Georgia defender beat out by SEC phenom for top spot in 2025 NFL Draft rankings

ESPN's Field Yates recently revealed his preseason rankings for the top 25 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft pool, and in the No. 2 spot, he has Georgia edge-rusher Mykel Williams.

With the Bulldogs last season, Williams finished with 26 pressures, 18 tackles (6.5 for a loss), six sacks and two pass deflections in 13 games. Measuring in at 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, Yates shared how the young Georgia defender uses his size to his advantage.

"[Williams] blends rare power and length. Williams' ability to set the edge and lock out offensive tackles helps reduce the field width for the Georgia defense, and he can fire out of his stance as a pass rusher to cause havoc. Given Georgia's depth and scheme, he has not been asked as frequently to pin his ears back and just rush, so his nine career sacks through two seasons isn't too surprising."

Williams is entering his third season with the Bulldogs and it's clear that he's expected to make a big impact for the school as it attempts to win its third national championship in the last four years.

Despite his No. 2 ranking on Yates' list, Williams still has the potential to be the No. 1 pick in next year's NFL Draft. This will, obviously, just depend on how he performs for Georgia this season and which NFL team ends up with the top pick in the 2025 draft.

In his most recent 2025 NFL mock draft , Yates has Williams being selected with the fifth overall pick by the Washington Commanders. That would be a great landing spot for the Bulldogs defender, given the track record that current Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has had on the defensive side of the ball during his time in the NFL.

As for the only prospect who ranked higher than Williams on Yates' list? Well, that spot went to James Pearce Jr., a 20-year-old edge-rusher who is entering his third season at the University of Tennessee.

In 13 games for Tennessee last year, Pearce accumulated an impressive 47 pressures, 28 tackles (14.5 for a loss), 10 sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception that he returned 52 yards the other way for a touchdown.

Williams and Pearce are likely going to be compared to each other throughout the upcoming college season and during the predraft process next year if both choose to enter the 2025 NFL Draft.

Will Pearce maintain his standing as the top defensive prospect in college football this season, or will Williams take his performance to an even higher level and emerge as a better pro prospect than his Tennessee counterpart?