Unpacking Future Packers: No. 7, Georgia DE Mykel Williams
The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects who the Green Bay Packers could select in the 2025 NFL draft.
Since 2021, Brian Gutekunst has drafted four Georgia Bulldogs defensive players, with three of those picks happening in the first round.
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If Gutekunst targets another Bulldog defender in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft for the Green Bay Packers, a potential target is Mykel Williams. The Georgia defensive end checks in at No. 7 in the Unpacking Future Packers Countdown.
A five-star recruit and a Georgia native, Williams recorded 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks during his first season with the Bulldogs. In 2023, Williams posted identical numbers.
This past season, Williams battled through an ankle injury and was sidelined for two games. He finished the season with 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.
At 6-5, 260 pounds with 34-inch arms, Williams looks the part of an NFL edge rusher. He's a ready-made run defender and can hold a firm edge. He possesses tremendous length and uses that to maintain separation from offensive tackles who try to block him. He's very alert and appears to enjoy the physical side of the game. The former five-star recruit has good open-field burst to track down the football. He has a large tackle radius and was tagged with nine career missed tackles.
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"He utilizes his length and initial quickness to win in multiple ways as a run stopper, from stacking and shedding, to slipping inside offensive linemen," Devin Jackson, an NFL Draft writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, said. "Williams is a brawler as a run defender, embracing contact at the line of scrimmage, using full extension to create physical separation between he and opposing offensive linemen. He knows how to collapse offensive linemen to close down holes in the run game and willing to go through their chest."
Williams needs to develop a more detailed pass rush plan. He got by at the collegiate level by letting his long arms and power do the work with no backup or counter plans. He wants to jackhammer his way through offensive tackles. When he wins the corner, he closes quickly with his long strides. To go along with his power, Williams has good initial quickness of the snap and converts speed to power.
"Right now, it's all athlete for Williams, and he showcases some potential as a speed-to-power rusher," Jackson said. "A decent amount of his pass rush reps came as a reduced inside pass rusher where he doesn't have nearly the lateral quickness to be a two-way go type of pass rusher, but on the edge, he's looking to go through offensive tackles and occasionally works an inside spin move."
Fit with the Packers
Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness are slated to be the starting defensive ends for Jeff Hafley's crew when the season opens up in September.
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The hope is Gary enjoys a bounce-back season and that Van Ness, the 2023 first-round pick, enjoys a breakout season during his third year in the league.
Even if both of those things happen, the Packers could stand to add talent to that room. If Williams slides to the Packers in the first round, his talent and upside may be hard to pass up.
"I would take Williams because the floor is an elite run defender, but if he can find a go-to pass rush move that he can win with consistently, you're getting a high-ceiling edge rusher," Jackson said. "He fought through injury in his final season at Georgia and the sky is the limit for his potential, so long as he can become a more efficient pass rusher."
Williams checks the boxes with his length, movement skills, and age (21 in June). He can step in and provide an immediate impact against the run and has the tools to develop into an impactful pass rusher.
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A team can never have enough talented defensive linemen. Williams has a safe floor as a run defender. If he can develop more of a pass rush plan, he could quickly become an impactful three-down player who could have teams kicking themselves for passing on him. If he is on the board when the Packers are on the clock, don't be shocked if Gutekunst adds yet another Bulldog defensive player.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Unpacking Future Packers: No. 7, Georgia DE Mykel Williams
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