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Packers Set to Host Toolsy Georgia Defender
Georgia defensive lineman Mykel Williams (13) goes in for a sack on Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) during the second half of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Packers Set to Host Toolsy Georgia Defender

Originally posted on Green Bay Packers on SI
By Jacob Westendorf  |  Last updated Mar 28, 2025 4:32 PM ET

Is there anything in the world that Brian Gutekunst loves as much as he loves toolsy defenders from the University of Georgia?

Quay Walker, Javon Bullard, and Devonte Wyatt are all former Bulldogs that Gutekunst has spent premium picks on since 2022, and he could be looking back to Athens for his next first round pick.

Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network reported that the Green Bay Packers are set to host Williams on a predraft visit.

Williams certainly fits the mold of what the Packers have typically valued in their first-round picks.

There’s freakish athleticism all over his tape, and he measured in at 6’5 260 lbs with 34 3’8” arms. He will not turn 21 until this June.

His production levels have been higher than some of the players Gutekunst has taken in the first round.

For example, Lukas Van Ness was not a starter when the Packers took him 13th overall just two years ago.

Williams was productive, tallying five sacks, including a two separate multi-sack games against the Texas Longhorns.

He did all this despite playing his final season at Georgia with an ankle injury that limited him.

"I was injured the whole year, never healthy," Williams said to ESPN. "I was messed up pretty bad. It was extremely frustrating [with people] not knowing the full story.

"I decided to take the first two to three weeks [after the season] to rest my ankle and try to get it back under me. So that delayed my training, I got a late jump, and that's why I'm going pro day instead of combine."

The injury may have caused Williams to miss the Scouting Combine in February, but that wasn’t going to make him miss any games.

"I have a different type of grit about myself that I can push through pain Williams said, to ESPN. "No matter how I'm feeling, I can still get it done. The teams are loving that I did. They said most guys, in the position I was in, would have sat down."

Williams would later reveal that he felt like he played his last year at Georgia at less than 60 percent.

Considering he was not healthy, his production jumps off the page more, leading you to wonder what he could have done had he been able to be closer to 100 percent.

He had 21 tackles and nine TFL’s to go with his five sacks, while nursing the aforementioned injury.

He was one of the best players on a loaded Georgia defense that has become an NFL factory in recent years under Head Coach Kirby Smart.

Since 2022, when the Packers selected Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt in the first round, the Bulldogs have had 10 players picked n the first round, including the top selection in 2022 when the Jacksonville Jaguars took Travon Walker.

Williams has been compared to Walker in terms of play style, and is looking to follow in the footsteps of his former Georgia teammate, while also creating his own legacy.

“Travon is himself, I’m myself, but I’ve got to go out there and perform the same,” Williams said of comparisons to Walker.

“Travon was special because of how big he is (6-5, 272) and how fast he can move, very persistent, versatile, like myself …. I think that’s where the comparison comes from, but yeah, that’s what made us special.”

Based on Green Bay having enough interest to bring him in for a visit, perhaps the Packers would consider him when they are on the clock at pick 23 in the first round.

Williams is the third pass rusher the Packers have brought in that we know of during the predraft cycle.

Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart was the first that was reported, followed by Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr, both of whom visited earlier in March.

That should not come as a surprise. Brian Gutekunst told the world what he thought one of his team’s biggest needs was when the season ended.

He wants his defensive line to be able to get after the opposing team’s quarterback without defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley needing to send extra pressure.

"We've got to be able to get after the quarterback with four," Gutekunst said bluntly.

"We've got to affect the quarterback more with just four players. It needs to be able to control the game when we need to control the game and finish games off.”

Finishing those games off is going to be a big challenge within their own division.

They were 1-5 a season ago in division games, with Karl Brooks’ fingertip saving them from being shut out in the division.

Those teams have all gotten better this offseason.

The Minnesota Vikings loaded up on talent around first-time starting quarterback JJ McCarthy.

The Chicago Bears remade their offensive line in front of second year quarterback Caleb Williams who has new offensive whiz kid Ben Johnson at the controls as the team’s Head Coach.

Then there’s the Detroit Lions, who swept the division a season ago, and enter the season as one of the NFC’s prime contenders to get to the Super Bowl.

Getting pressure on quarterbacks McCarthy, Williams, and Jared Goff would help the Packers get back to a spot where they could win the NFC North, something they have not done since 2021.

Perhaps Williams will be the one when the Packers are on the clock in a little less than a month.


This article first appeared on Green Bay Packers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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