EastStreet
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NFL.com's Profile
Draft Grade: 5.30 NFL BACKUP OR SPECIAL TEAMS POTENTIAL
Draft Projection: Round 5
College: Mich St
Position: S
Height: 5-11
Weight: 213
40 Time: 4.52
BIO:
Willis was named the Ann Arbor News Michigan High School Player of the Year in 2014 as a running back after he covered nearly 3,000 yards on the ground and scored 31 touchdowns. He didn't end up at Ann Arbor for college, signing with Sparty. Willis started 3 of 9 games played as a true freshman (11 tackles), but his season ended before the Big Ten Championship Game due to a broken foot. He started one game in 2016, making 30 tackles in 11 contests overall. An opening occurred in MSU's secondary for 2017, and Willis took advantage. He garnered honorable mention All-Big Ten honors that season, accumulating 71 tackles, 5.5 for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, and three pass breakups. He repeated his honorable mention all-conference performance as a senior, posting 84 tackles, two interceptions, and 10 pass breakups in 13 starts for the Spartans.
Overview:
Team leader known for his leadership and work ethic, Willis has been a reliable performer with a good nose for the football. However, he's an average athlete with below-average speed who needs to keep plays in front of him, so finding a roster spot on the next level could be a challenge. His high football character and consistent effort level, give him a shot at finding work as a backup with special teams value .
Strengths:
Praised for exceptional character
Good size with compact build and desired play strength
Plays with consistent motor and effort all game long
Runs the alley with accurate map to the ball carrier
Reliable and plays under control
Reads quarterback's eyes for early indicators in coverage
Sees the entire field from deep safety
Handled some slot cover duties in sub-packages
Good awareness from short zone and responds quickly to throws
Weaknesses:
Below-average athlete lacking explosiveness
Top-end speed is a concern
Struggles to range over the top from deep zone
Slow to open hips and sprint with early speed
Tight strider with below-average burst to close
Limited lateral agility to maintain man coverage
Very modest ball production
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3 minutes ago, Peterk2011 said:
Your points are valid. I'm not saying I agree with all of them (I don't), but I see the logic.
However, my answer for your question has not changed: No.
I don't think Ballard would pull a trigger on a trade like that, right now.
How about this. Send Sheard (who's up in 2020) plus a second rounder :-)
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Being 5-9, and from FIU had a lot to do with that lol.
What is funnier IMO is that we took two TEs before taking TY.
2012 had a lot of WRs flame due to behavioral issues. A bunch went in the first round. The two best WRs taken were in the second (Jeffery) and third (TY).
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6 minutes ago, Peterk2011 said:
I agree with you regarding the overall picture. I think that's pretty much what Ballard does and will do, he'll adjust. But my current take on Ballard is, that in his mind, this roster is not yet there, where an acquisition like Clowney would make sense for him. What I mean is, if you sign a guy like Clowney and you already have Houston and Sheard on your roster, than you pretty much decide about the fate of Turay, Muhamad, Banogu, etc., because you can't give them enough snaps to develop. Kenny Moore would've never (or at least a lot slower) become the player he is, if he wasn't given a tons of snaps. I think, Ballard is still in the "build" phase in his mind, e.g. he is thinking long term, and willing to give our young guys as much snaps as possible, rather than sign a top free agent like Clowney, even if he is a better player right now.
I agree with most of this, however there's several reasons why I think Ballard would consider.
1) Sheard is 30 and his contract is up in 2020
2) Houston is only under contract for two years, and he's 30
3) I don't have high hopes for Muhammad.
4) Turay and Banogu are really young and raw. Turay needs time (more time) to become an every down guy, and I don't see him taking a huge step this year. Banogu is just plain raw and needs time too (strength and technique, but mostly technique). Both could still get plenty of time with Clowney and Houston. Learning from those two would be worth the delayed experience. Also, I just don't see Turay emerging as anything close to Clowney at any point in his career.
5) The addition of a another stud bookend would give a huge boost to iDL play.
6) It would help immensely with the upgraded QBs we'll see this year.
7) It would definitely be a big step towards contender status, if not immediately put us in the conversation.
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1 minute ago, Chloe6124 said:
I don’t think we are as weak at DL as people think. I will say we do have a few guys though who are approaching thirty or a little older that we are going to have to think about replacing in the next few years. I think we also need to address grooming a back up left tackle so he is ready for when AC retires.
