Willis is a savage and in the long run is going to make a far greater contribution to this team than Carriker ever would have. Carriker is going to be a solid player, no doubt, but Willis has the makings of a star, and as SRW said, should be a perennial PB player. I'll take that over solid any day. The only thing is he is changing positions from college, and not only that, he is getting plugged into one of the most challenging positions from a rookie standpoint, as theoretically he will be the one calling plays in the huddle (no big deal), and also calling defensive adjustments post-huddle (BIG deal, and a lot of pressure/new crap to learn). So don't be surprised if he is not lights out superstar right off the bat. He's got a lot to learn, and most of it needs to be learned on the field in an NFL game environment. Overall though, hopefully by the end of the season, he should be twice the game factor Carriker is.
Hes also for the first time in his life not being able to get a grasp on a system and its frustrating him(he's said it in many interviews) hes used to doing something else and now its alot more difficult. I was one of the ones that wanted Carriker mainly because i didnt see any other 3-4 DEs in this draft worth getting at the 3rd+ rounds and i thought we should get a top prospect so they could learn from BY(i thought McDonald would go way earlier) so with that being said the fact that we got Willis and McDonald makes up for not getting Carriker. I also have to say that most people thought Carriker maxed out his frame and wouldnt get bigger he is now 310+. They are both going to be great players END RANT
There was a while that I wanted us to draft Carriker because I think he would have been awesome in our defense, but you can't really ignore Willis, he might just be the most insanely talented LB ever to come out. If we played a 4-3 he'd be a hot candidate for DROY, but as Walnuts said, it might take him some time to adapt to the 3-4. No worries, though.
hes not the most insanely talented LB to ever come out stop being a homer the best LB prospect ever does not fall all the way to 11 hes probably like a top 10 prospect among LBs to come out but Vilma was much more complete when he came out
I guess that was a bit of a throw-away homer line. But the 4.38 40-yard dash he ran at his pro-day surely marks him down as one of the fastest ever, so in terms of pure physical talent he's up there.
yes he is up there and that time was ridiculous and he ran it twice that fast and he is a tremendous athlete i just hope he doesnt get to frustrated with the transition not all players are meant to be 3-4 guys but hearing his interviews and his life story it makes me believe he has the mental toughness to do that
Willis. The 9ers defense has been in need of a true leader for some time now. A physical, aggressive, lead by example type of guy. Willis is that guy imo. I'm not saying Carriker couldn't be, just that leadership coming from an lb compared to a de is far better and has more of an impact.
I do think Carriker would have been perfect for what the Niners D is trying to do. because everything starts in the trenches. However having Willis will eventually pay off big time in the long run because the Niners need some new blood at the LB spots for some time now. Ulbrich and Smith are getting to the end of their careers.
Willis. I think he'll definitley be great for us. He's a savage, can hit, good speed, the works. Carriker could be good but I think Willis is the better player.
you couldnt even pick a good team why would we think you could pick a good player i kid i kid Both will probably have very long careers and both are positions of need for the niners. They both need a bunch of young studs so it was take your pick
Willis all day long. He'll be a top 5 MLB in this league in very short order for my money. Carriker would have been a better fit in a 3-4 for my money but will still do a very good job for the Rams IMO switching between various techniques and gap assignments on the line depending upon down and distance. Because of his lack of a top level pass rush threat the choice for Willis is an easy one, but that shouldn't diminish what Carriker can bring to a team. These two were in my opinion the safest picks (highest floor) of this draft clbutt.
