Why Okoye over Willis?

Okoye has the potential to be a freak, especially with his young age to grow into, but I am still curious why he was taken over Willis. Willis seems to be a more "Sure Thing" and can play both the OLB and Mike. WLB is a big hole on the defense IMO, and we have already broke the bank on the D-Line. I figured two head hunters playing LB would be a nightmare to other teams' offenses.

Any thoughts?

I would ask why Okoye over Revis first, as CB was a greater need in my opinion. However, Okoye, Willis and Revis have a lot of football to play before we can make any judgments on who was the better selection.

"We must put pressure on the QB with our front 4"

While I support our decision to draft Okoye ahead of Willis, I would have been thrilled to have 'P-Willie'.

Willis is what's classified as a sure thing. He will be a solid LB for a long time and there is little to no risk in drafting him. Willis played OLB untill his senior season where he played Mike. Both Demeco and him can play inside and outside so it would have been crazy to have such a young duo....better than Urlacher/Briggs!

If Okoye can develop into the beast he's projected to be (same goes for mario), we will have a beast of a Dline and that is very important. However, it does contain more risk.

DeMeco Ryans.

he calls the defense, runs the defense in short Willis would have been duplication in the middle/signal caller of the

Okoye, Willis & Carricker will all be excellent pros. however I feel given the uncertain nature of the OL the Texans should have traded back & selected LT Joe Staley (#28) garnering multiple picks on top of solidfying their patchwork offensive line.

here is a quote from Plummer regarding both Willis & Staley- http://49ers.com/pressbox/news_detail.php?PRKey=3322&section=PR News

"Justin Smiley is doing a nice job of holding David Baas off. Baas has obviously improved and that’s forcing Smiley to improve. Kwame Harris has improved this year, but I just think Joe Staley is so impressive. He really is amazing, and I’m just excited about the whole offense".

"I said last week that I thought Patrick Willis would end up a starter, but that I didn’t know where. This week Coach Nolan moved Derek Smith over to TED and Willis will start this week at MIKE. I think it’s a great thing to insert him in there because now he’ll learn how to play next to Derek, Tully Banta-Cain, and Manny Lawson".

I wanted Landry personally and then Okoye at the time.

beerlover said:

DeMeco Ryans.

he calls the defense, runs the defense in short Willis would have been duplication in the middle/signal caller of the

Click to expand...

Willis could have played SAM or WILL for the Texans, so their wouldn't be duplication at the MIKE.

Leahmic223 said:

I wanted Landry personally and then Okoye at the time.

Click to expand...

I too was hoping for Landry, but that was based on believing Okoye would be long gone. When he dropped all the way to ten I was absolutely thrilled. With all the effort this team has made to find a good interior lineman (Signing Robare (sp?), losing Payne, signing Maddox as a stop gap, trying to get TJ to play to his potential, moving Weaver inside, etc.) I'm of the opinion DL talent is always a priority.

I agree that another corner would be really great about now, or a top notch safety, but the LB core is in my opinion solid.

Edit: One more comment. I think it is telling to realize that this team was so lacking in talent and depth that nearly every draft pick last year seized a position. Spring forward one draft and the new guys are hoping to secure spots in the two deeps. That's a sign of better talent and depth.

A few things to point out.

We seem to be drafting on potential first, which is ok, but that would exclude Willis in a sense. He is pretty much peaked and it is just a mental process now that shouldn't take too long. Okoye was not my favorite choice, but a respectable one if you look at what appears to be a drafting strategy by our FO. I would have rather drafted Revis, but his upside wasn't as high as Okoye. He doesn't really have any standout qualities, but Okoye has the chance to develop into a standout.

There honestly wasn't much value left on the board with how the draft played out before us, so drafting on potential wasn't a bad thing to do. Okoye and Mario are both extremely young and have huge potential, so that is why we went with Okoye over Willis and Revis.

Okoye is considered a pretty sure thing because of how well he played at Louisville. He is considered a project simply measured by his youth. The Texans still need to be able to frustrate Peyton Manning. Mario was brought in to do that. So was Okoye.

Texans Horror said:

Okoye is considered a pretty sure thing because of how well he played at Louisville. He is considered a project simply measured by his youth. The Texans still need to be able to frustrate Peyton Manning. Mario was brought in to do that. So was Okoye.

Click to expand...

This is one of the most foolish things I've read in a long time on here.

99.99% of the people who are drafted were very good in college, and often for a longer period and at a great rate than what Okoye did at Louisville.

Let's just re-look at what you said in a logical view: Because a player had a marginal level of what we deem sucess, they are pretty much a sure thing thereafter.

Let that stupidity soak back in, because nobody on here needs it.

Hell, let's just contine pointing out the flaws in your logic. Let's look at the Heisman winners, they are after all, the most dominant and genearlly the best player in college football in their given year. How many of them have already failed out of the league? Hell, look at freaking Troy Smith and his situation. Hell, look at Ron Dayne. Hell, look at Time Couch.

I'm sorry I had to go off, and really, I did control it a lot more than you deserved, but stupidity like this pisses me off.

YoungTexanFan said:

This is one of the ... blah blah blah.

Click to expand...

First of all the name calling is a bit much. Second, his post makes more sense than your reply. Third, what do you consider "control" after going off on a pretty minor post?

People get drafted that high because, based on their college play, the scouts, GMs, and coaches consider them sure things. They just frequently get surprised. Do you think the teams draft someone in the top ten thinking they are taking a flyer and the player probably won't pan out?

Seems like a valid alternate viewpoint to me.

I too see foolishness, but the "logic" escapes me. You are right about one thing though; we don't need such stupidity here.

I remember reading or hearing (can't remember where) that this draft was considered shallow in top level talent, going only about 7 or 8 deep, and thinking that we had traded down out of that talent level. But included in those 7 or 8 players were guys like Okoye and Landry. Levi Brown and Ted Ginn were considered reaches by teams ahead of us. Their reach meant our gain as the chips fell perfectly and Okoye dropped in our lap.

I fully understand the point some are making that the Okoye pick was based on potential, but few picks are based on anything but potential to be fair. There are very few instances where a players success in college is an assurance of similar success in the pros. It's truly a crap shoot.

But based on numbers, physical attributes and god given ability, teams are able to create a hierarchy of player potential (there's that P word again) of descending order that should pan out in greater percentage of instances as you climb the ladder toward the first pick. Okoye was deemed to be near the top of that list not just by the Texans, but by a very large percentage of the media and "so called experts".

I fully understand why some question the pick. But if Mario and Okoye ever live up to the hype, no one will be wishing they had been passed over for a linebacker or DB.

Willis was my top choice and I stated it, but the "John McClains" came out of the woodwork, and said, "but we already have a middle linebacker".

The meer idea that neither Willis or Ryans would have excelled at the SAM or WILL positions was just ludicrous to me, but given how many around here actually think a secondary can still be effective without getting pressure the QB, I guess it really doesn't surprise me.

Kaiser Toro said:

I would ask why Okoye over Revis first, as CB was a greater need in my opinion. However, Okoye, Willis and Revis have a lot of football to play before we can make any judgments on who was the better selection.

Click to expand...

QFT.

That's why we drafted Okoye.

Up until very recently Tj looked like a bust and our other tackles came from the street or are 150 yrs old. We had a need at several positions on Defense but the best player available according to the scouts and coachs was Okoye so there you go. Plus they spent to much money on Greenwood and have a stud in Ryans!