Tyleik Williams, IDL, Ohio State (Senior)
Rayane M
The 2025 NFL Draft is fast approaching, and despite an initial impression that this year's class might lack talent, The Trick Play team has once again delved into the tapes to bring you scouting reports on the players who will soon wear the jerseys of your favorite franchises.
From Quarterback to Safety, including the trenches where Offensive Linemen and Defensive Linemen engage in a relentless battle, Rayane and Valentin will walk you through the new faces of this 2025 draft class while everyone is excited about the coming NFL Draft
Strengths :
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Powerful
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Explosive and mobile
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Huge ability to punch and separate
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Leverage
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Good play recognition
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Age
Weaknesses :
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Sometimes struggles when facing double team
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Footwork
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Pass rush moves
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Passes his moves late
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he's sometimes a wait-and-see type
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Awful in zone
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Cardio
IDL Tyleik Williams
— Rayane M (@RayaneScout) March 16, 2025
An undeniable force when it comes to defending the run, Tyleik can also sometimes shine in passing situations thanks to impressive athletic ability for his size.
He could be one hell of smart choice to be made on Day 2
Tier 2 🔍 pic.twitter.com/32R2wEV8N4
TTProfil
While Tyleik Williams may not be the most talked-about Defensive Tackle as the draft approaches, he is still a player of great quality who could make a franchise very happy, especially for one looking to strengthen without necessarily addressing this need in the first round. To help your team improve, Tyleik can rely on solid fundamentals.
First, we need to mention his impressive athletic abilities, which earned him a spot on Bruce Feldman’s famous "Freak List." His solid power will be a key asset, allowing him to make plays once he reaches the big league.
This solid power allows him to develop a strong punch, which in turn gives him excellent separation ability, enabling him to be active and not just a spectator in run-stop situations. On the pass rush side, this strong punch also allows him to be a factor in the play. By creating sufficient separation, he can move more easily through the gaps and put pressure on the opposing quarterback.
However, his power is not the only reason his name appeared on that famous Freak List. While Tyleik is indeed powerful, it’s also his mobility and explosiveness for his size that can be truly impressive. This mobility is an asset that serves him well both in run situations and in pass situations. It’s not uncommon to see Williams break through the pocket from his DT Tech-3 position thanks to a massive explosion off the stance, which allows him to surprise the IOLs he faces when he decides to use it—though, as we’ll see later, this isn’t always the case.
In run situations, it’s his ability to maintain his gap that highlights his mobility. Even when the play involves an outside zone run—where DTs are often trapped in traffic due to a lack of mobility—Tyleik rarely becomes ineffective. He’s capable of creating chaos in the middle of the line, disrupting the play and preventing offensive linemen from getting to the second level. This ability to control his gap and move fluidly through the traffic makes him a valuable asset in run defense.
In addition to Tyleik Williams' athletic abilities, which are really interesting and which help him to shine against both the run and the pass, there's another point which is useful in both situations and which is well present in Tyleik's case: Leverage.
Tyleik's ability to dominate on the run is largely due to this, as he often manages to position himself lower than his opposite number, thus benefiting from optimal leverage to dominate. He also manages to maintain his power angles in one-on-one situations, so that he can make the most of his power when it's time to separate from the block. This is a very good point for him, given his style of play, which relies heavily on physical duels.
Williams also has good game awareness that allows him to have an impact on the game regardless of the situation. While he still occasionally makes a few mistakes, overall, he maintains a very high level of awareness. Several times this season, he was able to neutralize certain plays like screen passes or RPOs by following the target player of the play. This is another strong point, especially for his contribution against the inside running game, which often requires quick reading on power runs that don’t rely on finesse or misdirection.
Finally, his age will undoubtedly play a role in the value that teams assign to him. Having turned 22 this past February, Tyleik will certainly attract more interest from teams than if he were 24 with the same level of play. Without saying that Tyleik is a project player, the fact that he is only 22 and won’t turn 23 until the end of his rookie season definitely adds to his value.
As for Tyleik Williams' weaknesses, we could already mention his ability to deal with opposing double teams.
While I'm once again running the risk of sounding like a madman, since I've seen everywhere that this is one of its strong points, I'm going to take a more measured approach.
While I agree that Tyleik is at a very good level in these game situations, I cannot ignore the fact that he repeatedly finds himself in significant difficulty when facing double teams. I’m not just talking about being pushed back a few yards, but rather being completely erased from the play. Sometimes it’s because Tyleik has failed to execute his technique properly, sometimes because he lost the battle of strength, sometimes because he was too high to fight effectively, or at other times because of mediocre footwork.