AC is also a concern for me from both a backup/health and retirement perspective.
If he can stay healthy and perform this year, he should get a nice new contract.
I'm a little worried though that age is catching up. He missed 35ish% of snaps last year.
Can't have a repeat of that.
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Just now, Chloe6124 said:
It is not like we are going to be picking high in the first round. We don’t have any huge holes to fill so why not.
yup, this is exactly how I feel. we'll end up with the 25th or higher pick.
I'd bet our 1st round pick is with 15 picks of our 2nd round Washington pick.
i don't know if i can say we don't have decent holes. while i don't think we have "huge" holes, I still think iDL is a decent sized hole. IMO, it's the weakest position group by far. that could change, but i'd bet we're looking for an answer at DT after the season.
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1 hour ago, Peterk2011 said:
I don't really get what's the point talking about a trade that would never happen, but whatever. Imo Ballard - at this point -, would not give up a good pick PLUS give a blockbuster contract to him. I don't think Ballard sees this current roster as a "we just need one more guy" kind of roster. He and Irsay put down a 3+ years plan, and he is in year 2 now.
Technically this is Ballard's 3rd draft/year.
Regardless, last year's draft and performance put us ahead of plan IMO. And,,,, a good planner/manager always adjusts based on the current situation. I have no clue what they defined as success criteria, but one has to think we're farther along than they expected. If for instance we've satisfied success criteria a year earlier than planned, the current year's plan changes.
ESPN's future power rating agrees as well. If we're number one in their eyes, we can't be more than a couple players away. IMO, we filled our deepest hole this off season, and the remaining holes aren't deep.
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12 hours ago, MacDee1975 said:
lol....who is anyone kidding. Manning is 2-3 notches above Luck. I'd take Peyton over any version of Andrew Luck, all day any day.
I agree for now.
But I also know Manning had more talent around him on offensive side of the ball than Luck thus far. Both had ups and downs in terms of a supporting cast, but Manning easily had more consistent weapons. That changes this year. Luck has good WRs, good TEs, and a good OL.
Given we're playing much better O/passing teams this year, I expect Luck will have to throw it more too. So this could be a very big year for him. We shall see.
I don't think there will ever be a QB as good as Manning calling plays at the line. If you had swapped Brady and Manning, I think a Belichick/Manning combo would have burned a hole in the atmosphere.
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31 minutes ago, Matthew Gilbert said:
I don't recall any reports saying Cain would be the starting X WR. He played one preseason game and Ryan Grant started that game at X.
I've posted a few articles about Cain being the favorite last year to take over X. The Indy Star guys (Holder and Keefer) gushed about him.
Regardless, Grant had zero receptions that game (I don't think he was targeted at all) while Cain had a catch before his injury. IIRC, Grant only had one reception the entire preseason.
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Just now, Chloe6124 said:
Our team is so loaded I would even give up next years first round pick for him.
I'd give up a player or pick for him, or a combination. He'd be an immediate huge step toward being a legit SB contending team. With the 2019 schedule, the thing we need most is an improved pass rush. It would trickle down to impact our LBs and DBs too.
14 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:Well Houston has made some dumb decisions lately. Maybe we could trade a corner like Collins and a draft pick for him.
I can't remember exactly what all their needs were, but I know they had big time needs at OL and TE going into the draft. Pretty sure they took a few OLs early, and a mid round TE. I'd be happy to put Doyle or Cox on the table. I'd put any of our DLs (except Houston) on the table as well.
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Houston would be stupid to send him here.
If they were stupid, I'd take him in a heartbeat.
The DL would be a legit wrecking crew with his addition.
And that helps with the upgraded talent we'll see at QB.
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10 hours ago, braveheartcolt said:
The mystery of the Cain 'lock' continues. Crystal ball fandome me thinks. We don't really have a clue who will be in the 53 at the rear end of the WR depth chart. The coaches probably don't know, so how come folks on here seem too?
Has nothing to do with crystal ball fandom to me. By all reports he had secured starting X last year, looked great, and had good chemistry with Luck before the injury. Purely speaking about the X position, he's has the speed/size/catching ability combination to be a much more of a well rounded X than anyone on the roster.
Sure there are some guys with height and speed on the roster, but 1) they had the same height and speed last year, but got beat out by Cain, and 2) none had the production/performance on a big stage like Cain in college (yes his production took a dip when Watson left)
Could someone like Fountain catch up to him, sure. Could his injury permanently impact his speed, sure. Funchess at X is a very different type of receiver and not really in direct competition with Cain. At the end of the day, the Colts were very high on him going into last season based on his performance in camp. And if that's the case, they're going to keep him and see if he returns to form. At worst, he'll end up on PUP or PS if he's slow to return.
