​Most of the attention surrounding San Francisco 49ers edge rusher and 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams has centered on his recovery from a torn ACL suffered in Week 9 of his rookie season. The blunt reality is that Williams, the No. 11 overall pick, wasn’t particularly impactful before the injury, and Pro Football Focus NFL reporter Bradley Locker placed him at the very top of his list of players under the most pressure to perform in Year 2.
Locker noted that Williams entered the league as a raw but high-upside prospect from Georgia. The 49ers invested the 11th overall pick in 2025 in hopes of tapping into that potential, but they will need to see much more of the elite traits they anticipated. In his 385 snaps after returning from the ACL tear in Week 9, Williams delivered generally subpar results. His 51.9 PFF pass-rush grade ranked 90th out of 95 qualified edge defenders, and he managed only 19 pressures with an 8.8% pass-rush win rate. Although he showed run-stopping ability in college, he did not establish dominance in that area in the pros. With Bryce Huff’s retirement, the 49ers are counting on Williams to serve as a legitimate running mate for the return of Nick Bosa.
Williams’ college tenure at Georgia spanned three seasons, during which he remained consistent but not dominantly standout. There wasn’t a clear, marked improvement from his first year to his junior season. He never surpassed 5.0 sacks in three seasons, yet he never dropped below 4.5 sacks either, culminating in him earning Freshman All-American honors in 2022 and repeated All-SEC selections in 2023 and 2024.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein described Williams as an upside prospect with abundant traits. In his pre-draft assessment, Zierlein highlighted Williams as an explosive athlete who uses his length to keep tackles and tight ends at bay with an effective initial punch. He noted that Williams plays a bit tall at the point of attack and needs to gain strength to shed blocks more quickly, but that he demonstrates solid physicality in the trenches and isn’t easily pushed around. While still developing his technique and counters, Williams possesses a big bull rush, good secondary effort, and a closing burst that could eventually help him become a sack deterrent in the pocket. The projection suggested that Williams’ progression into a disruptive 4-3 base end felt likely, even if he hadn’t arrived there yet.
San Francisco remained confident in Williams but also hedged their bets in the 2026 NFL draft by selecting Romello Height, a 6-foot-3, 239-pound edge rusher, in the third round (No. 70 overall). Height’s college path was unconventional, spanning four schools across six seasons, including stops at Auburn, USC, Georgia Tech, and a final collegiate season at Texas Tech in 2025. During his time with the Red Raiders, Height emerged with a breakout campaign, recording 10.0 sacks in 14 games while lining up opposite edge rusher and No. 2 overall pick David Bailey.
After a year in which the 49ers fielded what was widely regarded as one of the NFL’s weakest pass pressures, the organization acted with intent to bolster their edge presence. They addressed the position with a higher-than-expected appetite for improvement, adding Height to a room that already includes Williams and Bosa as they seek to sustain a more dangerous and persistent pass rush. This strategic move signals the franchise’s ongoing commitment to developing Williams while layering in additional talent to enhance their front seven and pressure opponents more consistently.