*Walt taking 2014 and 2018 |
Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst |
Five Teams Project Jordan Willis to Day 2
Updated March 26, 2017By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.
One of the workout warriors of the spring has been Kansas State defensive end Jordan Willis. At the combine, he had an electric 40 time of 4.53 seconds while also posting a tremendous vertical jump, broad jump, and three-cone time. This came after Willis had a quality performance at the Senior Bowl on top of his great final season for the Wildcats.
After Willis’ huge combine, some analysts were projecting the Kansas State product to be a first-round pick. WalterFootball.com reached out to teams to see if they were pushing his grade into the Thursday night range, and all five teams said they had Willis as mid second-day selection.
The highest projection came from a NFC team picking in the top 20. They could consider taking a pass-rusher in the second round and said they had Willis as a mid second-rounder. One general manager of a NFC team known for its tough grading said they had Willis as a fourth-/fifth-round pick. Two teams said they had Willis as “2/3;” a late second- or early third-round pick. Another AFC team said they had Willis as a third-rounder.
Perhaps there are teams that have projected Willis to the first round, but after surveying five different organizations, none of them had him close to being a Thursday night pick despite his great workouts. Walt has Willis slotted to the Colts in the middle of the second round of his 2017 NFL Mock Draft.
