because of a nagging ankle injury. But Williams showed plenty of toughness and still found ways to make plays despite the limitations.
Last season, Williams played 12 games and had 8.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and two forced fumbles.
Bleacher Report: C
Georgia’s Mykel Williams is far from a finished prospect. He and Nick Bosa could form a dynamic edge-rusher duo one day, but Williams isn’t that player yet.
The San Francisco 49ers lost plenty on defense this offseason, including their second-leading sack artist in Leonard Floyd. Williams and Floyd couldn’t have more different skill sets. The veteran always built his game around quickness off the snap and flexibility to bend and flatten the edge, whereas Williams’ game is power-based.
This is the epitome of a boom-or-bust selection. The 49ers could have gone with better and more natural pass-rushers with the 11th overall pick. But San Francisco is banking on defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and defensive line coach Kris Kocurek getting the most out of a developmental option.
Expectations built for Williams before the 2024 season even began. Much like former Bulldog Travon Walker, the potential of what he could become overstepped what he actually was.
Williams made the full-time transition from interior to edge defender with the idea that his athletic profile would allow him to become a force. That didn’t exactly happen. He finished with five sacks on the season after racking up 4.5 in both 2022 and 2023.
At the very least, Williams can be a top-notch run-defender for the Niners right away.