One Ohio State Buckeyes 2025 NFL Draft prospect now quite the polarizing player as analysts continue to disagree on his skills
The Ohio State Buckeyes are sending quite the class of prospects to the 2025 NFL Draft this spring coming off their national championship victory. What's strange is that several of those highly touted prospects are quite polarizing in terms of the projected range that they should be selected in the draft.One of the best examples […]
The Ohio State Buckeyes are sending quite the class of prospects to the 2025 NFL Draft this spring coming off their national championship victory. What's strange is that several of those highly touted prospects are quite polarizing in terms of the projected range that they should be selected in the draft.
One of the best examples of this seems to be Tyleik Williams, the massive mountain of a man at defensive tackle. Most prospects expected to go inside the Top 50 see their NFL Draft stocks stabilize by mid-February. Not the case with Williams. Analysts still disagree, as you can see his projected draft position fluttering between picks 31 and 49 in the image below.
Our team here at A to Z Sports has Tyleik Williams' projection all over the place as well. Our team ranks him as high as the fifth defensive tackle in the class (likely first round pick) and as low as 10th at the position (potential round three or later prospect).
So, which kind of player is Williams? A first round pick? Or a mid-round talent overhyped because he played at Ohio State?
Two of our NFL Draft analysts took a dive into Williams, making the case for him as an early round hit or potential bust. Jon Helmkamp (who covers the Oregon Ducks) made the case for Williams as a strong early round pick. Travis May (our college football managing editor) believes Williams might be considered a bust if he's drafted too highly.
Case for Tyleik Williams as early NFL Draft pick
If you’re drafting a defensive lineman in the first round, you’re typically looking for someone that’s going to get after the quarterback. Understandably so—think of it like a game of chess. The other team’s quarterback is their king. They’re doing everything they can to protect him, and your job is to break down that protection.
There’s multiple ways to go about it. Tyleik Williams, the big 330-pound defensive tackle out of Ohio State, is not your speed-rushing bishop that is going to slash all the way across the chess board like some of the edge rushers in this class. He’s not the queen, capable of doing anything on the board. Williams, with his elite ability to stuff the run, shed blockers, and his solid technique for absorbing double teams, is more like the knight — he’s at his best in short areas.
A defensive line needs all types of pieces to put together an effective attack. Opposing offensive lines that have to deal with speedy edge rushers, versatile three-tech defensive tackles, and strong anchors along the interior have their hands full. While Williams doesn’t have elite pass rush upside, he has the traits to fit a very valuable role in limiting the run, and freeing up more versatile pieces to get to the king.
Case for Tyleik Williams as an early round NFL Draft bust
Tyleik Williams certainly defended the run well against the vast majority of teams when he was starring for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Surprisingly he actually began his career struggling a bit in run defense, showing more flash in pass rush, but as his understanding of proper leverage and technique improved he became one of the best run stoppers in the nation. Albeit while he also somehow regressed completely as a pass rusher.
Unfortunately, when Williams faced the true top talents in the nation he struggled to make a significant difference consistently, even against the run. Just check out some of his reps against Armand Membou of Missouri (projected first round pick this year) in the 2023 Cotton Bowl. It's not pretty.
Williams logged just one pass rush pressure in the Cotton Bowl against Missouri and three rather inconsequential tackles. He managed just three total sacks in the last three years against power conference competition. Williams ranked outside the Top 150 defensive tackles last season in both pass rush pressure and havoc rates.
While Williams does "push the pile" on most snaps, forcing offensive lines to account for his size, strength, and leverage in short yardage situations or the run game, he doesn't profile like a real difference maker at the NFL level. He's a talented athlete who moves better than he should for his 330-pound size, so he's certainly worth a mid-round pick. If he goes anywhere near the first round that's likely a mistake.
We'll be back with more Ohio State Buckeyes coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you want to see some of the best highlights from Tyleik Williams' Ohio State career just check out the video below!
