Things simply could not have gone any better for the San Francisco 49ers in Thursday’s first round of the NFL draft.

The best player in the NFL draft — Georgia defensive end Mykel Williams — fell to San Francisco at pick No. 11.

They didn’t hesitate to take them and pick up a huge win to start a make-or-break draft for general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan.

You read that right: I said “the best player.”

This is not a homer take — a bit of reverse engineering to justify the Niners’ pick.

I had Williams as the No. 1 player on my 150-player NFL draft big board — over Travis Hunter, Cam Ward, and, once again, literally everyone else.

To be able to take one at one-one is absurd.

And it’s precisely what the 49ers needed.

Of course, the 49ers did not expect Williams to be there for them to select at No. 11. They actively sought to move above the New Orleans Saints at No. 9 — the team that was expected to take Williams should he have slipped past pick No. 7 and the Jets and No. 8 and the Panthers — two viable landing spots.

But when the Saints went offensive line and the Bears, shockingly, took a tight end — Colson Loveland (No. 65 on my board) — the Niners were given the easiest decision in the team’s recent history.

“Mykel all the way,” Lynch told KNBR-AM.

How could it not be?

Williams immediately steps in as the defensive end the 49ers have needed since Charles Omenihu left in free agency after the 2022 season.

For starters, Williams can set an edge. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it’ll make him beloved by Nick Bosa and Robert Saleh.

But then there’s the impressive but nascent pass-rush skill, the nose for the football that cannot be taught, and the ability to shed blockers in a downright comical way.

I think back to a rep he had against Tennessee this last season, when he beat the left tackle off the line so fast that the offensive lineman decided the best course of action would be to tackle him by wrapping both arms around Williams’ waist.

He was barely able to wrap him up, Williams was in the backfield so fast.

And he didn’t even go to the ground on the play — referees had to stop the play before he could register the sack.

He did stuff like that all the time, and he did it while playing through a high ankle sprain.

Williams is 20 years old. He was the fulcrum of the Georgia defense last season, taking on responsibilities for the Bulldogs that wouldn’t help his stat line. But Kirby Smart trusts you? That says a lot to me.

It should have said a lot more to the rest of the NFL. Then again, there’s a reason the same teams seem to pick early every year.

So feel free to complain about his lack of sacks or a PFF grade all you want. You know what he accumulated? Respect from opposing offensive coordinators, who were petrified of him. He also won countless reps, even if it wasn’t obvious on first watch. (There’s a lot of dirty work on defense, and he does it well.)

This is a high-floor, high-ceiling prospect in a position of desperate need for San Francisco. There could not have been a better pick for the Niners.

They need to ensure that everyone in the front office has the same breakfast, lunch and wears the same clothes while taking the same route to work on Friday — the Niners need this luck to continue into the second and third days of the draft.

Because while they have the defensive end they need, the Niners also need at least one defensive tackle, a linebacker, a cornerback, a safety, at least one offensive lineman and probably a wide receiver and running back, too.

They have 10 picks remaining over the next two days to land all that.

But it seems as if luck is going the Niners’ way this draft.

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