Locks for significant role in 2019 short of injury
TY (Z)
Funch (possession X, bully slot)
Campbell (I think we all assumed slot, but Ballard talked about him playing outside)
Lock for at least PS or PUP
Cain (prototype X)
Probable 53
Rogers (based on experience/production he brings - slot, returns, experience backing up Z)
Good chance of at least PS, maybe better
Fountain (X)
Dulin (could really play any WR if he can beat the press, plus returns)
Pascal (X, returns)
It would surprise me if they made the 53, perhaps PS or futures
Veasy
Johnson
Ismael
Hogan
Hart
Not that it will happen, but I'd love to see us keep 6 to cover back ups, but all also to give us different types of weapons. With six, we could have a legit incredible bag of tools for every situation. Pro-Bowl Z (TY), speed demon slot (Parris), legit speed X (Cain), possession X / bully slot (Funch), plus a Z/slot back up (Rogers or Dulin), and a traditional X backup (Fountain or Pascal).
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15 minutes ago, superrep1967 said:
Yeah, Banogu or to me it's Okereke.
Leonard was a stat monster, 1st team all conf multiple years, conference D MVP multiple years. Banogu was 1st team all conf mult years and great stats. Okereke at best was honorary mention.
Leonard was a small school question mark. Banogu comes from a team that's known for scheme and lack of technique/position coaching. But both were tops in their conference. Okereke was much less of a standout at a school known to have great S&C and defensive coaching.
Not saying Okereke won't be good, or even great. What I am saying, is, Okereke had much better S&C, much better coaching, etc. (than the other two), but never achieved the recognition or performance level of the other two. I simply think his ceiling is lower. I definitely think Banogu has the most potential to translate over the next couple years.
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12 hours ago, Hoose said:
I agree. It’s going to take a little while. He’s not ready yet. But I do believe he will, in time, more than justify his being picked so high. Great future; he will just require a little patience.
he transitioned at light speed when he transferred to Temple. Not saying it will be that easy taking a step up to the NFL, but he's got the measurables.
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I don't get it.... 3 people say he will start (Question 1) either day one or at some point during the year, but none (Question 3) thinks he takes over the starting position at MLB. He's not starting at WILL, and we use a SAM sparingly.
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5 minutes ago, bestQBever said:
If I were to reorder your list from most important to least important, #5 would be #1
one could say that #1 and #2 had a lot to do with #5... It's really hard to throw it to someone that isn't open, and add to that your playing the league's best pass rushing team.
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8 minutes ago, Chloe6124 said:
How is he going to be a day one starter when Desir and Moore are the two outside starters. Now we will see if he is able to take over Wilson’s spot when Moore is in the slot. I don’t think he will this year. Maybe in the future. I do think he will get plenty of snaps as I think we will play more man coverage.
IIRC, we had 3 CBs on the field more than 60% of the time last year, so really, it's like we're starting 3 CBs anyway. SAM was a rarity. Not saying things won't change, but I'd say we're in 5 DB situations even more this year with the quality of QBs improving substantially.
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I'm torn on Okereke. I think he's better suited for OLB. He could play SAM, but he's not going to get many reps at WILL. I think he'll end up playing on obvious passing downs at MIKE, and will be a backup to WILL god forbid Leonard gets dinged up. He should be a strong special teams contributor day 1.
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NFL.com's Profile
Draft Grade: 5.48 NFL BACKUP OR SPECIAL TEAMS POTENTIAL
Draft Projection: Rounds 4-5
College: Stanford
Position: LB
Height: 6-1
Weight: 239
40 Time: 4.58
QuoteBIO:
Okereke (pronounced oh-kuh-REE-kee) earned major accomplishments before arriving to Palo Alto, achieving Eagle Scout status and winning the prestigious Watkins Award in 2014 as the nation's top African-American high school player in terms of academic and athletic excellence. He has steadily grown in his achievements with the Cardinal, going from a reserve defender his redshirt freshman season (seven tackles in 11 games) to a 13-game starter in 2016 (41 tackles, four for loss, three sacks) to an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection (14 starts, 96 tackles, 7.5 for loss, four sacks, one INT). Okereke finished his junior year well, making five tackles, one for loss, and a pass breakup against TCU in the Alamo Bowl. He was an honorable mention all-conference pick in 2018, leading Stanford with 96 tackles, 7.5 for losses, including 3.5 sacks. He also broke up five passes, forced two fumbles and scored a safety in 13 starts.
