STRENGTHS
Will has the talent, size, and “cleverness” to be an excellent Defensive End in a 4/3 defense. He has the length and explosion you look for in a potential double-digit pass rusher. Will’s quick-twitch athleticism and cleverness make it easy for him to have counter moves off his initial pass rush moves and still be able to finish. Off the snap of the ball, his length allows him to get into the backfield quickly putting offensive tackles at an immediate disadvantage to overreact and become off-balance. Will, looks on film, to be an excellent teammate moving inside at times this year, to use his quickness to pass rush, putting him at a disadvantage to be productive. In spite of that coaching decision to move Will inside on some passing downs, he was still clever enough to be a disruptive force. Will has the potential to become a complete pass-rushing Defensive End for the team that selects him.
CONCERNS
Most are thinking that Will is a tweener. They believe he is undersized and can’t stop the run to become a starting Defensive End in a 4/3 defense and that he lacks the coverage ability to be a starting ER/LB in a 3/4 Defense. They are both right and wrong, right in that evaluation, and wrong in thinking that he can’t develop and become excellent.
BOTTOM LINE: 1.69
Jerry Hughes is considered undersized and was not good at stopping the run when he came out. Von Miller is considered undersized and I remember downgrading him because he was poor in stopping the run, in fact, I didn’t believe Von would ever be anything more than a specialty player, go figure! Stopping the run has to do with two very important skills, mindset and techniques, and not how big a player is. You can’t teach the mindset but you can teach the techniques. Will has developed and worked on his pass-rushing skills. I believe that given the time to develop, he will become more than adequate at stopping the run as Hughes and Miller both did. Why do I think that? Because Will has self-taught himself the pass-rushing and counter moves needed to impact. Once he gets to the NFL he will get into a better strength and conditioning program and be taught the run-stopping techniques and double-team techniques that he needs to learn to become better at stopping the run. I have seen in his play from year to year, the mental toughness, strong character, and work ethic needed to improve. I believe that given some time to develop, I have no doubt that he will improve and get bigger and stronger and become that double-digit sack artist others seem to think he won’t become.
