Thoughts on Kenny Willekas- Edge- Michigan State

[GREENBEAN]

This guy is becoming one of my absolute favorite players in the entire draft. In the same way as Jace Sternberger was for me last season. I see him as a solid 3rd rd pick or an absolute steal in the 4th. 

Here are some vid bits.

Kenny Willekes- Edge- Michigan State- 6'4" 260lbs-  

2018 Big Ten Dl of the year with 20.5 tfl

2019-10.5 sacks, 16 tfl, 2FF, 2 FR  26 sacks for his career

Walk on who managed to become the first player in MS history to be voted team MVP 2x.  Incredible motor, incredible football instincts. He is essentially the same type of high motor type of guy Blake Cashman would be without the injuries.  Team leader and plays through the whistle every single play.

He was injured in 2018 when he broke his Fibula but came back to start every game in 2019. 

I am all about going offense heavy in this draft and hope JD feels the same way, but grabbing a guy like Willekes with the second 3rd rd pick or even our 4th could be a coup for taking care of our edge position for years to come.  

Thoughts? 

[jetsons]

 

[jetsons]

I never heard of him but he looks pretty good...  depends where he falls but I wouldn't mind giving him a shot.

[GREENBEAN]

3 hours ago, jetsons said:

I never heard of him but he looks pretty good...  depends where he falls but I wouldn't mind giving him a shot.

i think he's the exact fit for a Joe Douglas built team.  "Guys who hate to lose more than they love to win"  He seems to be in that mold. The guy is an absolute animal and still on an upward trajectory.  I'm rooting for him to be our 4th rd pick, but don't know if he makes it that far. His measurable are perfect. 

[#27TheDominator]

4 hours ago, GREENBEAN said:

i think he's the exact fit for a Joe Douglas built team.  "Guys who hate to lose more than they love to win"  He seems to be in that mold. The guy is an absolute animal and still on an upward trajectory.  I'm rooting for him to be our 4th rd pick, but don't know if he makes it that far. His measurable are perfect. 

What are his measurables?  He looks good.  All motor, but I don't see much of him destroying blocks or blowing by people.  I would wait to see his actual weight, length and times. 

[KRL]

Excellent production at a big school in a big conference:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/kenny-willekes-1.html

His draft position will probably be decided by the athletic ability
and speed he shows at the Combine and whether he can stand up and play
OLB

[jetsons]

2 hours ago, #27TheDominator said:

What are his measurables?  He looks good.  All motor, but I don't see much of him destroying blocks or blowing my people.  I would wait to see his actual weight, length and times. 

really??? did you read the op's post? ?

[Thai Jet]

6 hours ago, jetsons said:

 

Never heard of him but seems decent. I liked what the video had to offer, except for the annoying background music.

[#27TheDominator]

16 minutes ago, jetsons said:

really??? did you read the op's post? ?

I don't understand your joke.  

All I saw was a yearbook height/weight and some stats.  There is a good chance that he will measure differently and I have no idea what type of athlete we are hoping to draft.

[GREENBEAN]

4 hours ago, #27TheDominator said:

What are his measurables?  He looks good.  All motor, but I don't see much of him destroying blocks or blowing my people.  I would wait to see his actual weight, length and times. 

more his size and speed combo. He's a tad light but he's pretty fast to make up for it. He will absolutely need a year in an NFl strength program, but could be effective situationally as a rookie. He sets the edge well in college but will need to get stronger to do that well in the bigs. 

6'4" 260  4.8 avg 40 time. Nice wing span at 79" 

He's invited to the combine so we'll get to see him run through the drills. I'll be very interested to see how he shows up and performs. All comments about him is that he's got a very good head on his shoulders too. Hard worker, smart, driven and has the baseline size and speed to translate. 

