Kyle Shanahan Evaluates 49ers Rookie Mykel Williams' Season

“I'm really happy with Mykel. I would do the exact same thing over again. I just hurt for him," said Shanahan. "I was loving watching him battle through all this stuff. He battled to get back in the season after an injury in training camp. He's been playing a long time since then. You know, I thought he was a guy who kind of needed a Bye Week more than anyone.

"So, I'm just really disappointed that he is not able to really continue developing through this year because I believe we got a hell of a player who's going to really figure this out in the run game and the pass game. He still will, but I hurt for him that he isn't going to do that over the next half of this year.”

Shanahan's "bye week" comments are intriguing. This isn't far off from when they had Drake Jackson in 2022 as a rookie. The 49ers thought he wore down as the season went on.

Now, it's Williams who seems to have suffered from that. It doesn't mean it had anything to do with his torn ACL. MetLife Stadium is fully to blame for its cursed history.

But it does show how taxing playing defensive lineman is. It only got worse for Williams when Nick Bosa was lost for the season, and it probably increased with Bryce Huff currently out.

Nevertheless, Shanahan liked what he saw from Williams this season. It's hard not to. He came in and immediately improved the run defense. His pass rush has a lot to be desired, but that was expected.

This year was the chance for him to take his lumps and improve that skill. Unfortunately, he's got a long recovery ahead before he can pick up where he left off.

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