49ers DC Robert Saleh said first-round DE Mykel Williams has great footwork, while adding that he still has a long way to go in order to reach his potential.
“He’s got great feet,” Saleh said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “He’s kind of awkward because he’s long, he’s tall. He’s not a traditional three technique. He’s got great foot speed, strength, power, and length. It’s different for guards to go against a guy like him. He’s so good with his hands. He’s so good with his feet. He plays with great pad level, he’s got power. So, he’s a three-way player. He can run around you, he can run through you, he can counter, he’s showing all of it off.”
Williams has been used both from the edge and as a pass rusher from the inside.
“It’s hard to see in there, but his pass rush on the inside’s been fantastic,” Saleh said.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated provides his key takeaways from the Rams after attending their training camp:
The Seahawks’ offensive line struggled last season, allowing 54 sacks in total. Seattle OT Abraham Lucas said their offensive line is showing “purpose” to improve this offseason.
“It’s going to be different,” Lucas said, via Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic. “We’ve got to be different. We’ve got to be better. We’re our own hardest critics. People should hear what we say to each other in the film room and stuff. There’s purpose this year, and there’s extreme effort to change. So, we’re getting after it.”
Seahawks’ first-round OL Grey Zabel said he is learning that their offense wants to “run the damn ball” in 2025.
“Run the damn ball,” Zabel said. “That’s what I’ve learned. That’s what we’re going to hang our hat on this year. It starts up front, then you have to be able to move the line of scrimmage and protect the guy behind us, who’s slinging the rock pretty well right now.”
Seahawks TE Eric Saubert said their offense is making adjustments to disrupt opponents’ edge rushers.
“Defenses are all about containing the ball, but if you can stress defense on their edges and … get them to move and flow and create misdirection, you can set so many different things up in play-action,” Saubert said. “Receivers, they’re running to cut off a guy, and it looks just the same as certain routes we’re running. Violent football — if they’re worried about that, it’s going to set up a lot of other things for our playmakers to make plays.”
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