 

[GREENBEAN]

3 hours ago, KRL said:

Excellent production at a big school in a big conference:

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/kenny-willekes-1.html

His draft position will probably be decided by the athletic ability
and speed he shows at the Combine and whether he can stand up and play
OLB

Agreed.His combine is gonna be very important... not like everyone else's isn't lol 

 I see him as a 3rd right now who could slip tp the 4th. If he has a stellar combine I could see him dipping into the back of the 2nd, but I doubt it. Too raw. I seriously think he's gonna max out as a 3rd rd pick, but what do I know? I had Cody Ford as top of the first last year. 

If this guy makes it to our 4th rd pick I would hope JD snatches him up. 

[T0mShane]

On 2/5/2020 at 1:28 PM, #27TheDominator said:

What are his measurables?  He looks good.  All motor, but I don't see much of him destroying blocks or blowing by people.  I would wait to see his actual weight, length and times. 

Feels like a guy who’s going to run Lorenzo Mauldin numbers but get overdrafted anyway.

[Apache 51]

Gives us something to watch for at the combine, nice. Thanks.

[GREENBEAN]

Feels like a guy who’s going to run Lorenzo Mauldin numbers but get overdrafted anyway.

i feel better about this guy’s staying power. Even though I had high hopes for Mauldin after a solid first few weeks of his career, I never felt like he was the guy.
Willekas has the potential to become a long time stalwart on an NFL DL.
His numbers are consistent and his motor/ work ethic are as good as they come.
3-4th Rd



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[RobR]

24 minutes ago, GREENBEAN said:

i feel better about this guy’s staying power. Even though I had high hopes for Mauldin after a solid first few weeks of his career, I never felt like he was the guy.
Willekas has the potential to become a long time stalwart on an NFL DL.
His numbers are consistent and his motor/ work ethic are as good as they come.
3-4th Rd



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What scares me the most about this guy was that he was a walk on recruit. Almost all walk-ons lack the god given athletic ability....hence why they were walk-ons.

That rarely translates to the NFL level because even if you have a great motor, it means nothing without the athletic ability. Add in the fact that he's a tweaner and I'm going hard pass. Just watching his highlight video leaves me lacking.   

[Eaton Beaver]

And another thing, he looks good in Green!

[GREENBEAN]

What scares me the most about this guy was that he was a walk on recruit. Almost all walk-ons lack the god given athletic ability....hence why they were walk-ons.
That rarely translates to the NFL level because even if you have a great motor, it means nothing without the athletic ability. Add in the fact that he's a tweaner and I'm going hard pass. Just watching his highlight video leaves me lacking.   

I can appreciate that. To me he’s Erik Howardesque. Even though Howard was a bit more established by the time he came out.
A bit smaller but he reminds me of him.

I love him in the 4th or 5th. The walk on aspects you mentioned are very real but when they end up leading to 36 sacks and 30 something TFLs he’s worth taking a look. Especially being impressive enough to win MVP twice in 3 years. He’s the kind of guy you want around the locker room. And works his ass off.
Even if it’s the kind of guy who plays a reserve role most of his career but sticks on the team I’d like it.
Good points though.


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[RobR]

19 minutes ago, GREENBEAN said:

I can appreciate that. To me he’s Erik Howardesque. Even though Howard was a bit more established by the time he came out.
A bit smaller but he reminds me of him.

I love him in the 4th or 5th. The walk on aspects you mentioned are very real but when they end up leading to 36 sacks and 30 something TFLs he’s worth taking a look. Especially being impressive enough to win MVP twice in 3 years. He’s the kind of guy you want around the locker room. And works his ass off.
Even if it’s the kind of guy who plays a reserve role most of his career but sticks on the team I’d like it.
Good points though.


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For him it will all be about the combine and how he performs. I'd wager a guess that every successful pass rusher in the NFL, or at least 90%+ were four or five star recruits coming out of high school. 

Props for bringing up Erik Howard. I kinda remembered the name but I did have to do a google search to finally pinpoint it. 

