Round 2: Kansas State DE Jordan Willis – 6-4, 255 – 4.53 – Senior
Previous Pick: Washington FS Budda Baker
The Bucs are high on Willis. That’s obvious from the fact that they are going to bring him in as one of the team’s 30 pre-draft visits and the fact that assistant defensive line coach Paul Spicer personally worked Willis out at his Kansas State pro day.

Tampa Bay has been spending time meeting with defensive end prospects that will be drafted in the first or second round this year, including Tennessee’s Derek Barnett and Michigan’s Taco Charlton. Don’t be surprised if Missouri’s Charles Harris is also in the mix by the time the draft rolls around.

The Bucs want another pass rusher, anticipating that this might be Robert Ayers, Jr.’s last year in Tampa Bay. Ayers, who turns 32 in September, was the team’s second-leading sacker last year with 6.5 quarterback captures, one forced fumble and a safety. With last year’s second-round pick Noah Spence groomed to take over as the Bucs’ right defensive end, Willis could start his career as a designated pass rusher at the left end spot while Will Gholston mans first and second downs.

Like UConn safety Obi Melifonwu, Willis also blew up at the NFL Scouting Combine. He stunned his peers in addition to NFL scouts, coaches and general managers by being the fastest and most athletic defensive end in Indianapolis. Willis ran a 4.53 in the 40-yard dash, posted a 39-inch vertical jump, had a 6.85 second three-cone drill and a 4.28 time in the 20-yard shuttle.

“My mentality going into the Combine was I’m not going to take second place. I’m not going to accept second,” Willis said. “I’m going to keep pressing along. I have the resume of a guy that has done everything the right way. People call me a blue-collar player or hard worker and I embrace those terms. Sometimes guys get crowned king and some guys have to earn it. I’m one of those guys that have to earn it. It’s been like that my whole life and it’s going to be like that my whole life until I’m done playing this game.”

But the athletic Willis is no workout warrior. He was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and finished with 11.5 sacks during his senior year, which tied the K-State single season record, and forced three fumbles. Willis also had 52 tackles and 17.5 tackles for loss as a senior and then went on become the Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the Senior Bowl with two sacks and two forced fumbles.

Willis has notched 113 tackles, 39.5 tackles for loss, 25.5 sacks six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as one of the best Wildcats defenders in K-State history. NFL teams believe his best is yet to come as he has increased his sack total every year.

Willis’ Kansas State Career Defensive Stats
2016: 52 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 3 FF, 1 FR
2015: 34 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, 3 FF, 1 FR
2014: 26 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks
2013: 1 tackle, 1 sack

K-State Hall of Fame head coach Bill Snyder lauded Willis’ tireless work ethic and improvement as a three-year starter.

“Numerous times I have shared with our players that Jordan was the epitome of what our program is all about,” Snyder told the Topeka Capital-Journal. “He comes to practice exactly the same way he goes to a ballgame and if you were unaware of the setting you couldn’t tell the difference between what he does on the practice field and what he does on the game field. He’s a young guy who gives you his very best every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week.”

Willis, who primarily played the left end position for the Wildcats but has also rushed from the right side and inside on nickel rush downs, has worked this offseason on increasing his flexibility in order to turn the corner quicker and get after the quarterback. His game and body type has drawn comparisons to Pro Football of Famer Michael Strahan, who is one of the players Willis studies.

“I’ve probably watched every single NFL defensive end at some point and every single college defensive end at some point,” Willis told the Topeka Capital-Journal. “That’s how much film I watch. I just try to take away as much as I can from other guys.”

Like Gholston, Willis also lives in the weight room and enters the league with an NFL-ready body.

“I lift as much as I can because I want to be as strong as I possibly can,” Willis said. “The most important thing is practice. You have to take practice serious and can’t have a bad day.”

Willis’ pass rush ability and no-nonsense, blue-collar attitude towards work will allow him to seamlessly fit in Jay Hayes and Spicer’s room with guys like Gholston, Spence, Gerald McCoy, Chris Baker and Clinton McDonald.

Click below to view Tampa Bay’s third-round pick in 2017.