05-08-2019, 04:05 PM
(05-07-2019, 02:39 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Over the past two years, I've seen a lot of criticism on Jordan Willis, the DE from K St that was drafted in the 3rd round in 2017.
He was outproduced by Lawson in 2017 and then Sam Hubbard last year.
I'm here to provide my reasoning for why he shouldn't be discounted already just because others have produced more immediately.
https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2017/4/10/15242190/jordan-willis-scouting-report-nfl-draft-2017-tools-kansas-state-pass-rusher-defensive-end-
As you will gather from reading the link above, Willis has the desired athleticism and college production that made him a quality selection in the 2017 NFL draft. The biggest worry was that he didn't always display that athleticism when pads were on. However, I think the article does a good job explaining that he didn't display much "bend" on tape because he didn't really have a good plan of attack when rushing the passer. He just typically tried to bully through the OL using his power and speed. And while it worked in college, he needed more to be able to succeed in the NFL.
The article mentions too that the likeliest way to fix this is through coaching technique and strategy. I think that if this can be overcome with the new coaching staff, Willis could emerge as a good base 4-3 DE that could even swing inside as nickel DT given he's up to 275 lbs now.
I sure hope so, i was one of the ones really pushing for Willis in that Draft and he has really disappointed me so far to be honest.
Thought he would of been one of the most solid DE's in that class that can not only rush the passer but stop the run. Last year he looked huge, looked like a beast but did not produce. If he starts to play well in both the run game and as a passer our entire End situation will look really good.
