In a two-round mock draft, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler added about 625 pounds to the Green Bay Packers’ defensive line.
Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (91) rushes at Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel at the Rose Bowl. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
GREEN BAY, Wis. – For the Green Bay Packers, the football season is over. The offseason is here, and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler rang it in with a two-round mock draft.
In the first round with the 23rd overall pick, he selected Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, who was third-team all-conference this season.
Entering this week’s national championship game against Notre Dame, Williams has 42 tackles, including 2.5 sacks and seven tackles for losses. A key performer all four seasons for the Buckeyes, he’s got 11.5 sacks and 26 tackles for losses during his career. He had 6.5 sacks as a freshman in 2021 and 10 TFLs in 2023.
A native of Manassas, Va., COVID wiped out his senior season of high school. So, in his words, he was “fat” at about 360 pounds when he arrived on campus.
“I was supposed to be around 320, but COVID got the best of me,” he said.
Based on OSU’s stopwatch, he has all-time great acceleration.
“You always saw his athleticism, like tremendously athletic, one of the better athletes we have on our team,” said Ohio State coach Ryan Day. “From 0 to 10 yards, he has one of our better times, and we have some really good athletes.”
The Buckeyes list him as 6-foot-3 and 327 pounds.
“The Packers’ defensive line was disappointing this season,” Brugler explained, “and the front office must balance the possibility of players already on the roster getting better against adding premium talent. If general manager Brian Gutekunst looks for an upgrade in the first round, Williams — and his disruptive nature — would make sense.”
In the second round, he stuck with the defensive line by taking Oregon edge defender Jordan Burch, who like Williams was third-team all-Big Ten this season.
For the Packers, Rashan Gary, Kingsley Enagbare, Lukas Van Ness and emerging Brenton Cox had solid seasons but there wasn’t a consistent force in the group, even though Gary earned his first Pro Bowl honors.
Most of the first-round draft order is complete. Here’s what you need to know about the #Packers.https://t.co/YiZpVTLVJc
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) January 15, 2025
Burch started his college career at South Carolina from 2020 through 2022 before transferring to Oregon for his final two seasons. He had a big-time final season with 8.5 sacks, 11 tackles for losses and six pass deflections to help the Ducks get to the playoffs.
“Growing up, offense was always the thing that people know from the other side of the country,” Burch said of his role on Oregon’s defense. “But I feel like this year we’ve got the coaches, the right players, for people to talk about both when they talk about Oregon. So, it’s a great feeling to be part of this team, and be able to make an impact.”
He had no sacks or TFLs, though, in the Big Ten championship game against Penn State and the playoff game against Ohio State.
“He proved that you can’t leave him on an island, one-on-one,” fellow defensive lineman Jamaree Caldwell said. “I know Penn State looked to the Ohio State game where, ‘OK, that’s somebody that could affect the quarterback every play.’ (In the Big Ten Championship) they were chipping him to get him off his game.
“That’s how electric he is, and how polished he is as a rusher.”
Added coach Dan Lamming: “He’s playing with great violence and he’s the kind of person that shouldn’t be blocked one-on-one.”
The South Carolina native was the state’s highest-rated prospect since Jadeveon Clowney.
He is listed at 6-foot-6 and 295 pounds.
