Albany,n.y. Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 A week or 2 ago I posted that Frank Coyle of Draft Insider's Digest had Willis as a marginal 1st rounder, thought he overran & missed too many tackles and had Posluszny rated 22nd best & Willis 35th best palyers in the draft. Today I get an e-mail where he now has him as the fastest rising player: "Ahead of the Curve * * Fastest Rising '07 NFL Draft Prospect * * Ole Miss' Linebacker Patrick Willis Fastest Rising Prospect Ole Miss Backer Patrick Willis The fastest rising prospect of the NFL Draft ’07 is Ole Miss’s linebacker Patrick Willis after a terrific postseason. Willis is a blue chip prospect we interviewed in August ’06 and ranked at the top of our Senior Bowl recommendation list that we provide to the All-Star classic. We interviewed him again at the Senior Bowl in Jan. ’07 and have followed him through the postseason at the NFL Combine in Feb and his individual workout in late March. He is a prospect with rare speed for the inside and registered a tremendous sprint at his Ole Miss workout in March ’07. He ran two sub 4.4 times at 237 lbs. with one NFL scout having him at a 4.35 time, an incredible number for the position. That speed performance is superior to both Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis workout numbers during their senior seasons. He had a fine workout directed by Baltimore Ravens LB coach Jeff FitzGerald that left NFL personnel men totally impressed. He combines excellent athleticism, fine intangibles and great production at a high level of competition. His incredible speed translates well to the playing field where he combines power and instincts to rank as the #1 linebacker prospect this spring. His production was amazing over his career, both in big plays and levels of consistency. After viewing game tape on over 7 games, there were two plays that stood out. He track down Arkansas running back sensation Darren McFadden on the perimeter, outrunning him through traffic to make the stop on the outside for a loss. He also chased down LSU wideout on a flanker reverse after flowing with the play, displaying incredible recovery speed to outrun the speedy receiver down for a loss and covering the wideth of the field twice. At the Senior Bowl, he had a terrific week and during the game once again displayed the consistency that makes him a blue chip prospect. He made both the first and last tackle of the game to complete an outstanding career. Ole Miss coaches rave about him combining leadership toughness and dedication over his career. At the Ole Miss workout, he had two sub 4.4 times in his 40 yard sprints with one NFL scout timing him in in 4.35. He also had a sub 4.4 short shuttle and 7.10 three-cone drill. He stood on his numbers from the NFL Combine for the rest (see Scouting report below for details). He completed an outstanding workout and postseason that probably has elevated him into the top 10-12 selections in April. "
Brandon Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 I take it his e-mail feedback from those previous statements wasn't kind.
BillsCelticsAngelsBama Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 I'm sure Frank Coyle and Mel Kiper have much, much, more knowledge about the draft than most of us, but it's always bugged me how there rankings change so much, even well after the combines. Kiper had Willis around 24th and I heard talk up some negatives about him about three weeks ago on a talk show. Now he is in his top 15. Do they not have enough confidence in their own views ? Or do they wait to hear from insiders and then reevaluate thier ratings. I don't want to get in to name calling, because they have brought alot of enjoyment to me and made the draft infinitely more interesting to those who love the draft but when a guy is 20th on April 10th and 10th on April 25th.... well what happened ??
turftoe Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 Beware of the prospect that leaps up the draft board in late April.
Beerball Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 I was listening to Rick Gosselin on a local show the other day. He was talking about how he 'builds his board', and he's one of the best. Care to guess how much film he has reviewed since the Sr. Bowl? Narry a frame. He's on the phone constantly with team execs, coaches, agents, college coaches etc. He builds his board based on what he hears from all his sources, piecing everything together based on who thinks Willis is a mid-1st rounder and who has him top 10 etc. In that way he comes up with his top 100 players. Could be Coyle takes a similar approach, and doesn't build his board based on what he thinks, but rather what he hears.
tennesseeboy Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 Whoaaa...firs okoye..now willis. Let's stop rising fellas...the Bills need you to be there at 12!
turftoe Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 I'm sure Frank Coyle and Mel Kiper have much, much, more knowledge about the draft than most of us, but it's always bugged me how there rankings change so much, even well after the combines. Kiper had Willis around 24th and I heard talk up some negatives about him about three weeks ago on a talk show. Now he is in his top 15. Do they not have enough confidence in their own views ? Or do they wait to hear from insiders and then reevaluate thier ratings. I don't want to get in to name calling, because they have brought alot of enjoyment to me and made the draft infinitely more interesting to those who love the draft but when a guy is 20th on April 10th and 10th on April 25th.... well what happened ?? They all do it to some degree. A little over a week ago, Mike Mayock had Leon Hall as #9 on his list. Now he has him at #18.
