Jordan Willis enters NFL Draft with legitimate first-round hopes

Like any potential first-round pick, Jordan Willis has lots of options for watching the NFL Draft later this week. He could travel to Philadelphia for a live viewing, he could throw a party in his hometown of Kansas City or he could watch quietly at home with family.

So which option is the former Kansas State defensive end going with?

Try none of the above.

“I probably won’t even watch it,” Willis said. “I hate how they talk about some of these other guys like they are God. I’m just going to sit at home and wait for the phone call.”

This would be considered an odd move for most NFL Draft hopefuls, but it won’t come as a surprise to anyone that knows Willis or watched him pile up 52 tackles and 11.5 sacks last season on his way to Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Willis, a 6-foot-4, 255-pound defensive force, is as quiet and humble as they come on the football field. Despite his NFL-ready talents, he had never been a captain at any level until his senior year of college. Even then, he wasn’t sure he was ready.

Turned out he was. No one worked harder at K-State than Willis. That’s something Bill Snyder wanted the world to know, going so far as to describe Willis as “the epitome” of K-State football.

“I am quite certain that he will be a very high choice,” Snyder said. “It is going to be quite interesting to me if he becomes the first defensive end selected in the draft. He has some very tall company there. I think by the way he played at the end of the year, the way he performed at the combine and the way he has performed during a variety of different workouts, what the NFL has learned about him has put him in a good position.”

How good?

That’s up for debate. Some draft experts project Willis to go in the first round on Thursday as a late selection. The Wildcats haven’t produced a first-rounder since quarterback Josh Freeman went 17th overall in 2009.

Others see him more as an early second-round choice on Friday.

Willis has improved his stock considerably since the Texas Bowl, when some viewed him as a fourth-rounder.

“I deserve to go in the first round,” Willis said. “You never know how this stuff will go, so I am trying not to have any expectations, but if you look at what I did at Kansas State, at the Senior Bowl and at the NFL Combine I have proven that I can go out there and dominate.”

The NFL Combine was kind to Willis. While there, he posted top-five numbers for defensive linemen in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle.

He has since spoken with every NFL team and participated in private workouts with 10. The four teams that have shown the most interest in him are the Dolphins, Lions, Ravens and Chiefs.

Willis ranks among the top defensive ends in this year’s draft, but his position is loaded with talent. Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett is projected to go No. 1. Stanford’s Solomon Thomas and Tennessee’s Derek Barnett could also go in the top 10.

No one thinks Willis will go that high, but he could get selected with one of the final picks in the first round. If not, he should go early in the second round.

Willis says he is fine with whatever happens. He thinks he has proven himself. That’s all he could do during this process. He is ready to learn his draft fate, even if he chooses not to watch.

“First round or second round, there’s not much difference,” Willis said. “Whatever happens, I am just going to get on a team and do what I have done my whole life: work my way up.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2017 at 10:20 AM with the headline "Jordan Willis enters NFL Draft with legitimate first-round hopes."