[Sammybighead]

Looks good, like a garbage man type of player. That's not a bad thing, but he's probably the guy in the NFL that's good enough to capitalize when the other teams screw up. High motor, great passion/effort. Wouldn't mind seeing him green and white

[GREENBEAN]

On 2/8/2020 at 7:54 PM, RobR said:

For him it will all be about the combine and how he performs. I'd wager a guess that every successful pass rusher in the NFL, or at least 90%+ were four or five star recruits coming out of high school. 

Props for bringing up Erik Howard. I kinda remembered the name but I did have to do a google search to finally pinpoint it. 

Ya know that is some really interesting stuff to take a look at. How many walk ons in college actually end up having successful NFl careers? I'd be just as interested to see how many pass rushers were actually 5 star recruits like you mentioned.  I'm sure those stats are out there, but I don't know them. lol

Really good points man. Very intesting.  When applying these ideas to Willekas though could be interesting. He's already done something that no one in Michigan State history has done by being the only 2 time MVP. I also believe he's the only walk on to grab that honor as well. I'm less confident in the second point though.  He's exactly the type of guy I'd take a chance on. Especially in the later rds. 

I liked Erik Howard. one of those lunch pail types. He did ok for the Jets but did his real work during his time with the Jints.  he did get a safety for us so that's pretty cool  hahaha 

[GREENBEAN]

On 2/9/2020 at 9:39 AM, Sammybighead said:

Looks good, like a garbage man type of player. That's not a bad thing, but he's probably the guy in the NFL that's good enough to capitalize when the other teams screw up. High motor, great passion/effort. Wouldn't mind seeing him green and white

This is kinda how I see it.  I'm not so sure I'd consider him to end up being a JJ Watt type of player, but I think he's the type of guy who you would want to keep around for the long haul.  Middle of the pack production floor with potential to have big plays at the right time.  

I just like him a lot. 

[mrcoops]

I've been picking him a lot in the 4th-5th round of draft simulator mocks.

The kind of productive, high-effort player that's worth taking a shot on at that point in the draft.

 

[Patriot Killa]

I just did a write up on him. I love the guy..only question his athleticism and his ability to play stand up LBer.

[jetstream23]

Really like him.  I know it is blasphemy to suggest the Jets draft a defender this year but I'd really, really love to get one of these three guys for Edge in the Draft - Zach Baun, Josh Uche, Kenny Willekes.  I don't want Edge in Round 1 and probably not in Round 2 either unless it's Baun....but starting in Round 3 we could find a diamond in the rough.  Baun and Willekes seem similar (and not just because they're white) as both are tenacious, edge-setting run-stopping guys who have above average pass rush skills.  They're not dynamic outside rushers like a Chandler Jones, Bosa, Khalil Mack, Watt, etc. but they are better than average rushers and likely much better overall players than Brandon Copeland.

I managed to grab Willekes in Round 4 of a mock below....and would absolutely love that.  In fact, would be thrilled with this Draft as I hit a Tier 1 OT with Wirfs and managed to get two solid but different WRs (speedy Reagor and size/possession guy Pittman).

 

[Chrebetfan80]

On 2/7/2020 at 7:33 PM, RobR said:

What scares me the most about this guy was that he was a walk on recruit. Almost all walk-ons lack the god given athletic ability....hence why they were walk-ons.

That rarely translates to the NFL level because even if you have a great motor, it means nothing without the athletic ability. Add in the fact that he's a tweaner and I'm going hard pass. Just watching his highlight video leaves me lacking.   

edge is one position its hard to translate without great athletic ability.. I'll be interested to see what he tests come back as, but even jsut watching his tapes and watching him this year i dont see a guy that i would touch until the later rounds.  Could i see him develop into a rotational player since he's got the motor and some skill? yea, probably a pretty good ST guy.  But this dude right now from what i've seen isnt going to solve out PassRush problems.  I havent watched enough of him yet to really make the distinction but i think right now i probably liked winnovich more at this time than willekes 

[jetstream23]

Quote

Thoughts on Kenny Willekas- Edge- Michigan State

I can't help but pronounce his name as Wikileaks.

