SANTA CLARA — In an era where pass rushers have become more sleeker, faster and more specialized, Mykel Williams has the opportunity to be a throwback.
That’s what the 49ers are hoping, anyway. At 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds at age 20, the No. 11 overall pick out of Georgia hopes to be on to bigger and better things.
Williams and his family arrived in Santa Clara Friday before selections began for Day 2 of the NFL Draft.
If the 49ers are extremely fortunate, Williams becomes a Reggie White/Michael Strahan type who is a force on every down, rather than someone who trots on to the field on third down to rush the passer or is removed on those downs to concentrate on setting an edge and funneling runners toward Fred Warner and Co.
“I take pride in that,” Williams said when meeting the media for the first time for a brief interview session and photo opportunity. “I want to be on the field every down. I feel like to be able to do that, they’ll take care of you when it’s time to take care of you so I want to be on the field as much as I can.”
The first order of business will be to build up Williams in that regard, because he was a rotational player at Georgia whose snap counts averaged in the 30s. Ideally, Williams climbs into the 50s and beyond as Nick Bosa does. That affords the 49ers the opportunity to have stout run/pass defenders on both edges, with Williams also having the versatility to rush inside against a guard if that’s the way defensive coordinator Robert Saleh wants to play it.
Part of the reason Williams’ snap counts were limited was a high ankle sprain that caused him to miss two games but was a factor throughout the season in terms of practice time. Coach Kyle Shanahan liked Williams’ tape even before learning about the injury. After he heard about it, he liked it even more.
“It’s awesome when you’ve got a guy that the more you watch him, the better he gets,” Shanahan said Thursday night.
Williams said sitting out to get more healthy was never a consideration.
“I didn’t think a whole lot about the decision,” Williams said. “If coaches told me I could play, then I was going to play. There was never a doubt. I wasn’t going to leave my guys out there. That’s my mindset about football and how I am. I love the game.”
Arriving with the reputation, in the 49ers eyes at least, of being the best edge-setter in college football, Williams looks forward to getting into the pass rush lab with Bosa and defensive line coach Kris Kocurek. Asked where he needs to polish his game, Williams said, `I’d probably say my pass rush plan. I’ve got the swipe, I’ve got the power but to be a better player in my opinion I’ve got to be more decisive rushing the passer.”
A high school wrestling background helped with Williams’ foundation.
“It helped me with my grip strength and my body control to where I can take on a block and still be stout in the run game,” Williams said.
Williams set foot in the 49ers locker room for the first time and talked with Robbie Beal Jr., a former Georgia teammate entering his third and as well as another new linemate whose name he didn’t want to say for fear of not pronouncing it correctly (Yetur Gross-Matos, perhaps?).
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“Being in that room when I’m hearing that call, hearing my people scream and celebrate, I was shedding tears,” Williams said. “That exact moment is what I think about. It was mor eimportant to me because I wanted to be around family. I can get more family at home versus Green Bay.”
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