Before Mykel Williams was projected as a top-10 NFL Draft pick, before the sacks and becoming one of the most dominant defensive linemen in college football, he was just a teenager in Columbus, Georgia, chasing greatness in the yard with cones, hand guards, and his dad watching the clock.
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In many ways, Mykel wouldn’t be where he is today without his father, John Johnson’s, unwavering dedication to his son’s NFL dream. Mykel’s father has been his coach, motivator, and constant presence—even before the Georgia alum entered high school.
From early childhood, Mykel was put through an intense training regimen that included everything from late-night drill sessions to homemade workouts using cones and hand guards. John also taught him using film breakdowns found online. Simply put, John Johnson helped his son live the life of an NFL athlete from a very young age.
But Johnson wasn’t just a dad whose help and care were limited to his son’s career. When Mykel Williams suffered a potentially career-derailing patella strain during his sophomore year, it was John who kept him grounded.
“Injuries happen; trust the process,” he told his son—words that helped Mykel come back stronger and post two sacks in his first game back at Hardaway High.
While less is publicly known about Mykel’s mother, it’s clear that his upbringing was rooted in support and structure—the kind of home that fosters focus and resilience.
Now, as the draft closes in, the Georgia star is poised to become one of the first defenders off the board. In fact, the latest draft projections and reports from analysts like Chris Simms indicate that Williams might go ahead of a top-rated quarterback like Shedeur Sanders—a projection that further underlines the Columbus native’s rise.
That said, perhaps the biggest indicator of Williams’s rise is the fact that even a journalist like Simms, who didn’t list the Georgia star among his personal favorite pass rushers, has admitted that the league is paying attention.
“People I’ve talked to have been saying Mykel Williams, from Georgia, has their eye. That’s the guy that’s going to end up in New Orleans at number 9. Not one of my favorite pass rushers, but he’s big, he’s long, he played at Georgia. He can do a lot of different things at that defensive end position. Anybody you talk to, in the know, in football right now would go, ‘I’m hearing the Saints are hot on Mykel Williams.’”
For a kid who used to run backyard drills in Columbus, and for a dad who built an NFL mindset before anyone outside Georgia even knew Mykel’s name, this draft projection feels like the universe’s way of rewarding their years of hard work and sacrifice.