[#27TheDominator]

On 2/8/2020 at 7:29 PM, GREENBEAN said:

I can appreciate that. To me he’s Erik Howardesque. Even though Howard was a bit more established by the time he came out.
A bit smaller but he reminds me of him.

I love him in the 4th or 5th. The walk on aspects you mentioned are very real but when they end up leading to 36 sacks and 30 something TFLs he’s worth taking a look. Especially being impressive enough to win MVP twice in 3 years. He’s the kind of guy you want around the locker room. And works his ass off.
Even if it’s the kind of guy who plays a reserve role most of his career but sticks on the team I’d like it.
Good points though.


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What is it that reminds you of Howard?  The effort?  I remember Howard as a DT. This guy is an edge.  Lunch pail types usually do better inside or 2 gapping, like Devito and Pouha.  At the edge you generally need plus athleticism and I'm not sure this kid has it.  Should be good on special at a minimum from what I have seen

[Adoni Beast]

On 2/5/2020 at 8:54 AM, GREENBEAN said:

I am all about going offense heavy in this draft and hope JD feels the same way, but grabbing a guy like Willekes with the second 3rd rd pick or even our 4th could be a coup for taking care of our edge position for years to come.  

Thoughts? 

“A coup” mixed with The New York Jets just have an Israeli / Palestinian kind of vibe for me, ever since Idzik.

But I digress! like the player and his motor.  His lack of athleticism makes me think he will still available in the 5th. I wouldn’t be comfortable spending a 3rd on him though to be honest. But if we can pick him later, he could be a good depth piece at a position of need.

[GREENBEAN]

19 hours ago, #27TheDominator said:

What is it that reminds you of Howard?  The effort?  I remember Howard as a DT. This guy is an edge.  Lunch pail types usually do better inside or 2 gapping, like Devito and Pouha.  At the edge you generally need plus athleticism and I'm not sure this kid has it.  Should be good on special at a minimum from what I have seen

Yeah basically. The effort, lunch pail type that aren't necessarily dominating but are solid contributors. Guys you want around. The tfl and ability against the run is something I attribute to Howard. In truth it's been a long time and I was a much younger fan then so it could be that they are two white guys. I don't know.  

I don't see Willekas as being the Lawrence Taylor. He's more the Erik Howard. Eh? 

This guy just has it for me. Even if he ended up being a reg on ST and a situational PR or solid depth I would think him worth a 4th or 5th. But I see him rising above that and being a starter. The third may be a touch too high, especially with this draft being so deep at WR and offensive line but KW is my dark horse this draft for sure. 

[GREENBEAN]

11 hours ago, Adoni Beast said:

“A coup” mixed with The New York Jets just have an Israeli / Palestinian kind of vibe for me, ever since Idzik.

But I digress! like the player and his motor.  His lack of athleticism makes me think he will still available in the 5th. I wouldn’t be comfortable spending a 3rd on him though to be honest. But if we can pick him later, he could be a good depth piece at a position of need.

haha. 

Maybe a poor choice of words. Especially with what Gase just pulled off this past offseason with Maccadoodles. lol 

[GREENBEAN]

On 2/12/2020 at 9:38 PM, jetstream23 said:

Really like him.  I know it is blasphemy to suggest the Jets draft a defender this year but I'd really, really love to get one of these three guys for Edge in the Draft - Zach Baun, Josh Uche, Kenny Willekes.  I don't want Edge in Round 1 and probably not in Round 2 either unless it's Baun....but starting in Round 3 we could find a diamond in the rough.  Baun and Willekes seem similar (and not just because they're white) as both are tenacious, edge-setting run-stopping guys who have above average pass rush skills.  They're not dynamic outside rushers like a Chandler Jones, Bosa, Khalil Mack, Watt, etc. but they are better than average rushers and likely much better overall players than Brandon Copeland.

