Okay, so Kyle Shanahan dropped a major bomb this week: Mykel Williams is a long shot, probably out, for the regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. It’s not a shocker, honestly, after he shredded his ACL back in Week 9 last November against the New York Giants. But hearing Shanahan confirm that our first-round pick from last year won’t be ready when we face our division rivals in Melbourne, Australia? That stings.
The “Long Shot” Reality And A Defensive Line Dilemma
Shanahan was blunt on Tuesday, saying Williams is “further away than those other guys you guys just asked about, but we do think he’s close.” He kept it real, adding, “I do think Week 1 would be a long shot, but we haven’t ruled it out yet. But, he’s progressing very well.” Yeah, “progressing very well” is great, but “long shot for Week 1” means we’re down a crucial piece right out of the gate. Without Williams, our defensive end depth chart behind Nick Bosa looks sparse, and let’s not forget Bosa himself is coming back from a serious knee injury. Someone needs to step up big time to grab one of those starting defensive end spots. The current thinking is Keion White or Sam Okuayinonu might handle base downs, with rookie Romello Height coming in on true pass-rushing downs. But to actually have confidence in that plan, the team absolutely needs to see a whole lot more from Height.
Romello Height’s Chance To Prove He’s The Real Deal
On paper, Height checks every single box for a dominant pass rusher. This dude excelled in every drill measuring explosiveness during pre-draft testing. He looked like exactly what we needed! But then his preseason debut happened. Oof. Height showed little of that explosiveness, his impact was minimal, and he was totally outshone by other rookies up front, specifically defensive tackles Gracen Halton and Bryson Eason. That’s a brutal reality check, right? Now, sure, life gets way easier for everyone on the D-line when Nick Bosa is out there. That man can collapse a pocket single-handedly and draws attention from multiple blockers every snap. Height can definitely hope to profit from the absolute chaos Bosa creates in the regular season. But we can’t just cross our fingers and rely solely on Bosa and an “improved interior pass rush” to carry the load. We need more, a lot more, from our other edge rushers, including Height. And with Williams’ full fitness not exactly “imminent,” the pressure is officially cranked way up.
Height has to display that pass-rushing promise now. We play our second preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday, and it’s a huge opportunity. If he steps up and shows us what he’s truly capable of, then maybe, just maybe, we can feel a little better about our options on a depleted defensive front. This game is absolutely massive for him.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply