It was not exactly a surprise this week when Kyle Shanahan gave a pessimistic outlook regarding Mykel Williams’ status for the 49ers’ regular-season opener with the Los Angeles Rams.
Williams being ready for Week 1 always seemed unlikely after he tore his ACL in the Week 9 win over the New York Giants last November, and Shanahan confirmed last year’s first-round pick will probably not be involved when San Francisco faces its division rivals in Melbourne, Australia.
“He’s further away than those other
guys you guys just asked about, but we do think he’s close,” Shanahan said on Tuesday.
“I do think Week 1 would be a long shot, but we haven’t ruled it out yet. But, he’s progressing very well.”
With Williams seemingly out of the picture for Week 1, the 49ers’ depth chart at defensive end beyond Nick Bosa — himself coming back from a serious knee injury — looks sparse.
Somebody will need to step up to take Williams’ place as one of the two starting defensive ends. Right now, the most likely scenario would be that Keion White or Sam Okuayinonu play on base downs with rookie Romello Height coming in on true pass rushing downs.
But, for the 49ers to have confidence in such a plan, they will likely need to see more from Height.
On paper, Height checks all the boxes as a 49ers pass rusher, having excelled in all the drills that measure explosiveness during pre-draft testing.
But the third-round rookie showed little of that explosiveness in his preseason debut for the 49ers, with his impact minimal as he was outshone by other rookies up front in the form of defensive tackles Gracen Halton and Bryson Eason.
Of course, life for the other members of the defensive line becomes a lot easier when Bosa is on the field because of his ability to collapse the pocket often single-handedly and draw attention from multiple pass protectors.
As such, Height can afford to have hope of profiting from the disruption Bosa can cause in the regular season.
Still, the 49ers cannot solely rely on Bosa and a hopefully improved interior pass rush to boost their fortunes rushing the passer. They need more contributions from their other edge rushers, including Height and Williams when he gets healthy.
Williams returning to full fitness is not imminent. There is, therefore, increased pressure on Height to display his pass-rushing promise as the 49ers play their second preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday. Should he do so, then the Niners will be able to feel a little better about their options on a depleted defensive front.
