Mykel Williams is back on the field, and the 49ers are already trying to figure out how quickly to turn him loose.
The former first-round pick made his 2026 debut after tearing his ACL to finish his rookie year, and San Francisco eased him in with 23 snaps - 36% of the defense’s workload. That was exactly the target, according to Kyle Shanahan, who said the team got what it wanted from the first game back.
"Yeah, that was our goal to get him around that area," Shanahan said of playing Williams just 23 snaps. "I thought he did a real good job.
It was a real good first game back. He didn't have any bad plays.”
Williams finished with two tackles and one pressure, per PFF, and Shanahan pointed to a couple of plays that stood out.
"He had two good plays of sniffing out a screen twice,” added Shanahan. “I thought he had a real good first step for him coming back."
For now, the bigger question is workload. In Week 5, Williams wasn’t used much in the inside role he can handle on pass-rushing downs, and he spent the game on early downs before coming off for sub-package football.
That usage stands out because in 2025 he aligned along the interior defensive line for 54 snaps, a 14% rate, and that’s where he had his best pass-rush work. The expectation is that San Francisco will start mixing him there more often.
There’s also a bigger roster picture developing around him. The 49ers are expected to get Nick Bosa back in the next week or two, and Williams should be moving closer to a full-time role over that same stretch.
That would give San Francisco two starters back in place, while rookie third-round pick Romello Height has been asked to handle a larger role during the absences. It’s been a heavy lift, but if Height can settle into a third-edge job and focus on passing downs, the experience he’s getting now could make him more useful.
Keion White gives the 49ers another option as a possible fourth man in the rotation. Right now, it’s still just a plan on paper. But if it all comes together, the edge-rusher group could be one of the team’s strengths by Week 10.
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