49ers surprisingly tried to trade up for Mykel Williams

The Sa Francisco 49ers came into the 2025 NFL Draft with a clear need on the defensive line. They needed an edge rusher who could grow with their team, make an instant impact, and help against both the run and the pass.

They wound up selecting DE Mykel Williams, an edge rusher from Georgia who should only continue to get better as his career matures.

The Niners wanted to return to their roots and get a player who could dominate the edges, likely influenced by the return of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and his love for the player. Additionally, defensive line coach Kris Kocurek viewed him as the best edge-setter in the draft. With such effusive praise, San Francisco must have liked Williams quite a bit, it seems.

Well, it certainly did.

According to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area, the 49ers attempted to trade up, likely to the No. 8 overall pick, to select Williams. Teams rebuffed their offers, but luckily for the Niners, Williams fell anyway.

It is not often that a team tries to trade up for a certain player, does not manage to actually trade up for him, yet somehow still gets him. For San Francisco, this is a best-case scenario, especially considering the other trades occurring in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Jacksonville Jaguars gave up their first-, second-, and a future first-round pick to move up to the second-overall pick with the Cleveland Browns, while the New York Giants gave up two third-round picks to re-enter the first round, and the Atlanta Falcons gave up a future first-round pick themselves to re-enter the first round.

For the Niners, that would have been important picks to give up when they needed to retool the roster.

Luckily for the 49ers, it all worked out in the end, and now it is up to Williams to prove that he was worthy of this praise.