Sleeper DE - Jordon Willis

[JeffInDC]

This kid seems like a Garrett RKG pick. Can't wait to see what he can do at the Senior Bowl. QUIETLY won Big XII Defensive POY. In the 4-5 games I saw him play this year, looked good against the run and pass. My guess is he checks in around 6'4", 255-260 at the weigh-in. And, according to CBS's pre-combine #'s, he may run a sub-4.7 40. Critique away..........

 

[Bigdog]

It is going to interesting with him. I like him but I have read he might not be as explosive as some scouts want their DE to be. Opinions vary. He is productive though.

 

[RandyOh]

Hes a solid mid round option if we was to miss out on a edge rusher in the 1st and 2nd round. He quietly had a very solid season. He plays strong side so LE may be his best fit if he doesn't have the explosion and/or bend required for RE.

 

[Alexander]

Good character kid. But is not your typical explosive pass rusher, although he does a solid job. Looks like a LDE only though, did not see him move around much.

 

[Biggems]

can he possibly play OLB?

 

[Alexander]

can he possibly play OLB?

In a 3-4, sure.

In this system, why would you bother?

 

[Biggems]

In a 3-4, sure.

In this system, why would you bother?

he has LB size, I was just curious as to whether he had LB versatility. I didn't really pay attention to him when Texas played KSU. So, I am not sure if he has the ability to drop into coverage. I know he is a great leader, a team captain, possesses a high football IQ, and is apparently a high character guy.

 

[KingintheNorth]

He's an edge guy, 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB. Maybe a less explosive Brian Robison (Minnesota/Texas Longhorn). Similar size; Robison is 6-3/259, Willis is a little taller at 6-5/258.

Late 2nd to 4th round guy I would think.

 

[Biggems]

He's an edge guy, 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB. Maybe a less explosive Brian Robison (Minnesota/Texas Longhorn). Similar size; Robison is 6-3/259, Willis is a little taller at 6-5/258.

Late 2nd to 4th round guy I would think.

I wanted robison in the draft.....he has had a very nice career for the vikes

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I still don't understand how we haven't been able to hit on a D-line since Marinelli has gotten here. It seems like every season we say "but Marinelli has nothing to work with." That was an acceptable excuse the year we purged ourselves of Ware, Ratliff and Hatcher, but we've had a long time to add pieces. We've struck gold on QB, RB, OL, CB (Brown in the 6th), FS, maybe LB (Smith), but we've failed so many times on D-line to the point where we're relying on Jack Crawford. Hopefully Maliek Collins will be the beginning of the transformation of our D-line. He has the potential to be a great pick.

 

[RandyOh]

I still don't understand how we haven't been able to hit on a D-line since Marinelli has gotten here. It seems like every season we say "but Marinelli has nothing to work with." That was an acceptable excuse the year we purged ourselves of Ware, Ratliff and Hatcher, but we've had a long time to add pieces. We've struck gold on QB, RB, OL, CB (Brown in the 6th), FS, maybe LB (Smith), but we've failed so many times on D-line to the point where we're relying on Jack Crawford. Hopefully Maliek Collins will be the beginning of the transformation of our D-line. He has the potential to be a great pick.

I think Charles Tapper was gonna be their steal at DE before the news of back injury came out. He's an explosive athlete that was productive before a scheme switch. It's the same thing that messed up Maliek Collins draft stock. Collins should have been a 1st round pick.

 

[VACowboy]

I think Charles Tapper was gonna be their steal at DE before the news of back injury came out. He's an explosive athlete that was productive before a scheme switch. It's the same thing that messed up Maliek Collins draft stock. Collins should have been a 1st round pick.

Is Tapper's injury chronic/career threatening or will he be healthy after a redshirt season and ready to rock in 2017?

 

[RandyOh]

Is Tapper's injury chronic/career threatening or will he be healthy after a redshirt season and ready to rock in 2017?

I remember someone in the Fan zone doing the research that with the surgery Tapper got should greatly help if not fix his back issue. This was awhile back i read it though. Their research did seem promising though.

 

[JeffInDC]

This kid really confuses me. First, he looks bad in practice, then wins DMOP. I think this right up from GBN Report may be spot on:

"Perhaps the most intriguing defensive line prospect, particularly at DE, at the Senior Bowl was Kansas State’s Jordan Willis, if for no other reason than he’s one of the few full-sized edge rushers projected to run under 4.70 seconds in the 40 at next month’s scouting combine. Willis certainly showed plenty of quickness and athleticism in the actual Senior Bowl game as he posted a couple of sacks as well as a couple of forced fumbles. Willis showed a long, explosive first step and the ability to accelerate around the corner. At the same, though, Willis still looked like something of a one-trick pony as he took the great circle route to the QB on just about every rush. In that sense he really reminded us of former Giants’ DE Osi Umenyiora who managed to make a pretty good living off his wide-rush ability. What scouts didn’t see was the ability to lower his pads, get leverage and flatten out to the QB. Willis also didn’t show much in the way of counter moves or the ability to work his way to the QB when his initial move was stymied. Willis also was barely a factor in run defense as he struggled to anchor at the point of attack, but you can’t teach speed so a lot of teams will be trying to figure over the next few weeks whether Willis has the potential to develop an effective arsenal of pass-rush moves."

 

[JBS]

We have a ton of sleeper DEs

Some of em sleep on the field while they're supposed to be playing

Others sleep during the games bc they're suspended

We need impact DEs...not sleepers

 

[RS12]

I really dont want an LDE only unless he is dominant or has some position flex. The roster is already littered with those types but no dominant ones.

 

[xwalker]

Is Tapper's injury chronic/career threatening or will he be healthy after a redshirt season and ready to rock in 2017?

I think Charles Tapper was gonna be their steal at DE before the news of back injury came out. He's an explosive athlete that was productive before a scheme switch. It's the same thing that messed up Maliek Collins draft stock. Collins should have been a 1st round pick.

There was no report of Tapper having surgery.

From my research, it seems that a period of inactivity along with wearing the back brace can resolve the issue assuming that the issue was not of the severe type. The fact that he didn't have surgery seems to indicate that he didn't have the more severe version.

 

[RandyOh]

There was no report of Tapper having surgery.

From my research, it seems that a period of inactivity along with wearing the back brace can resolve the issue assuming that the issue was not of the severe type. The fact that he didn't have surgery seems to indicate that he didn't have the more severe version.

i could have sworn someone posted tapper had some sort of procedure done on his back. if it was less severe then i guess thats good news... right? hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the butt.

 

[xwalker]

i could have sworn someone posted tapper had some sort of procedure done on his back. if it was less severe then i guess thats good news... right? hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the butt.

Hopefully it's not one of those borderline issues where surgery was an option and they decided to 'try" it without surgery.

 

[SportsGuru80]

Solid player...