There have been plenty of occasions throughout Kyle Shanahan’s career where the San Francisco 49ers didn’t need to play a rookie right away. You could argue there were other times when the first-year player should have played from the get-go.
In Mykel Williams’s case, the only person stopping him from starting and playing from Day 1 is himself. The 49ers drafted Williams to be the catalyst in stopping the run. Judging by some of the quotes from the coaching staff this spring and his usage at Georgia, Williams will also be relied upon to be an interior presence against the pass rush.
Is that too much to ask of a soon-to-be 21-year-old? We’ll find out.
Basic Info
Age: 21 (his birthday is 6/29)
Experience: Rookie
Height: 6’5
Weight: 260 pounds
Cap Status
Williams has a cap number of $4.53 million as a rookie. His base salary is $840,000, and his signing bonus of $14.78 million comes to $3.69 million when prorated for 2025. The rookie wage scale is relatively straightforward, so these contracts are cut and dry and were intended to avoid holdouts. But don’t tell Cincinnati that.
Arik, part deaux?
Defensive line coach Kris Kocurek was asked whether Williams would be an edge rusher or an interior pass rusher, and his answer was “both.” Kocurek saw Williams get to the quarterback from outside and inside. He highlighted Williams’ versatility and compared him to players who have thrived in that role under his watch in previous years, including Arden Key, Charles Omenihu, and Arik Armstead.
The difference between the three mentioned above and Williams is there are no guessing games with Mykel. He did it at Georgia. Kocurek is confident that Williams’s learning curve won’t be as steep as others since he has experience playing up and down the line of scrimmage.
Fans often get hung up on measurables when comparing players, but it’s more about the role. Key weighed 238 pounds. Omenihu was 280. Armstead was over 290. They all played the same role. That’s what we’re focused on here. The role Mykel will play.
Robert Saleh’s hand was forced in 2020, prompting Armstead to move inside due to injuries to every defensive tackle being hurt. Armstead stuck with that role in 2021, where he played around the same number of snaps on the edge as he did at defensive tackle. That’s likely the role Williams will have as a rookie, and it makes even more sense after the team acquired Bryce Huff.
Huff’s speed will force opposing quarterbacks to stay or step up in the pocket. That helped Arik back in 2021 when he finished 11th among all interior defensive linemen in winning percentage and was third in sacks.
It’s ambitious to think a rookie can match that production, but the blueprint is there for Williams to excel as a rookie.
Good ain’t good enough
Kocurek was asked how Williams looked, and he said, “The first day, I would say, was good. But we explained to him that good’s not good enough. We need him to be elite in certain categories.”
Kocurek said he challenged Mykel to get to the football with effort after the first day, and Williams responded well in the ensuing practice. The 49ers want to instill in Williams’s brain how important playing with intent and purpose is.
It helps to have that Nick Bosa guy around to lean on for questions, habits, tidbits, and everything else imaginable. Earlier this week, Bosa said Williams has “a lot of eagerness to learn, more so than I have seen probably from a young guy. Just wants to learn as much as he can, and I’m excited to give all the knowledge I can to him. I think he’s got a ton of talent, so the sky’s the limit.”
Williams should get to the point of annoying Bosa because he’s bombarding the former Defensive Player of the Year with questions.
Bosa said he’s trying to put himself in Williams’ shoes: “I definitely don’t force anything. I just try to give him enough. If I put myself in his shoes as a rookie, what would have helped me, what would have been too much, what I would have tried to avoid? So, just get him focused on the right things. Things that will make him effective right away and things that I wish I knew as a rookie.”
Kocurek said Nick knows Mykel is watching him and called it a “good match” and said Williams is “like a sponge right now and wants to learn from one of the best in the game.”
Watching Williams at Georgia was somewhat confusing. There were multiple games where he didn’t start as a junior. However, he was on the field for every drive in the fourth quarter against C.J. Stroud and Ohio State as a true freshman in the Peach Bowl back in 2022. Williams would kick inside as a pass rusher, but Georgia didn’t have an edge rushing threat.
His usage may have clouded the appeal and perceived lack of athleticism. It certainly did for me. Then you find out he was playing on a bum ankle all year, and it all makes sense.
Williams didn’t practice during the mandatory minicamp this past week after Kyle Shanahan said he had “just a tight hamstring. We’re just being smart. Could go this week, but we’ll just hold him for training camp.”
There’s zero reason to put Williams on the field in June if he’s anything less than 100 percent. The 49ers don’t need their first-round pick going through his rookie season being nicked up. They need him at full strength because the depth behind him is questionable, at best.
That’s why good isn’t good enough from Mykel this season.