2017 Senior Bowl: 5 Players who improved stock
By John Buhler
The 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl saw the South beat the North 16-15. Here are the five players who improved their draft stock in Saturday’s game in Mobile.
The 2017 Reese’s Senior Bowl is in the books. This year, Hue Jackson’s South team defeated John Fox’s North team by the slimmest of margins, 16-15. It was really a great week of practice for both coaching staffs and the players lucky enough to get to play in this college football all-star game.
Some guys put together a really great week of practice, but failed to show up on Saturday. Other guys struggled during the week, but showed up when it counted in the Senior Bowl. Overall, here are the five players that improved their draft stock the most with an all-around great week in Mobile.
Jordan Willis
Defensive End, Kansas State Wildcats
In a Senior Bowl full of so many promising edge rushers, Kansas State defensive end Jordan Willis had the best all-around weekend in Mobile. He wasn’t stellar in Wednesday’s or Thursday’s practice for Jackson’s South team, but he shined on Saturday to help the South win.
Willis took advantage of mismatches on the edge with several quarterback hurries, at least one sack and a great hit on Pittsburgh quarterback that made him sail a ball way out of bounds. He had a bit of a Vic Beasley look to him — not as explosive, but a great knack for using speed of the edge and finding the football to force turnovers.
CBS had Willis as the No. 9 defensive end in the 2017 NFL Draft class. He projected as a solid third-round grade. However, he could push up some team’s draft boards to maybe the late second round. Willis was an absolute beast in the Big 12 as that Power 5’s best pass rusher in 2016.
There were a few edge players that had better practices than Willis, most notably Temple Owls outside linebacker Haason Reddick. That being said, Willis effected the pass the most when it matter the most. He’ll need to go to the right team to be a great pro, but Willis has a ton of upside as a speed rusher coming off the edge.