Defensive end Mykel Williams and the 49ers take the field before their 26-23 win in overtime over the Rams on Oct. 2, 2025, in Inglewood (Los Angeles County). Williams played four more games before his rookie season was shortened by a knee injury.
Defensive end Mykel Williams and the 49ers take the field before their 26-23 win in overtime over the Rams on Oct. 2, 2025, in Inglewood (Los Angeles County). Williams played four more games before his rookie season was shortened by a knee injury.
Mykel Williams knows how tough life has been for the San Francisco 49ers defensive line to start the season. Random bodies have rolled into Wednesday practices. Mid-round rookies have gotten starter-level snaps. Former practice squadders are playing critical downs.
That led to Williams seemingly letting out a Freudian slip when asked how hard it has been to sit and watch his unit over the 49ers’ first four games.
“Yeah, just knowing how bad we are — not bad, but like …”
“Banged up?” A reporter interjected.
“Yeah, how banged up we are. Great (choice of) words,” Williams said with a smile. “It’s been killing me just watching it. … I’m just ready to get back on the field.”
Since Nick Bosa suffered a calf injury ahead of the Week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco’s starting defensive line has consisted of a third-round rookie (Romello Height), a fourth-round rookie (Gracen Halton), a veteran whom the 49ers acquired for a sixth-round pick at last season’s trade deadline (Keion White) and Osa Odighizuwa. Behind them is a cast of warm bodies, the majority of whom were not with the team during training camp.
Considering that, the 49ers have actually held up pretty well up front. They failed to sack Broncos quarterback Bo Nix on Sunday, but the defense surrendered just 14 points and 296 yards of total offense.
This week, against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks, however, the 49ers defense will be in a bit more trouble if it fails to generate pressure. Enter Williams, a 2025 first-round pick who says he feels much more confident than he did as a rookie, when he recorded just 20 tackles and one sack in nine games.
“I wasn’t happy with what I did,” Williams said of his rookie season, which got cut short when he tore his ACL on Nov. 2 against the New York Giants, “because I know the type of player I am. I don’t think I represented myself well on tape.”
Williams, who was limited in Wednesday’s practice, hopes to have some new tape after this week.
Listed at 6-foot-5, 267 pounds, Williams is primarily known as a run-stuffing, edge-setting defender, not as someone who wreaks havoc on quarterbacks. He totaled 14 sacks in three seasons at Georgia. One of the knocks listed on Williams’ NFL.com scouting report: “Pass rush approach is currently underdeveloped.” Williams noted some of the aspects he wanted to improve on after watching his rookie season on video: “It’s a lot of stuff, from get-off to pad level to hand usage to having a rush plan.”
Niners defensive coordinator Raheem Morris believes Williams has immense versatility in his defensive scheme. Williams’ body type allows him to line up along the edge or on the interior, depending on the package, he said.
“He can play anywhere,” Morris said. “He can run, he’s big, he’s physical, he’s fast, he can move inside, he can rush the passer. He provides a lot of opportunity and things for us to move forward and get better and better at.”
Another focus for Williams during his recovery: getting leaner. He did not specify his current weight but said he began taking his diet more seriously after the injury. To reach his desired weight, though, Williams had to make some tough sacrifices. He gave up peach cobbler — his favorite craving when he has a sweet tooth — in addition to ice cream, in favor of protein shakes.
There were plenty of “road bumps” during Williams’ 11-month recovery. It was a “long journey.” And even though Williams knows the 49ers have an important game on Sunday, he doesn’t care who the opponent is. He’s just itching to get back out there.
“It could have been anybody,” Williams said. “I’m excited to play ball, bro. I miss playing ball. Been like damn near a year since I played, so I just want to get back on the field.”
Oct 7, 2026
Who they are
Harrison Rich is the San Francisco Chronicle football trending reporter. Previously, he was a sports intern at the Chronicle. He recently graduated from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, where he was a sports editor at the Diamondback, the student newspaper, and a men’s basketball beat writer. He’s written for the Washington Post’s high school sports desk, Sports Business Journal and 247Sports, among other outlets. Rich is a native of Long Island, New York, and is excited to spend some time on the West Coast.
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A tourist and his son observing the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Feb. 16, 2026.