Scouting Profile: Tyleik Williams - IDL - Ohio State
Sales Pitch: Big bodied interior lineman who is stout at the point of attack. Never fully realized his pass rush potential but brings a high floor on early downs.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Tyleik Williams is a former 4-Star recruit from Virginia. He was an instant contributor for the Buckeyes and logged significant snaps in all four seasons. Williams received All-Big 10 honors every year of his collegiate career, with All-American honors in 2023.
Williams is a hulking defender with massive frame and long arms. He is surprisingly nimble for a player of his size with the foot quickness to dance around blockers. Williams game starts and ends with his run defense. He is a powerful defender who is difficult to move off his spot. He is able to drop his weight and hold up at the point of attack versus double teams with ease. He also has the quickness to match angles on zone concepts and leverage his gap while on the move. Williams is a fit in both single or two gap run schemes due to his excellent block shed ability. He has strong hands to control blockers with high level run game awareness to shed them and tackle the ball carrier. William’s isn’t the fastest player, but his agility and effort make him a capable pursuit player crashing down the line. The pass rush production never came for Williams, but he can generate pressure with power versus small centers. He is also able to quickly win on non true pass set reps where the line is quasi-run blocking, due to his quickness and block shed ability.
Williams is a fantastic run defender but has made a minimal impact as a pass rusher. He was at his best in his freshman year logging 6 sacks. but his performance has declined ever since, with his 7% win rate in 2024 (a career low) falling below half the number he posted in 2021. Williams is a bigger player with below average burst. He is delayed out of his stance which limits his ability to win with speed, and hurts his ability to generate power. He also lacks the bend to turn the corner and finish his wins even when he gets them. Williams ability to discard blockers in the run game doesn’t translate to rushing the passer. He has a remedial set of moves and his hand placement is inconsistent at best. Ohio State often asked him to push the pocket and keep his lane integrity, as opposed to letting him loose. There is still a possibility of a higher pass rush celling in a different scheme, but even then it is likely average at best.
Williams profiles as an A-Gap IDL - despite playing mostly 3T in college - who is scheme and front versatile. While he never reached the pass rush ceiling scouts were hoping for, his early down floor makes him a valuable player. Players without pass rush upside don’t usually make it into the Top-32 but Williams should hear his name called fairly early Day-2 for his ability to change a teams run defense.