Overview:
Undersized but instinctive and rangy, Okerke plays fast and is generally on the right track with his initial reads and response to play development. While he's fairly sound from a technical standpoint, his lack of size and strength shows up in both tackling and downhill duties against blockers. He has adequate talent to drop and cover in space and his experience on special teams gives him a shot to become a quality NFL backup.
Strengths:
Productive linebacker who finds the football
Plays with consistent football smarts
Quick to diagnose and out-race runner to designed rush path
Long, loose slides when scraping to the football
Long-armed with ability to punch and separate from climbing blocks
Burst to prevent runner from splitting linebackers up to third level
Good recognition of screen development
Able to slip blocks in space and get into tackles
Rangy with sideline-to-sideline speed
Good awareness and communication from zone
Athleticism to handle short-area man coverage
Experience as a core special-teams player
Weaknesses:
Undersized as inside linebacker
Absorbs majority of force when meeting lead blocks in hole
Needs earlier counter-attack to handle climbing blocks
Below-average base to maintain contact balance
Gets too froggy racing to his spot and loses leverage
Play will get out of control in space
Comes in hot rather than coming to balance
Sluggish in change of direction
Excessive number of missed and broken tackles
Too many arm tackles and not enough squared strikes
Needs to bring feet with him as a tackler to prevent sliding off
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1 minute ago, CR91 said:
Agreed. It was actually Donnie Avery we had in Hilton's rookie. DHB was the following year. Just letting you know
excellent catch CR91. so he was the #3 WR starting his first two years :-).
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just saw this reading an article.
good lord he looks chiseled and strong for a DB
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10 minutes ago, CR91 said:
I don't think Hilton's rookie year stats are out of the question. 900 yards and 7 tds
yup, and could be more. I think about it this way.
1) Parris played against much better comp than TY did in college
2) TY was the #3 WR coming into that year behind Wayne and H-Bey. Campbell could start as #2
3) TY worked as a returns guy his early years
4) TY had a ROOKIE ANDREW LUCK, and now Parris has seasoned/savvy Andrew Luck.
5) Parris's body is more NFL ready than TY's his rookie year.
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4 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:
Yeah if he does get duty at either for a significant time, he could end up near a 1000 yards in total. I am not sure how Reich is going to use him yet overall.
When we drafted him, I was worried about his limited route tree. I thought he'd be more of a returns and gimmick guy than anything else while spending some time inside from the slot.
Now we're hearing he's doing great on his routes, and Ballard was talking about him be utilized outside (like a X or Z). That really kind of blew my mind coming from Ballard.....
If he can get his routes down and beat the press, he really could play any of the 3 WR positions plus APRB plus returns. His flexibility could be awesome, but also worries me that he gets good at several things, but not great at any.
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5 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:
I went day 1 starter, solid season. He went where he should have. I went between 700-799 because we have so many other weapons so I didn't want to go to high. That was a tough one to vote on but if he gets around 750 yards as a rookie that is good.
I think he's going to end up taking over PRs or KRs at some point, and could mean a decent amount of all purpose yards aside from receiving. IMO, the number of KRs will increase this year due to us facing much better QBs. Just an average KRer will get 400 yards in a season, and an average PR will get 150+. Pascal wasn't very effective at all (ranked 21st as KR), and still manged 300ish yards. Rogers ranked 12th in PRs, and picked up 215.
Personally I'd keep Rogers at PR, and use Campbell as KR. Give him space and a running start, and woosh.
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Could colts trade for Clowney?
in Colts Football
Posted
Clowney
2018 - 9 Sacks, 16 TFLs, 21 QB hits
2017 - 9.5 Sacks, 21 TFLs, 21 QB hits
Sheard
2018 - 5.5 sacks, 13 TFLs, 11 QB hits
2017 5.5 Sacks, 9 TFLs, 14 QB hits
I'm gonna say Clowney is also at a bit of a disadvantage competing with JJ Watt for stats. Sheard on the other hand was competing with Hunt most of the year, and Lewis late year.
You may not deem him elite, but he had a substantial stat lead in sacks and QB hits compared to Sheard.