The San Francisco 49ers find themselves in a territory they've become all too familiar with over the last few seasons.
Their once-dominant defense is now without two cornerstone stars in Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, players who have long embodied the team’s identity. With their absence looming large ahead of a primetime Sunday Night Football showdown against the Atlanta Falcons’ second-ranked offense, San Francisco will need someone else to step to the forefront.
At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, Mykel Williams looks every bit the part of an NFL game-wrecker.
Selected 11th overall last April, he's started all six games to open his career. And while the stat sheet hasn’t yet exploded --13 pressures and a sack through six weeks -- the tape paints a much more promising picture.
Williams notched his first NFL sack last week against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a play that showcased everything that made him a first-rounder: violent hands, controlled burst, and the ability to flatten to the quarterback. It was a flash of what could become far more frequent -- and the 49ers will desperately need more of it in Week 7.
Because if San Francisco wants to disrupt Michael Penix Jr. and the Falcons’ offense, they’ll need to do it up front.
Penix has been sacked just seven times across five games, thanks to a lightning-quick release and an offensive structure designed to stay on schedule from offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.
Atlanta's signal-caller is surgical when allowed to operate in rhythm, particularly when pushing the ball downfield to his WR1 in Drake London, who has totaled 34 receptions for 427 yards and two scores.
Long story short, if Penix gets comfortable, it could quickly turn into a shootout San Francisco isn’t equipped to win.
That’s where Williams comes in.
Even if his raw numbers aren’t eye-popping yet, his versatility has already proven valuable. He’s been deployed up and down the defensive front -- rushing from wide-9 alignments, sliding inside on passing downs, and even anchoring the edge against the run. His 13 tackles, four of which have come behind the line of scrimmage, speak to a player who is not just chasing sacks but consistently affecting plays in the backfield.
As a whole, the 49ers’ pass rush without Bosa has been inconsistent, and their secondary has felt the ripple effects where they've now gone 13 straight games without an interception.
Yes, 13.
The best way to break that streak? Force Penix into hurried decisions. Collapse the pocket. Take away his ability to set his feet.
The Georgia product in Williams has the tools to do exactly that.
In a game where stars are missing and margins are thin, impact doesn’t always come from the stat sheet -- it comes from disruption. If Williams builds on last week’s breakthrough, he may be the player who flips Week 7 on its head, puts Penix on his backside, and keeps San Francisco’s season on track.