For the second time since he became the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach in 2017, Kyle Shanahan and his team followed up a Super Bowl appearance with a losing campaign and a last-place finish in the NFC West.
This offseason, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch did a lot of house-cleaning. One key addition was the return of Robert Saleh, who returns as the team’s defensive coordinator after three-plus seasons as the sideline leader of the troubled New York Jets. There was a major falloff on the defensive side of the ball for this club in 2024, and the hope is that a reunion with Saleh will get things back on track.
San Francisco took another very big step in that direction on Thursday night, taking a player in the first round of the NFL Draft that Saleh should know exactly what to do with.
Mykel Williams should make Nick Bosa more dangerous
With the first of 11 picks this year, and the No. 11 overall selection, Lynch opted for University of Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams. Obviously, that’s pretty positive news for not only star Nick Bosa, but his returning defensive coordinator as well.
“[Saleh] said this when we went through our draft meetings,” Lynch said (via Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area). “‘I think [Williams is] the best edge setter in college football. I think he’s the best edge setter in this draft class.’ If that’s the premise of one thing that’s a hallmark of what we want in an edge guy, he does it extremely well and I think that was impressive.”
Williams comes off a season with the Bulldogs in which he totaled 21 tackles, five sacks, five passes defensed and a pair of forced fumbles. There’s a lot of potential when it comes to the 6-foot-5, 260-pound prospect.
“An upside prospect with loads of traits,” explained NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. “Williams simply needs more snaps and more time to fill out his frame. 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.
The 49ers just handed Robert Saleh a defensive dream in Mykel Williams
For the second time since he became the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach in 2017, Kyle Shanahan and his team followed up a Super Bowl appearance with a losing campaign and a last-place finish in the NFC West.
This offseason, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch did a lot of house-cleaning. One key addition was the return of Robert Saleh, who returns as the team’s defensive coordinator after three-plus seasons as the sideline leader of the troubled New York Jets. There was a major falloff on the defensive side of the ball for this club in 2024, and the hope is that a reunion with Saleh will get things back on track.
San Francisco took another very big step in that direction on Thursday night, taking a player in the first round of the NFL Draft that Saleh should know exactly what to do with.
Mykel Williams should make Nick Bosa more dangerous
With the first of 11 picks this year, and the No. 11 overall selection, Lynch opted for University of Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams. Obviously, that’s pretty positive news for not only star Nick Bosa, but his returning defensive coordinator as well.
“[Saleh] said this when we went through our draft meetings,” Lynch said (via Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area). “‘I think [Williams is] the best edge setter in college football. I think he’s the best edge setter in this draft class.’ If that’s the premise of one thing that’s a hallmark of what we want in an edge guy, he does it extremely well and I think that was impressive.”
Williams comes off a season with the Bulldogs in which he totaled 21 tackles, five sacks, five passes defensed and a pair of forced fumbles. There’s a lot of potential when it comes to the 6-foot-5, 260-pound prospect.
“An upside prospect with loads of traits,” explained NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. “Williams simply needs more snaps and more time to fill out his frame. 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,” added Zierlein, “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.”
In his first stint in San Francisco, Saleh — along with defensive line coach Kris Kocurek — became renowned for his ability to develop edge talent, starting with Bosa but also including the likes of Arik Armstead, Arden Key and even lesser-known journymen like Kerry Ryder. Williams gives this duo an excellent foundation upon which to build, and that’s the kind of player that the Niners could use as they look to bounce back in 2025.