Patrick Willis, 2007 NFL Draft
 | 6' 1" 242 lbs. Speed: 4.49 Linebacker Mississippi Senior (Graduate) *Selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the 11th over-all pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. |
Patrick Willis is the best linebacker in the 2007 NFL Draft, hands down. 2007 isn’t a strong year for linebackers with the exception of Willis. He is about as close to a “can’t miss” prospect as there is in this draft. Willis has played mostly inside linebacker, but has the speed and instincts to play any linebacker position asked of him.
Willis has been through a ton of adversity, abandoned by his mother and taken away from his father when he was six years old; he picked cotton and helped raise his younger brother and sister.
In 2005 in his first year as a full time starter Willis played through a bunch of injuries, he played with a with a broken middle finger on his right hand, a sprained left knee, a right mid-foot sprain and a partial AC joint separation of his right shoulder, and he spent much of the year with a club covering his right hand.
His production in spite of all the injuries was truly amazing:
Named First Team All-America by CollegeFootballNews.com and the All-American Football Foundation.
Earned First Team All-SEC honors from Associated Press, SEC Coaches, CollegeFootballNews.com and Rivals.com.
Was the 2005 NCAA Division I-A statistical champion with 9 solo tackles per game average.
Awarded second Team All-America distinction from Walter Camp Football Foundation, The Associated Press, SI.com and Rivals.com.
Named SEC Defensive Player of the Year by CollegeFootballNews.com and Scout.com.
Was a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award
Finalist for the Conerly Trophy as
CollegeFootballNews.com distinguished him as the SEC Top Linebacker and SEC No. 2 Rated Player Regardless of Position.
Led the SEC in total tackles at 12.80 per game, which placed him sixth nationally.
Finished season with 128 total tackles, 9.5 TFLs, three sacks, three pass-break-ups, two QB hurries, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception
Many thought he would enter the draft after that excellent junior season, but he didn’t, and in 2006 had another record breaking year:
Earned South Team Defensive MVP honors at the 2007 Senior Bowl, when he led all players with 11 tackles (seven solo) and one force fumble.
Led the SEC in tackles with 11.4 per game, which also ranked sixth in the NCAA.
Ranked third in the NCAA in solo tackles with 7.25 per outing.
Started all 12 games at middle linebacker, collecting 137 tackles (87 solo), 11.5 TFLs, seven passes defended, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
2006 Butkus Award and Lambert Trophy winner as the nation’s top linebacker.
Named first-team All-SEC and SEC Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press and the league's coaches.
Finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, semifinalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award and Lott Trophy.
I could go on and on with his accolades, but I am starting to run out of space for this scouting report. Willis has Ray Lewis type of ability.
Just when scouts thought they had Willis figured out, he showed up in fantastic shape at the 2007 NFL Scouting combine where he measured in at 6’ 2" 242 pounds and ran a blistering 4.49 second 40 yard dash. Willis also displayed some real power in his legs by vertically jumping 39” and broad jumping 9’ 11”.
On March 20th at