Another good player in a long line of good defensive linemen in this draft class is Willie Henry out of Michigan, who has been looked at by the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets.
Henry was OK in his first two years at Michigan, but was great in 2015 with Jim Harbaugh as his head coach. He started in nine games, racking up 34 tackles, 10 for loss, and tying for the team lead with 6.5 sacks, earning him honorable mention All-Big Ten honors. He took some time to decide but the choice was after three years, go to the NFL. He has already said a number of times he thinks he’s the best DL in this draft, hands down.
Quite confident from the defensive tackle who is 6’3 and 303 lbs. Henry is a very athletic player with a high defensive IQ. He can also play the defensive end a bit and has surprised quite a few times with his initial burst and finishing speed when he has space to run. But he’ll probably get bigger once he’s in the NFL (recently turned 21), and has to work on his pre-snap discipline, which has been an issue throughout his career with the Wolverines.
He’ll also need to add some moves, as chop blocks usually take him down easily. He didn’t have as many tackles for loss as he should have, but that should come to him with the right coaches and progress. Bottom line? He’ll probably be a third round pick, not earlier and not too much later than that. He won’t be starting material right away, but he should become a three-down DT after a season of learning what the NFL is all about.