Georgia
Cardinals Should Gamble on Georgia Pass Rusher
Welcome back to our series assessing perfect picks for the Arizona Cardinals in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft.
On today’s menu we have one of the most exciting edge rusher prospects in the class in Georgia’s Mykel Williams.
The former Bulldog is something to marvel at with his size of 6’5 and 265 lbs blended with some crazy athleticism that we’ve rarely seen before.
My lazy comparison has been to another former Bulldog in Travon Walker. Quite frankly, I believe it’s a perfect comparison thanks to their similar size (Walker at 6’5 and 272 lbs) and high-end potential as raw or “project” prospects.
If you want another one, you could go with Odafe Oweh from the Baltimore Ravens.
The commonality between the three is size, speed, athleticism, and upside, but they all need(ed) coaching and patience to realize their potential. Walker figured himself out pretty quickly with consecutive 10+ sack seasons in his first three seasons. Oweh had his first 10 sack season as a fourth year guy.
Williams could require that same patience, but he’s undeniably talented and could become a superstar.
Some will wonder if the Cardinals can afford to be patient and develop someone like Williams, but I’m here to introduce you to this monster of a man as well as his fit with the team and what his day one role may look like.
Let’s begin:
Profile
The fit
Williams fits into this pass rushing room with tons of potential and upside thanks to his insane athleticism. The moment the Georgia product steps into the Cardinals’ locker room he shows himself as one of the biggest guys in there. The only pass rusher who may look as big is Darius Robinson, who’s 6’5 and 285 lbs.
From a profile standpoint, Williams fits right in with a pass rushing room that is getting bigger. He also fits what the team needs off the edge – athleticism.
Finding a guy with the pure, untapped potential that Williams possesses is tough to find. Sure, Arizona already has an athletic specimen in the aforementioned Robinson, but Williams brings his own take to the room with blinding speed and power conversion.
A Cardinals team in need of pass rushers would love Williams. A defense in need of a superstar pass rusher would love Williams even more.
The logic
Of the many, many pass rushers in this loaded class, I truly believe that Williams can be the best of all of them. The key to getting to that point will be to sit him down with this coaching staff and develop a plan for him with checkpoints along the way to make sure he’s progressing correctly and timely.
The Cardinals have seen some elite pass rushers over the years, but the void left by Chandler Jones has not been filled even by a collective effort. Sure, that’s a tall task, but even combining the pass rushers Arizona has seen since Jones left hasn’t been enough.
Williams has the potential to grow into a player of Jones’ caliber and I’m not just being polite. There aren’t many people who look like Williams and move the way he does. From an athletic standpoint, he isn’t far behind Jones – now it’s a matter of getting him to that production standpoint.
Elite pass rushers make your defense great and the Cardinals know that as well as anyone else. Grabbing a top pass rusher is a must in this class, but grabbing a player who could potentially pass all of his classmates is quite exciting… albeit a gamble of sorts.
Day one role
Williams is a guy that Arizona must be patient with. Although the Georgia product has three years in Athens and two years starting under his belt, he hasn’t reached his maximum potential. The upside with Williams is catastrophically good, but he needs time to get there.
The Cardinals coaching staff will be able to coach Williams up to his ceiling, but it could take a year or two to get him there. Injuries have slowed down Williams progress, as well, most evident this past season.
But while the team develops him, they can easily slide him in this rotation and get him reps. Even as a project, Williams is too good to keep on the sidelines and we’ve seen how great he can be in flashes. Those same flashes will be what gets him on the field and keeps him out there.
No need to worry, Cardinals fans, you’ll see this kid early and often for this defense. My only advice would be to stay patient as he develops. Year one could see fewer than five sacks… but he could become an annual 10+ sack producer before his rookie contract ends.
Georgia
The Latest: Primary elections in Alabama, Oklahoma and Georgia further test Trump’s influence
An endorsement from President Donald Trump is worth a lot in Republican primaries. But is it worth more than $100 million in Georgia? Can it propel a congressman past an insurgent outsider in Alabama? Can it transform a candidate into a front-runner in Oklahoma?
Trump has been at the center of this year’s midterm campaigns, and his influence will be tested in different ways Tuesday as four states and the District of Columbia hold primaries.
Among Democrats, the primaries will hinge on longstanding divides between progressives and moderates as the party tries to chart the best path forward to November.
Here’s the latest:
Alabama GOP primary is latest test of Trump’s endorsements
The president’s endorsed candidates have mostly done well so far in the midterm primaries. But the open U.S. Senate race in Alabama will be another test of his endorsement power.
U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, a three-term congressman, faces former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson in the GOP runoff. Trump endorsed Moore early in the campaign, but he’s been forced into a heated race with Hudson, a political newcomer.