I managed to grab Willekes in Round 4 of a mock below....and would absolutely love that.  In fact, would be thrilled with this Draft as I hit a Tier 1 OT with Wirfs and managed to get two solid but different WRs (speedy Reagor and size/possession guy Pittman).

 

 

[GREENBEAN]

How interesting with Michael Pittman. I haven't seen him lasting past the 3rd and think that will be more accurate in the actual draft. I love him. 6'4" 232 that high sides the ball as well as anyone in college. 

My first Jets Mock vid is coming early next week and has some of these guys. 

I like Baun as well but need to take a look at Uche. My focus has been offense this year particularly line, wr and qb. I have to get more into the RB's as well. 

I love Willekas even though I don't see him being a fun time contributor right away. other than situationally that is. A guy like him will come in and show a lot of guys what real hard work is and that they need to step it up to remain on the team imo. 

[jetstream23]

1 hour ago, GREENBEAN said:

How interesting with Michael Pittman. I haven't seen him lasting past the 3rd and think that will be more accurate in the actual draft. I love him. 6'4" 232 that high sides the ball as well as anyone in college. 

My first Jets Mock vid is coming early next week and has some of these guys. 

I like Baun as well but need to take a look at Uche. My focus has been offense this year particularly line, wr and qb. I have to get more into the RB's as well. 

I love Willekas even though I don't see him being a fun time contributor right away. other than situationally that is. A guy like him will come in and show a lot of guys what real hard work is and that they need to step it up to remain on the team imo. 

Hey man, great job with the videos by the way.  I agree with you about Willekes....seems like a tenacious hard worker, and if he's say 70% of what TJ Watt is then he'd be worth a pick after Round 3 in my opinion.

I've been doing a lot of mocks on both Fanspeak and the DraftNetwork.  They all come out different in terms of what players are available in which rounds.  It obviously depends on which draft board you use (DraftNetwork has two - a Predictive ranking and a straight BPA, Fanspeak seems to have about 10 from various sources including Tony Pauline, CBS and their own guys like Steve, etc.).  I have found myself doing something like grabbing a Center in Round 2 in some mocks only to see another two or three good Center prospects available later in the 4th who were never lasting that long in other mocks.  It's crazy.  The Draft is much more art than science.  It would be really, really interesting to see how Joe D plans for this, where he sees the value, when he might take his first defender in a Draft that we all expect to be heavy on offense for the Jets.  Fun times!

Coming to the Draft in Vegas?

 

[GREENBEAN]

8 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

Hey man, great job with the videos by the way.  I agree with you about Willekes....seems like a tenacious hard worker, and if he's say 70% of what TJ Watt is then he'd be worth a pick after Round 3 in my opinion.

I've been doing a lot of mocks on both Fanspeak and the DraftNetwork.  They all come out different in terms of what players are available in which rounds.  It obviously depends on which draft board you use (DraftNetwork has two - a Predictive ranking and a straight BPA, Fanspeak seems to have about 10 from various sources including Tony Pauline, CBS and their own guys like Steve, etc.).  I have found myself doing something like grabbing a Center in Round 2 in some mocks only to see another two or three good Center prospects available later in the 4th who were never lasting that long in other mocks.  It's crazy.  The Draft is much more art than science.  It would be really, really interesting to see how Joe D plans for this, where he sees the value, when he might take his first defender in a Draft that we all expect to be heavy on offense for the Jets.  Fun times!

Coming to the Draft in Vegas?

 

lol I stay far away from Vegas. Not even the draft can get me there again. My life crumbled to pieces there many years ago and I had to work as a plumber in the desert while living in my '86 chevy van. They were the worst of times, They were the worst of times.  

