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Dallas Cowboys Draft: 10 Defensive Tackles and their Potential Fit

By Adithya Prabakaran

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Quinnen Williams #92 of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on against the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Quinnen Williams #92 of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on against the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – OCTOBER 13: Bryce Perkins #3 of the Virginia Cavaliers stiff arms Gerald Willis III #9 of the Miami Hurricanes in the first half during a game at Scott Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – OCTOBER 13: Bryce Perkins #3 of the Virginia Cavaliers stiff arms Gerald Willis III #9 of the Miami Hurricanes in the first half during a game at Scott Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

Gerald Willis, Miami (FL)

What’s Good: Burst, Agility, Hand Usage

What Ain’t Good: Pad Height, Maturity

Willis is a fun prospect to watch. He’s a big guy at 6’2″ and 302 pounds that is pretty explosive out of his stance. He has the ability to line at either tackle spot. In his first season playing for the Hurricanes, he had a productive seasons with 18 tackles for loss and 4 sacks according to Sports Reference.

One obvious concern with Willis is his character. He was dismissed from Florida after an altercation with Skyler Morhinweg and some other inadvisable actions. After transferring to the U, he then took a year off in 2017 to “get his life together.” Of course, this resulted in a productive junior season. Even with the progress he’s made with his character, it’s pretty unclear how NFL teams feel about Willis.

You get past the maturity and there are some seriously good traits the former 5 star recruit possesses. He has instant burst off the line and he has a constant and consistently good swipe technique that helps him reach the backfield with frequency. He also is surprisingly good at changing direction for someone his size. (This isn’t to be confused with his bend)

However, something extremely noticeable on film is his pad height. When he doesn’t shoot the gap, he will be standing straight up trying to get past the offensive lineman but all that will happen is him getting turned around. He has average arm length at 33″ so he doesn’t have anything to compromise when he is standing up straight.

Willis has the build and the positional flexibility the Cowboys love from defensive tackles and after Rod Marinelli attended the Miami Pro Day, the Cowboys obviously seem to have some interest. I think he fits well as a run defender. He has some time to develop into a pass rusher, but he’s more technically sound then someone like Renell Wren.

The only question that exists is, will the Cowboys be willing to take on another player who has “maturity issues?”

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