2017 NFL Draft: Top 5 Edge Rushers

Jordan Willis – 6’4″ 255 lbs. – Kansas State

In my opinion, Jordan Willis is one of the most underrated players in this draft class, and I’d take him over Solomon Thomas.

Willis was a consistent producer on the edge at Kansas State, even when opposing teams knew he was coming. He was a 3-star recruit and the 75th ranked defensive end in the 2013 class.

Strengths:

Willis plans his pass rush well, and gets to the outside with the best of them. His college production was fantastic, and he stacks and sheds consistently. Wills holds up at the point of attack and has a quality swim move that he often wins with.

Within his first three steps, he can already be up to top speed, so his acceleration is very impressive. He can easily track down the ball carrier from the back-side, or the QB on a zone-read.

Willis also has good awareness, as well as some pop to his punch. He’ll hit linemen square in the chest and steer them to wherever he wants to move them. His motor is too-notch and he’s a wrap-up tackler that finishes his tackles with excellent technique.

Weaknesses:

While Willis tested with elite agility numbers at the combine, on tape, he showed more stiffness. In college, he won by getting to the outside so often that sometimes he went to that too much.

He could clean up his counter move and will need to add to his pass rushing moves if he wants to continue his success against NFL caliber tackles. His bend through contact isn’t great, as he’ll get pass rushing arc get pushed past the QB too often.

Overall:

If Jordan WIllis can develop his pass rush game and fix his the stiffness he shows on tape, he could become a top 10 pass rusher in the NFL.

NFL Comparison: Jared Allen

Film Score: 80.5

Athleticism Score: 7.9 (Elite)

Final Score: 79 (Round 1)