The 2025 NFL Draft class has been correctly described as lacking blue-chip talent. While there are intriguing athletes who profile as starters or even impact bodies, there's a lack of certainty with most guys being considered in the top 15. That's unusual.

Georgia pass rusher Mykel Williams is among the most controversial prospects in the class.

Williams is fighting a top-heavy class of peers, and where exactly he stands remains a bit of a question. There are split opinions out there, including on the A to Z Sports staff.

NFL Draft analyst Travis May remains a bit lower on Williams, having him currently ranked as his No. 7 pass rusher in the class. I, in comparison, have him pegged as the No. 3 edge of the group. Here is a case for both sides. 

Case For Mykel Williams NFL Draft Outlook

You never want to judge a player on how they look on paper, but Williams checks a ton of boxes based on pedigree. He looks the part of a very good, NFL-ready athlete and earned All-SEC honors all three seasons he was in school despite never playing more than 407 snaps in a single year. His production was remarkably consistent over that timeframe as well.

There's a negative way to take that, which Travis will hit on, but his career at Georgia very well may be the least-productive stretch of his life. He wasn't available or on the field enough to truly break out.

That said, his best snaps show a freakish mover. Blending elite size, good speed, great contact balance, and discipline in the run game, Williams looks more like a high-floor player who can contribute as soon as he arrives at his franchise. 

The best case for Williams is predicated on that athleticism. The tape is so impressive when he works around blockers or converts speed to power, and it's hard to imagine someone so clearly in the successful NFL mold of the position not at least being a solid No. 2 option.

Case Against Mykel Williams NFL Draft Outlook

Williams has the prototypical physical build of a first-round pick at defensive. He's 6'5", 260 pounds, with long arms. He went to Georgia, which has typically been a good indicator of future NFL success, given how Kirby Smart and his defensive staff develop players. He may be very good in the NFL one day.

However, there are certainly some questions with Mykel Williams that most in the NFL Draft community simply are not addressing considering how "chalk" it is for him to be selected in the early first round.

Williams' career pass rush pressure rate is barely above 10%. The average college football defensive end reaches 9 or 10% pressure rate every single year. Typical first-round prospects at the defensive end almost always post pressure rates above 12%, and usually, their peak pressure years come in above 16%. Williams was never that consistent in bringing pressure.

Williams also has struggled with missing tackles throughout his career (over 16% of the time last year, according to PFF) and has never logged more than six sacks in a season, despite all of his hype. Yes, the injuries he was playing through last season impacted his performance at times, but Williams just never put it all together with an elite showing. 

There's much more projection with him, which is why he likely belongs in the second round as opposed to the early first of the 2025 NFL Draft.