4th round (No. 124) – EDGE Kenny Willekes, Michigan State
Clearly the Ravens have a need at outside linebacker and I’m not afraid to triple dip at the position in the 2020 NFL Draft. It helped that Willekes was still on the board for me a few picks after grabbing Jennings.
At this point in the draft, prospects are either physically gifted but haven’t put it all together yet or are limited athletes who exceed expectations — potential vs consistency. For Willekes, it’s the latter as he’s just an average athlete who has probably hit his ceiling already. However, with 23.5 sacks, 49 tackles for loss and 228 total tackles over three years, Willekes has been a highly productive player at Michigan State.
Willekes is at his best when you send him to get into the backfield to either defend the run or go after the quarterback. His limited athleticism means he isn’t a great option to drop back into coverage or ask to scrape down to make plays. That naturally lowers his ceiling as a prospect and likely makes him a consistent and highly productive rotational player in the NFL in certain packages.