Your average 20-year-old doesn't typically have a pair of All-SEC Second Team selections, four bowl game starts, and a National Championship on their resume, but Georgia's Mykel Williams isn't exactly average. A physical specimen at 6'5" and 265 lbs, with arms reportedly in the 34-35 inch range, he's the kind of player in the vein of another ex-Bulldog, Travon Walker, who some will gravitate towards due to the high-end athletic traits and lineup versatility.
The statistical production and technical refinement (lack thereof in this case) won't exactly wow you with a guy like Williams, but he's someone who can do a lot of the thankless/dirty work upfront that can free things up for others up front. However, injuries have also cost him games in these last two seasons despite racking up just south of 1200 career defensive snaps per PFF. Certainly battle-tested, but what can NFL fans expect to see out of a guy like Williams immediately and in the coming years?
Player Bio
Name: Mykel Williams
Jersey: No. 13
Position: EDGE
School: Georgia
Class: Junior
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 265 lbs
Games Watched: vs. Mizzou (2023), vs. Texas (Regular Season and SEC Championship Game), and Notre Dame (Sugar Bowl) (2024)
Major Injury History: Williams underwent off-season foot surgery in 2023 and missed a handful of games in 2024 with a high ankle sprain.
Player Breakdown
Pass Rush Ability (10.75/15)
One fair criticism of Williams' body of work is that he's still a work in progress as a pass rusher. His "plan" isn't concrete beyond being a pure power guy, but that was a bit better by year's end in 2024. His size profile and usable strength combination are elite, but that can only get you so far. Things will eventually get to a good spot with Williams, but for now, he lacks the technical refinement that some other options in this draft possess, and that meant he wasn't exactly dominating his 1v1 assignments. Namely, inconsistent hand placement (he's a great hand fighter, in my opinion) and a lack of countermoves were my main stress points. As stated, it got a tad better this last season, but this will probably be a talking point for Williams throughout year one.
Williams' pressure rate and pass rush win rate numbers are nothing to write home about, but they are comparable to Jermaine Johnson of the Jets, which should give some optimism, given how his sophomore year went. Never mind the fact that he has such a natural length advantage, which should help right off the bat.
Explosiveness (9/10)
When lined up outside tackle, Williams can be very explosive off the line. Still, with a lack of a toolbox as a pass rusher, he wasn't able to always capitalize on some very advantageous looks in 1v1 situations. He also spent plenty of time on the interior as well, which didn't allow him to showcase as much as I would've liked. That said, he passed the explosion department eye test in both of the Texas games, and of course, those were his two best outright games.
On a side note, I'd love to know how comfortable he is running out of a four-point stance and how willing he'd be to do it more moving forward. I didn't see much of it, but he got out of his stance well in those plays.
First Step (9/10)
It's hard to say how much of this can be attributed to his foot or ankle injuries, but there were a handful of times when Williams was a tick or two too slow to get going off the snap. Luckily, this wasn't overtly alarming, as there were plenty of times I thought Williams got off the ball with a very good first step. Being able to jet off the LOS and engage early with those long arms certainly made him a handful to deal with, even with some of the lack of Williams' pass rush refinement.
Bend (8/10)
Not that Williams' ability to bend around tackles is elite compared to someone like Abdul Cater, but for a guy his size, I'd call it fairly impressive. Here are some good examples of that when Williams took on Kelvin Banks in October.
Hand Usage (8.5/10)
Williams has super quick hands, and by the time I finished the film, I thought his hand-fighting ability was excellent. The only thing I'd note is that his hand placement needs to be more consistent to maximize his power output in certain situations, but I imagine that'll get ironed out sooner or later.
Motor (10/10)
Williams's motor and fight while dealing with the ankle injury in 2024 are probably the biggest reasons I'm a fan of his. He always showed plus effort in backside pursuit, always tried to get his hand up in passing lanes, and played tough, knowing full well he'd be doing a lot of the dirty work, freeing things up for his teammates like Jalon Walker. I can't say I'd worry about how badly he wants it.
Tackling (9.5/10)
There were a couple of missed tackles that popped up for Williams, but his wrap-up ability is great, which should come as no surprise, given his wingspan. Also, for those keeping track, over a third of his 67 career tackles are for a loss. Do with that information what you will.
Strength at the LOS (9.75/10)
Look no further than this play if you want to know how strong a human being Mykel Williams is.
Giving up maybe a blade of grass or two, standing your ground on a duo block, and effectively blowing the play up without ever crossing the line of scrimmage is comical. Williams put many other plays on tape that can bring you to the same conclusion, but that was simply insane.
Run Defense (9.75/10)
I'd be hard-pressed to think of any better run-defending edge guys in this class than Williams. He's a super tough guy to out-power at the point of attack, and he can collapse instantly or even get into the backfield to stop some of these wider/zone run looks before they can ever get going. Knowing you can throw a guy like Williams out there on run-downs as a rookie and he'll be a plus contributor should go a long way.
Versatility (4.5/5)
A lot of the appeal in someone like Williams is that he can play in any front and multiple spots on said fronts. He lined up everywhere from 2-7 tech as a pass rusher and run defender, with a fair amount of success across most of those spots. I'd be interested to see how much he'd be playing inside tackle in the NFL, but I have no reason to believe he couldn't be an effective player 4i/3 tech in certain looks. Williams also had a handful of off-ball snaps, but I don't foresee that being a part of his NFL responsibilities.
Player Summary
The Travon Walker comparisons that Williams has received do carry weight beyond the uniform and helmet the two players wore in college. Still, while I wasn't much of a Walker guy in 2022, I am in on Williams. He's a better all-around athlete than Walker was, and he shares a lot of the same plus-traits Walker did coming out of Georgia (Most notably being powerful at the point of attack, elite run defender, and exception length usage). I wouldn't fault anyone in the top 10 for passing on him due to the lack of production, but this league has repeatedly told us they value high-end athletic traits over the years. Add that in with the elite run defense and lineup versatility; I would be floored if Williams fell beyond the Falcons at 15 (If he does, bet EVERYTHING you own on the Packers trading up and getting him. Brian Gutekunst lives for prospects like him).
In the best-case scenario, Williams lands with a team where he isn't the focal point of the pass rush unit right away, is patient with his development, and understands his best football is way ahead of him. He's probably not going to be a DROY contender, and that's perfectly fine. He will do a lot of the dirty work up front while getting valuable NFL reps in and honing his craft in the pass rush department. Williams has yet to turn 21 years old, and his base to enter the NFL is still very good, even with some downsides. Here's to hoping he can hit his full potential.
Rookie Projections: Quality Contributor
Third-Year Projection: Pro Bowl Caliber EDGE
Final Grade (88.75/100): Mid-First Round Talent
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