Colts draft Khari Willis, SS, Michigan State

[krunk]

Im kinda so so on this one. Will wait and see. Ballard said they were actually thinking about drafting him in the 3rd round.

[EastStreet]

10 minutes ago, ColtsBlueFL said:

Good ones get promoted and eventually become GM's one day ( Chris Ballard ).  Others become TV personalities...

 

Besides, the meetings where you have to report in front of the GM, directors, and other scouts.  Then the discussions/debates begin.  It's never about 1 scout.

and a lot of GMs get fired after they get promoted. 

area scouts are responsible for a group of guys, and they "sell" leadership on that guy. Ballard used to be the SW Scout for the Bears. his boss said he was great at selling "his" guys. it's never about one scout, but one scout is basically reporting out on a guy, and if he sells good (like Ballard), he has a lot to do with it. we're way off tangent..

[krunk]

It seems the Colts care more about the SS in this D being a great tackler and being good in coverage, but not necessarily a big int guy. If thats true then the pick makes some sense.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

33 minutes ago, krunk said:

It seems the Colts care more about the SS in this D being a great tackler and being good in coverage, but not necessarily a big int guy. If thats true then the pick makes some sense.

 

Well, if you can get a SS that is both good at stopping the run AND being good in coverage, you should be pretty happy, right? Not that many interceptions coming from most SS anyway. I wonder about whether his speed is up there, however?

[jskinnz]

19 hours ago, csmopar said:

He was a late 4th to Mid 5th by most “expert” sources. So a bit of a reach but not drastically 

 

You are not alone here and not just singling you out but these comments make me crazy.  A "reach" according to whom?

 

 

 

 

[krunk]

33 minutes ago, Mr. Irrelevant said:

 

Well, if you can get a SS that is both good at stopping the run AND being good in coverage, you should be pretty happy, right? Not that many interceptions coming from most SS anyway. I wonder about whether his speed is up there, however?

I think 4.5 maybe

[richard pallo]

To jump up 20 spots he must have been sitting way atop Ballards board at the time he made the trade.  Kiper had him as his 50th. overall prospect.  Looks like another great move by Ballard. 

[ColtsBlueFL]

24 minutes ago, krunk said:

I think 4.5 maybe

 

In pads?

 

I would look at playing speed, not just the underwear Olympics.  If a guy covers 5 yards in 2 steps (at full sprint) in pads, he 'plays' right about at 4.5 speed.  Of course that shows covering just over 5 yards in 2 strides is sub 4.5 and under 5 yards in 2 strides is above 4.5

 

Scouting tip I learned.

[ColtsBlueFL]

16 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

To jump up 20 spots he must have been sitting way atop Ballards board at the time he made the trade.  Kiper had him as his 50th. overall prospect.  Looks like another great move by Ballard. 

 

I've heard from a few (ex) GM's that sometimes their board lights up with a guy that is way above the others on your board at the beginning of some later rounds.  So to have lots of picks left to bundle to move up there and get that guy is a bonus in those cases.  Seems that case presented itself to Ballard.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

The more I think about it, the more likely I think they want him to be a starter. In other words > they hope he can outplay Gathers in our scheme.

[krunk]

20 minutes ago, ColtsBlueFL said:

 

In pads?

 

I would look at playing speed, not just the underwear Olympics.  If a guy covers 5 yards in 2 steps (at full sprint) in pads, he 'plays' right about at 4.5 speed.  Of course that shows covering just over 5 yards in 2 strides is sub 4.5 and under 5 yards in 2 strides is above 4.5

 

Scouting tip I learned.

No im just talking about whatever his official 40 may have been. Im not sure what he really ran. I thought i heard 4.5.

[EastStreet]

2 hours ago, krunk said:

It seems the Colts care more about the SS in this D being a great tackler and being good in coverage, but not necessarily a big int guy. If thats true then the pick makes some sense.

yup. and in that sense i'm warming up to the guy. i guess it was either him later, or abram early. i still like some of the guys that were still available whom i thought were more well rounded, but he's a better scheme fit (we'll) see, then I'm good. and i really didn't think abram (who i thought was also limited) was worth a first.

[csmopar]

1 hour ago, jskinnz said:

 

You are not alone here and not just singling you out but these comments make me crazy.  A "reach" according to whom?

 

 

 

 

Keep reading...

[jskinnz]

26 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Keep reading...

 

I’ve read all I need to read to know at point is pointless. 

 

Where the Kipers of the world have him ranked is meaningless. Clearly the Colts had him ranked higher which is all that matters. So by definition is it not a reach. 

[csmopar]

33 minutes ago, jskinnz said:

 

I’ve read all I need to read to know at point is pointless. 

 

Where the Kipers of the world have him ranked is meaningless. Clearly the Colts had him ranked higher which is all that matters. So by definition is it not a reach. 

I explained my thoughts on it already. Prior to your question of my post. It’s few posts before yours. 

[1959Colts]

 

[CurBeatElite]

15 hours ago, Mr. Irrelevant said:

The more I think about it, the more likely I think they want him to be a starter. In other words > they hope he can outplay Gathers in our scheme.

 

Geathers is basically on a 1 year 'prove it' deal.  That is prove he can stay healthy and play at a high level all season.

 

I think Willis and Geathers have a lot of similarities.  Willis, IMO, is a little better in coverage, but both are really box safeties who are built thick and are sure tacklers.

 

I have a feeling they will be on the field together quite a bit with one of them playing kind of a dime LB/hybrid S and the other back in coverage.

 

I like the pick a lot.  A tough kid, a good kid, a solid tackler, pretty good in coverage.  Not the most athletic guy in the draft, but it seems like his fundamentals are down and he's got a great head on his shoulders.

 

If nothing else, I think he's going to be a very solid ST player and a team leader in the very near future.

[Dr. T]

On 4/27/2019 at 11:11 PM, krunk said:

Im kinda so so on this one. Will wait and see. Ballard said they were actually thinking about drafting him in the 3rd round.

I feel the same way. I watched some of Willis' game highlights and don't see anything really special. Yes, he has high character, but I would have preferred Abrams, Savage or Hooker. I really don't get moving up for him, but I suspect that out preferred picks got snatched a couple of times in this draft and many of these selections (except for Paris) were not out first choices.

As far as SS goes, the UDFA we picked up from Miss State has a better highlight reel in my opinion.

[SouthernIndianaNDFan]

Chad Henry, Midwest Scout for our Colts has this to say about Mr. Willis. Long story short, don't put this guy in a box. (I'm here all week, folks.)

 

"Guys who are calling him a "box safety" are doing him a disservice. They played him all over the place (at Michigan State). I think he’s most natural in the box, but the kid is so smart – I’m gonna sound like a broken record here – but his character, he’s probably one of the three or four best guys I did this year (out of 300). He’s a unique human being. The city of Indianapolis is going to love him every bit as (much as) the Indianapolis Colts are, and that’s going to transfer into his football character. He’s really smart. The coaches really trusted him up there.

You see him not only in the box, but also free safety. He’s in the nickel. He’s played on the slot. And he did a pretty good job of that. I think he’s faster than a lot of people give him credit for. I think he ran in the 4.4s, and he’s a very well-rounded player in terms of ... I was always taught a long time ago: Slow safeties usually get you beat, dumb safeties always get you beat. He’s the polar opposite of both."

 

That being said, I think you could see Willis get action all throughout the backfield as the season progresses. Will be interesting to see how all of the new guys filter into the scheme.