Hudson, borrowing a page from Trump’s original playbook, has tried to depict Moore as a political insider and has urged voters to send an outsider to Washington.
Trump held a telephone rally for Moore last week.
The candidates are seeking the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who’s running for governor. The winner will face the Democratic nominee in November.
2 open races set off a political scramble in heavily Republican Oklahoma
GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt is term-limited, and former U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin vacated his seat to replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary.
Republican Alan Armstrong, an energy executive, is filling the U.S. Senate seat for now, but state law prohibits him from seeking a full term as an interim appointee.
Rep. Kevin Hern, a four-term congressman endorsed by Trump, is running against four other candidates of lesser profile in the Republican Senate primary.
The GOP primary for governor is more crowded, with nine names on the ballot, including several prominent Republicans. That could lead to an Aug. 25 runoff if no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote to win outright.
California special election will fill former Rep. Eric Swalwell’s term after his resignation
The Democrat stepped down in April following allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman twice, including when she worked for him, and other accusations of sexual misconduct.
Swalwell was a leading candidate for California governor at the time and dropped out of the race the same month. He has denied the allegations and said he will defend himself.
The San Francisco Chronicle first reported that a woman accused Swalwell of sexually assaulting her in 2019 and again in 2024. She told the outlet that she had been too intoxicated to consent.
Runoffs will decide GOP nominees for Senate and governor in Georgia
Tuesday’s elections are needed after no Republican won a majority to clinch the nominations in the May primary.
In the Senate race, Rep. Mike Collins, a second-term congressman who calls himself a “MAGA warrior,” and Derek Dooley, a first-time candidate and former football coach, are facing off. The winner will try to oust Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in a key November contest. Trump endorsed Collins on Sunday.
The primary for governor pits Lt. Gov. Burt Jones against billionaire Rick Jackson. Trump endorsed Jones last August. The winner will face Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, in November.
Polls now open in Washington, DC
Voting is underway in one of the city’s most consequential primaries in a generation.
Democrats in the nation’s capital have not had a chance to vote for a new mayor and new delegate to Congress in the same election since 1990, when gas was cheaper than $1.35 a gallon and George H.W. Bush was president.
Georgia
Arkansas baseball adds All-Sun Belt third baseman Wills Maginnis from Georgia State | Whole Hog Sports
Georgia
Court tosses MAGA lawsuit seeking access to Georgia’s election operations center
A Georgia state judge has thrown out a conspiracy theory-fueled lawsuit against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) that sought to open the state’s election-night operations center to far-right observers.
Filed by Republican lieutenant governor candidate Greg Dolezal, along with other GOP plaintiffs, the lawsuit attempted to force Raffensperger to allow poll watchers and members of the MAGA-controlled State Election Board (SEB) inside the state’s Emergency Operations Center, where statewide vote totals are received and published.
In her dismissal order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melynee Leftridge wrote that Dolezal — the only plaintiff who had standing to bring the suit — failed to show that state law required Raffensperger to permit public access to the Emergency Operations Center.
“No polling, voting, scanning, tabulation, verification or adjudication of voted ballots takes place at the Emergency Operations Center,” Leftridge wrote. “All such activities are conducted at the county level, where poll watchers and members of the State Election Board have access to observe them.”
While the Republican plaintiffs asserted that Raffensperger undermined trust in the electoral process by limiting access to the center, the suit was widely seen as an attempt to invite partisan interference in Georgia’s elections.
While plaintiffs sought access for Georgia’s May 19 primary races, they likely would have attempted to maintain access for future elections, including the state’s primary run-offs this week and the general election in November.
Dolezal, who is in a close primary runoff, has made election skepticism a central component of his campaign. Earlier this year, he called on the SEB to take over control of Fulton County’s elections based on nonexistent claims of voter fraud.
-
Florida6 minutes ago
Holocaust survivors and senator criticize Kanye West’s concerts | The Jerusalem Post
-
Georgia13 minutes ago
The Latest: Primary elections in Alabama, Oklahoma and Georgia further test Trump’s influence
-
Hawaii15 minutes agoPoke for the People: 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards
-
Idaho20 minutes agoIdaho Fish and Game sedates, relocates yearling black bear from Nampa neighborhood
-
Illinois27 minutes agoState Hemp Policy Update: Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, and Virginia | U.S. Hemp Roundtable
-
Indiana30 minutes ago‘This is about much more than teeth’: Man surprised with $10,000 in free dental work
-
Iowa35 minutes agoDes Moines suburbs become the region’s new dining frontier
-
Kentucky40 minutes agoKentucky basketball coach Mark Pope relishes being on the hot seat