While I agree that Tyleik is at a very good level in these game situations, I cannot ignore the fact that he repeatedly finds himself in significant difficulty when facing double teams. I’m not just talking about being pushed back a few yards, but rather being completely erased from the play. Sometimes it’s because Tyleik has failed to execute his technique properly, sometimes because he lost the battle of strength, sometimes because he was too high to fight effectively, or at other times because of mediocre footwork.
And let's talk about Footwork, because it's often a point that I feel a lot of scouts overlook, even though it's a point that I feel is very important for any position.
As it happens, Tyleik's main flaw in footwork is the fact that he very often stops his legs once the block has started. This is obvious when Tyleik has to read the game and not just dive into his gap. The only problem is that by stopping his legs, he gives the opportunity to blockers who haven't stopped to regain the upper hand.
Another issue this causes is when the ball carrier, whether a running back or a QB, moves past him, Tyleik can sometimes miss the tackle because his legs are stationary while the ball carrier is in motion. The last important point about completely stopping his legs is when he faces a double team. If he's up against weaker offensive linemen, anchoring himself to the ground allows him to stop their progress, but it’s a completely different story when the offensive linemen have strength to counter him. In those situations, stopping his legs works against Tyleik rather than helping him.
If stopping his legs is the number one thing to work on regarding his footwork, Tyleik will also need to focus on keeping his foot base wide and avoiding crossing his legs during certain technique transitions to perfect his game.
A small but important point to mention for his future usage, Williams showed us some pretty awful zone drops this season. I say it's anecdotal because it's clear that Tyleik doesn't have the qualities to be a defensive lineman capable of dropping into zone coverage. However, it’s still important because coaches who favor this type of defensive scheme, like a Zone Blitz, will know, with video evidence, what Tyleik Williams can offer.
As for the pass rush, we first need to talk about his technical toolbox, which in my opinion is very, very limited. Aside from the swim move/rip move and a few spins that aren't necessarily pretty as counter moves, there's nothing else to speak of—oh, and a bull rush. That's about it.
When you add to that my next point, which is that Williams often takes a long time to execute his techniques, we end up with a player who has a limited skill set and uses very few of them. It therefore becomes easier to stop him, as he becomes automatically more predictable.
This passive side is not only visible during pass rush situations. Depending on the game, we sometimes see a Tyleik who is active, explosive, and creating chaos in his path, and other times we see a Tyleik who is more of a spectator, waiting and observing. The problem is that when we have this version of Tyleik, nothing happens. Against the run, he does the bare minimum if the play comes to his gap; otherwise, he leaves it to his teammates. In pass situations, he stays in front of his blocker, doesn’t create any penetration, doesn’t make the blocker work, he just stands there stomping his feet and tries to raise his arms to deflect the pass. This is a very bad point that ties into the last point of this evaluation, Williams’ conditioning.
On one hand, this helps to quickly see that he needs to be rotated out, but it also means that he won’t be able to stay on the field for long periods, which could limit his potential ceiling. As you know, superstars tend to play a lot, and if Tyleik isn’t on the field, it will be difficult for him to reach that status.
In conclusion, Tyleik Williams is a player with a relatively high floor that should allow him to quickly integrate into his team's rotation. Although he was primarily positioned as a Tech-3 on the Buckeyes' Front 40 for most of his snaps this season, I don't think it would be the best choice to keep him at this position in the pros. With his talent against the run, his solid athletic qualities (though unfortunately limited compared to others who are just as explosive but significantly faster at the DT position), and his good power, I believe his impact could be much greater as a NT, or Tech-1, once he reaches the NFL. The game has evolved, allowing players like him to be much more impactful at the NT position than at DT, where he may lack a bit of speed. This is also why we saw him increasingly rotate as a NT, or Tech-0, on Ohio State's Front 30 throughout the season.
While his ceiling is still difficult to predict, we know that Tyleik has key aspects of his game that need improvement. This suggests that his development is far from complete, especially considering that he is only 22 years old, which could play a significant role in his growth at the professional level. He will therefore have a "free" year to develop within the system his team chooses, and as I mentioned, a change in role could also be very beneficial for him. That said, there are real reasons to take an interest in him.
While I personally have a hard time seeing him as a DT Tech-3 capable of changing the face of a defensive front, I have no doubt that Tyleik Williams can be a solid starter who brings value in the NFL. That said, while I don't clearly see him in my Tier 1 and he lacks that little something to push him into the top of my Tier 2, he remains, in my opinion, a player with too many qualities to fall into my Tier 3. However, caution should be exercised regarding his passive tendencies, which could become a major issue in too relaxed an environment.
Tier 2 and a a day 2 projection for me.
Tier 2 and a a day 2 projection for me.
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