jarthur31 Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 I'm sure Frank Coyle and Mel Kiper have much, much, more knowledge about the draft than most of us, but it's always bugged me how there rankings change so much, even well after the combines. Kiper had Willis around 24th and I heard talk up some negatives about him about three weeks ago on a talk show. Now he is in his top 15. Do they not have enough confidence in their own views ? Or do they wait to hear from insiders and then reevaluate thier ratings. I don't want to get in to name calling, because they have brought alot of enjoyment to me and made the draft infinitely more interesting to those who love the draft but when a guy is 20th on April 10th and 10th on April 25th.... well what happened ?? Heh, you make too much sense. The bottom line is that not even they know what type of pro that particular player will turn out to be. Scheme plays a huge role for defenders these days and this needs to be taken into account alot more.
turftoe Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 I was listening to Rick Gosselin on a local show the other day. He was talking about how he 'builds his board', and he's one of the best. Care to guess how much film he has reviewed since the Sr. Bowl? Narry a frame. He's on the phone constantly with team execs, coaches, agents, college coaches etc. He builds his board based on what he hears from all his sources, piecing everything together based on who thinks Willis is a mid-1st rounder and who has him top 10 etc. In that way he comes up with his top 100 players. Could be Coyle takes a similar approach, and doesn't build his board based on what he thinks, but rather what he hears. I like to read Gosselin's final mock draft because he is good at gathering tidbits from his multiple sources and has been quite good at predicting the first round. He, however, doesn't have much of a clue about actually grading players based on first hand observation. Just go to the Dallas Morning News website and under his page there is a link to their top 50 players. They have Daymeion Hughes as the 10TH best player in the draft. The guy is slow and will be lucky to be picked in the 3rd round. I loved the draft guides that the late Joel Buschbaum produced. My understanding is that he actually studied a lot of film. I just haven't been able to find much that I like since he died.
Acantha Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 I was listening to Rick Gosselin on a local show the other day. He was talking about how he 'builds his board', and he's one of the best. Care to guess how much film he has reviewed since the Sr. Bowl? Narry a frame. He's on the phone constantly with team execs, coaches, agents, college coaches etc. He builds his board based on what he hears from all his sources, piecing everything together based on who thinks Willis is a mid-1st rounder and who has him top 10 etc. In that way he comes up with his top 100 players. Could be Coyle takes a similar approach, and doesn't build his board based on what he thinks, but rather what he hears. His first mock draft came out a few days ago. Definitely some different ideas.
Kelly the Dog Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 I don't really see why this is any surprise. If he had an incredible 40 time, as well as an equally impressive workout at his pro day for the NFL coaches in attendance, he could easily leapfrog 20 spots in the draft. Usually the top 10-15 are the real blue chippers and most scouts and pundits have them at the top, just in different order. The next 10-15 are a whole different ballgame, and are taken from 30 or so potential players, not 15 or so players. And jumping from #30 to #15 on that list is easy compared to, say, #15 to #1 on the 1-15 list. Every year there are a lot of players taken at the bottom of the first round that were projected to be at the top of the second, and vice versa.
tombstone56 Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 big difference between kiper and coyle ... kipers is a stats guy with a good memory.. coyle only parrots others opinion.. kiper is usually wrong but he has a opinion ..coyle is nt capable because he doesn t know crap ...they can watch a great group of rbs for example but i doubt either has the ability to see past stats and evaluate his footballl skills,, not his weight room,track. andht,wt, ratio .. i d trust kiper to know the details but his picks rarely fit the teams actual needs..
Lurker Posted April 20, 2007 Posted April 20, 2007 He should have added: "The fastest rising prospect of the NFL Draft ’07--because I bought every other draft guide on the market, and didn't want to look like a fool for rating him so low--is Ole Miss’s linebacker Patrick Willis..."
Lurker Posted April 20, 2007 Posted April 20, 2007 I loved the draft guides that the late Joel Buschbaum produced. My understanding is that he actually studied a lot of film. I just haven't been able to find much that I like since he died. I agree. Scouting the draft appears to have been Joel's life, and he became very good at it. Nobody else working today is that dedicated--or crazy--depending on your perspective. RIP, Joel.
Recommended Posts