 I'm using the draft network simulator exclusively. The Fan speak one is beyond my comprehension for some reason. But even with that the boards are always so different. one thing I've noticed is that Biadasz is consistently lasting longer than Cushenberry, Hennesee and even Nick Harris. I don't see that being accurate in real life. The combine will be telling but Biadasz is going to be the first C taken imo. At worst the 2nd C taken. If he makes it to our 2nd rd pick I hope JD snatches him cuz he aint making it to the 3rd. No way No how! 

The good news is that I like the 4 Centers I mentioned so if any are there I would take one @ 48 for sure. It just sucks so bad that every year us fans have pretty solid draft boards and then the Jets pull some crazy crap out of their bag to ruin it. So many DT's!!!! WTF???? 

JD needs to go T, C/G WR almost exclusively and certainly in the first 3 rds. I could see a CB slipping in there and that's ok I suppose, but committing to an area of the team filled with weaknesses is a better philosophy than trying to fill everything on one draft. This is the offensive draft deep in the positions we need. Stockpile them and then go CB and Edge next year.  That's how I see it. It will be interesting to see how JD sees it. 

 

[jetstream23]

54 minutes ago, GREENBEAN said:

lol I stay far away from Vegas. Not even the draft can get me there again. My life crumbled to pieces there many years ago and I had to work as a plumber in the desert while living in my '86 chevy van. They were the worst of times, They were the worst of times.  

 

Ha!  Hey man, I get it.....those sound like tough times.  You didn't realize that life as a Jets fan would only make them tougher! lol

 

Quote

 I'm using the draft network simulator exclusively. The Fan speak one is beyond my comprehension for some reason. But even with that the boards are always so different. one thing I've noticed is that Biadasz is consistently lasting longer than Cushenberry, Hennesee and even Nick Harris. I don't see that being accurate in real life. The combine will be telling but Biadasz is going to be the first C taken imo. At worst the 2nd C taken. If he makes it to our 2nd rd pick I hope JD snatches him cuz he aint making it to the 3rd. No way No how! 

The good news is that I like the 4 Centers I mentioned so if any are there I would take one @ 48 for sure. It just sucks so bad that every year us fans have pretty solid draft boards and then the Jets pull some crazy crap out of their bag to ruin it. So many DT's!!!! WTF???? 

JD needs to go T, C/G WR almost exclusively and certainly in the first 3 rds. I could see a CB slipping in there and that's ok I suppose, but committing to an area of the team filled with weaknesses is a better philosophy than trying to fill everything on one draft. This is the offensive draft deep in the positions we need. Stockpile them and then go CB and Edge next year.  That's how I see it. It will be interesting to see how JD sees it. 

I'm with you on the approach to Center.  I like Biadasz (although he regressed a bit this year), Cushenberry, Ruiz, Hennessey and Nick Harris....although I honestly think Ruiz could be the sneaky best one of the bunch.  He's a true Center, smart, tactician but not overwhelmingly physical or athletically gifted which is fine.  Not everyone can pull like Kevin Mawae.  I have a friend who went to Michigan and has watched every Michigan football game from beginning to end twice.  He really likes Ruiz's prospects at the NFL, and this guy isn't a homer because he's down on a few other Michigan guys.

#48 isn't a bad spot to target Center but I've really been look at that pick in Round 2 as the sweet spot for a WR.  My thoughts/hopes all along have been that we'd go something like OT, WR, C/OG, Edge/CB (in that order) with our first 4 picks in Rounds 1-3.  It's not popular to speak of defense around here but that 3rd round seems like a good place for a CB or an Edge guy.

I'm kind of stuck on Round 2 and pick #48 for a WR because I think in any other year guys like Justin Jefferson, Brandon Ayuik, Jalen Reagor, Denzel Mims would be late 1st rounders.  At least one of them is almost guaranteed to be there at #48 because there are about 5 guys ahead of them who will be taken and the WR needy teams who take Jeudy, Lamb, Ruggs, Higgins, Shenault in Round 1 will move on to other positions in Round 2.