One of the key aspects of the San Francisco 49ers‘ success this season is the development of their 2025 draft class. And more specifically, the defensive linemen from their 2025 draft class.
While the production from their top two picks, No. 11 overall Mykel Williams and No. 43 overall Alfred Collins, hasn’t been stellar, there was marked improvement from Week 1 to Week 2. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday in his press conference talked about how much better Williams and Collins were in their second game.
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“I think a lot,” Shanahan said. “You know, they did some good things in game one, but we saw even better in game two. Alfred got out there more, flashed a bunch. I see both of those guys just working the right way, made of the right stuff. Alfred’s been stringing together a lot of stuff, he’s been able to avoid injury. Mykel’s getting back and getting used to it and I thought it was a big improvement in Week 2.”
Williams in Week 1 posted one tackle, but he did make an impact on a handful of run plays that didn’t show up in the box score. In Week 2 he still made those peripheral plays, but he also racked up three quarterback pressures and notched four run stops according to Pro Football Focus.
Collins didn’t make much of an impact in the season opener, but that changed in Week 2 where he had a couple of tackles and recorded a QB hit after nicely splitting a double team.
It’s still not perfect, and the improvement will have to continue if Williams and Collins are going to reach the level the 49ers need them to reach to be Super Bowl contenders. However, the jump from Week 1 to 2 is a good sign that additional leaps could be coming where that duo is regularly making plays on a championship-caliber defensive line.
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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers rookie DL Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins already making strides