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Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes compared first-round pick Tyleik Williams to another Lions defensive tackle, Alim McNeill. Williams' old position coach at Ohio State, Larry Johnson, went a step further.
Johnson, in a conference call April 25 with Detroit reporters, said Williams' movement skills at 6 feet 3 and 334 pounds remind him of future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Aaron Donald, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year who played the position at nearly 50 pounds lighter.
"Don't get me wrong, I’m not saying he's Aaron Donald," Johnson said. "But his movements skills, to be able to change direction. Aaron Donald is really good at going what we call jab away, inside, outside, and then he (can) go power.
"I think Tyleik has the same kind of movement because he can go power, he can go finesse given the opportunity."
More: Tyleik Williams: Meet Detroit Lions' first-round pick in 2025 NFL Draft
Williams earned third-team All-Big Ten last season, making 46 tackles in 13 games while helping Ohio State win the national championship. He had 2.5 sacks last year and 11.5 for his career, including a career-high five as a freshman in 2021.
Johnson said he saw tremendous development in Williams as a run defender during his four seasons at Ohio State and like Holmes, said he sees untapped potential in Williams as a pass rusher.
"Two things that jump right off the bat is his initial quickness off the ball and for a big guy to be able to bend and turn corners like he does, it's just unprecedented," Johnson said. "You just don't do that very easily. And that's the thing about him.
"And I think the thing that separates Tyleik (from) anybody else is football IQ. He's really brilliant at picking up things, picking up technique, picking up signals from the line of scrimmage and I think that's his advantage. He's really smart and he studied videotape and it makes him really separate himself from most guys I’ve coached."
The 28th pick of the draft, Williams traveled to Lions headquarters for his introductory news conference April 25. He met Lions coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes. He posed for pictures with his family, including his mother, Gloria. And he said he still was coming down from a whirlwind 12 hours that saw him go earlier in the draft than many projected.
Williams hosted a small draft party for family April 24, and had a bigger event planned that he was flying back on Day 2 of the draft.
"For me it's just been a mix of emotions, crying to being happy and just spending the time with my family for real, and friends who've been by my side this whole journey," Williams said. "It's really how I wanted to spend it, the people who came up with me and a great feeling."
Williams, a native of Virginia, joked that he spent his four years at Ohio State learning to hate Michigan and is mostly ready for a fresh start now that he's in Detroit.
"Of course I'm still Team Up North," he said. "I'm still not going to say (Michigan), but I'm just happy I'm here. A great opportunity to go help a team and just go win. That's really all I'm looking for."
The Lions are counting on Williams to play at least a rotational role on their defensive line this fall. He'll help cover for the absence of McNeill early in the season while McNeill is recovering from a torn ACL, and he should push D.J. Reader and Levin Onwuzurike for a starting job in time.
Both Reader and Onwuzurike are in the last year of their contracts.
Williams said he hopes to have a similar first-year impact with the Lions like he did at Ohio State
"I think you got to hit the ground running and just prove to your teammates, gain that trust that you're going to do your job and they don't have to worry about you messing up or off-the-field issues," he said.
And while some wonder if the Lions reached to fill a positional need late in Round 1, Williams said the Buffalo Bills, who picked two spots after the Lions, showed similar interest in drafting him.
The Bills took Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston, a West Bloomfield product, at No. 30.
"It's kind of the same conversation I was having with the Lions," Williams said. "They kind of told me if I was there, they wanted me. I had talks with the head coach, the D-line coach. They said they love my game how I played, but it definitely was a possibility."
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Forget Alim McNeill, OSU coach compares Tyleik Williams to All-Pro DT
Continue reading...
Johnson, in a conference call April 25 with Detroit reporters, said Williams' movement skills at 6 feet 3 and 334 pounds remind him of future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Aaron Donald, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year who played the position at nearly 50 pounds lighter.
"Don't get me wrong, I’m not saying he's Aaron Donald," Johnson said. "But his movements skills, to be able to change direction. Aaron Donald is really good at going what we call jab away, inside, outside, and then he (can) go power.
"I think Tyleik has the same kind of movement because he can go power, he can go finesse given the opportunity."
More: Tyleik Williams: Meet Detroit Lions' first-round pick in 2025 NFL Draft
Williams earned third-team All-Big Ten last season, making 46 tackles in 13 games while helping Ohio State win the national championship. He had 2.5 sacks last year and 11.5 for his career, including a career-high five as a freshman in 2021.
Johnson said he saw tremendous development in Williams as a run defender during his four seasons at Ohio State and like Holmes, said he sees untapped potential in Williams as a pass rusher.
"Two things that jump right off the bat is his initial quickness off the ball and for a big guy to be able to bend and turn corners like he does, it's just unprecedented," Johnson said. "You just don't do that very easily. And that's the thing about him.
"And I think the thing that separates Tyleik (from) anybody else is football IQ. He's really brilliant at picking up things, picking up technique, picking up signals from the line of scrimmage and I think that's his advantage. He's really smart and he studied videotape and it makes him really separate himself from most guys I’ve coached."
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The 28th pick of the draft, Williams traveled to Lions headquarters for his introductory news conference April 25. He met Lions coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes. He posed for pictures with his family, including his mother, Gloria. And he said he still was coming down from a whirlwind 12 hours that saw him go earlier in the draft than many projected.
Williams hosted a small draft party for family April 24, and had a bigger event planned that he was flying back on Day 2 of the draft.
"For me it's just been a mix of emotions, crying to being happy and just spending the time with my family for real, and friends who've been by my side this whole journey," Williams said. "It's really how I wanted to spend it, the people who came up with me and a great feeling."
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Williams, a native of Virginia, joked that he spent his four years at Ohio State learning to hate Michigan and is mostly ready for a fresh start now that he's in Detroit.
"Of course I'm still Team Up North," he said. "I'm still not going to say (Michigan), but I'm just happy I'm here. A great opportunity to go help a team and just go win. That's really all I'm looking for."
The Lions are counting on Williams to play at least a rotational role on their defensive line this fall. He'll help cover for the absence of McNeill early in the season while McNeill is recovering from a torn ACL, and he should push D.J. Reader and Levin Onwuzurike for a starting job in time.
Both Reader and Onwuzurike are in the last year of their contracts.
Williams said he hopes to have a similar first-year impact with the Lions like he did at Ohio State
"I think you got to hit the ground running and just prove to your teammates, gain that trust that you're going to do your job and they don't have to worry about you messing up or off-the-field issues," he said.
And while some wonder if the Lions reached to fill a positional need late in Round 1, Williams said the Buffalo Bills, who picked two spots after the Lions, showed similar interest in drafting him.
The Bills took Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston, a West Bloomfield product, at No. 30.
"It's kind of the same conversation I was having with the Lions," Williams said. "They kind of told me if I was there, they wanted me. I had talks with the head coach, the D-line coach. They said they love my game how I played, but it definitely was a possibility."
Dave Birkett is the author of the book, "Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Forget Alim McNeill, OSU coach compares Tyleik Williams to All-Pro DT
Continue reading...
