By: Michael Higgins

School: Ohio State

Class: Senior

Position: IDL

HT: 6’3

WT: 327 lbs

Background: Tyleik Williams is a big, athletic interior defensive lineman. Tyleik Williams is from Manassas, Virginia and went to Unity Reed High School. Williams was a consensus 4-star recruit and a top-10 defensive tackle in the country. As a junior, he led his team to a Virginia Class 6 playoff appearance. He was selected as a First Team All-State pick, tallying 47 total tackles. Williams was selected to play in the Army All-American Game after his high school career concluded. Williams was recruited by all the top programs in the country. His commitment was wide open but closed quickly. He committed to Ohio State over Alabama, Michigan, and Penn State.

College: As a freshman in 2021, Williams earned Freshman All-American honors. He contributed 6.5 tackles for loss as a freshman to go with 16 tackles. In 2022, Williams had a statistically similar campaign. While not showing a large amount of improvement from his first to second seasons, he was still an Honorable Mention All-Big 10 Conference.

Strengths: Tyleik Williams excels as a run stuffing 1 tech. He has overwhelming strength in the phone booth to walk back offensive linemen, effectively collapsing the pocket from the interior. Williams uses his arms to keep offensive linemen within his grasp while also being out of reach for them to get a firm grip on him. He displaces and sheds blockers rather easily -- winning with both speed and technique consistently. Williams has extremely heavy hands that take a toll on offensive linemen. He wins with power and violence with his hands. He has a strong lower half to give him power on initial contact that is unmatched. Williams is an instinctive player against the run. He is able to follow the running backs movements from behind the line of scrimmage to fill the proper rushing lane.

Weaknesses: Williams’ biggest concern is his lack of consistent dominance. He has stretches where he shows why he is such a sought-after prospect, but he falls into droughts where he seemingly doesn’t leave an impact on the game. Williams does not have any real lateral quickness. If he is fooled close to the line of scrimmage by the ball carrier, he does not have a chance at recovering to make a play. Williams has a playstyle that would indicate he is a long person, but he actually has shorter arms relative to the position.

Conclusion: Tyleik Williams can be a nice player in a defensive line rotation on running plays and can even create some pressure as a pass rusher. He will not be a game wrecker as a pass rusher, but he holds his own. He can shut down the run game in between the tackles of he works on consistently winning with his technique and football IQ.

Scheme Fit: Base 4-3

Ideal Role: 1 tech

Best Team Fits: JAX, TEN, BUF

Player Comparison: Jordan Phillips

Player Grade: Round 2 (84.7)