Michigan State Football: Where will Spartan prospects land in 2020 NFL Draft?

Unsurprisingly, this is who everyone expected to be Michigan State’s first player chosen in the 2020 NFL Draft before the season, but Kenny Willekes’ stock has dropped, for whatever reason.

Scouts have questioned his athleticism which he debunked with a social media workout video and they have also knocked his length and quickness around the edge. After watching him star in East Lansing for the past few seasons, it’s easy to debunk those other criticisms as well, but teams will soon find out he’s a steal in the fourth round.

Some have Willekes going in the third round, but with the way former Spartans have slipped in the draft over the past few seasons just because of a lack of exposure, I could see him falling, too.

There’s an incorrect assumption going around that Willekes had his worst season as a Spartan in 2019, but his numbers say otherwise. He finished with a career-best 78 total tackles and 10 sacks and he added 15.5 tackles for loss which was second only to his junior season’s output.

Willekes finished his career with 228 tackles, 49 tackles for loss and 23.5 sacks. Not too shabby for a former walk-on.

Projection: Fourth round