Luke Willson

kearly":1dkfnvjx said:

Willson has nearly identical size and speed to Jimmy Graham, in fact he was the only draftable tight end this year who could really make a claim like that. So the sense of excitement about getting him makes complete sense. I don't think Willson will be that good, but at his best he might be one of the better vertical threat TEs in the league. Seattle's offense is all about making defenses as uncomfortable as possible. Even if Wilson only has 200 yards receiving next season, he could still elevate the offense as teams will have to account for him.

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We just need an Evan Moore who can actually catch the ball. That guy was the perfect piece for our offense, except that he dropped the ball almost every time it hit him in the hands.

If Willson can upgrade on that and he can actually catch, our receiving game will be wide open with 2 TE sets.

SE174":tvl2ewj3 said:

Missing_Clink":tvl2ewj3 said:

Very interesting. I will readily admit that was the one pick I thought seemed pretty ridiculous, only because he seemed like a 7th rounder at best. It would be awesome if they strike gold yet again on an unheralded 5th rounder

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Our 4th and 5th rounders seem to be very hit or miss:

2010
4 - Walter Thurmond - Hit on talent, miss on health
4 - EJ Wilson - Miss
5 - Kam Chancellor - HIT

2011
4 - KJ Wright - HIT
4 - Kris Durham - Miss
5 - Richard Sherman - HIT
5 - Mark Legree - MISS

2012
4 - Robert Turbin - HIT
4 - Jaye Howard - Miss (so far)
5 - Korey Toomer - Miss

2013
4 - Chris Harper ?
5 - Jesse Williams ?
5 - Tharold Simon ?
5 - Luke Willson ?

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I think saying Jaye Howard and Korey Toomer are misses is a bit presumptuous. They have only been on the squad for a year and both had guys pretty much penciled in as starters ahead of them. If Toomer and Howard can't perform well enough to get some playing time this year, then we might begin considering them as misses. Personally, I think both of them are going to surprise a lot of people after working with one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL for a year.

I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun with his name. There are so many things we can do with it.

First of all, we can call him The Godfather as thats what Luke Wilson was called in Old School.

Secondly, he can "Will" us to victory because he has a Jedi name.

Between our Wil(l)sons, we'll have quite a bit of will power on offense.

I love your mindset sir. It's good to be silly sometimes.

DJrmb":1xr9utwv said:

Awesome!

I think that Luke Wilson is one of the reasons they decided to let Fells go. The kid has all the physical tools, I'm hoping with some good coaching he can pull it all together.

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Yup, Fells was probably at the bottom of the list. Very raw because he played no college ball.

Bravo for Willson and I hope he's everything the expect him to be. If he is, that will make this offense dynamic in the passing game. Imagine adding another tall receiver, one that weighst 250#, for Russell to spot running free past those "tiny" DBs downfield.

I have big hopes for Willson but they are tempered by his injury history. He had an ankle injury, presumably a high ankle sprain, in 2012 that limited him to 9 catches for a meager 126 yards and 2 TDs. From what I could find, he had ankle problems in 2011 that forced him to miss time and there were some injury issues in 2010 but information is hard to come by.

It's not like he had a lot of opportunity to catch the ball when he was on the field. The Rice football team seemed to focus on the run and in 2012 averaged 201.8 yards per game with a 4.2 ypa average which netted them 26 rushing touchdowns. But their passing game wasn't bad either with their QB, Taylor McHargue having ~60% completion percentage and a 12 to 5 TD to INT ratio. For the year, McHargue had 194 completions.

Even so, there were 7 other players on the Rice Owls with double digit numbers in receptions, but really on 4 that were significant:
Jordan Taylor 57 catches 826 yards 3 TDs
Sam McGuffie 54 catches 603 yards 5 TDs
Vance McDonald 36 catches 458 yards 2 TDs
Donte Moore 26 catches 326 yards 4 TDs

In 2012 Willson was a team captain and finished his career at Rice with 78 catches for 986 yards (12.6 yards per) and 9 TDs.

Apparently his father and both brothers have played sports and besides football, Luke spent time in the Blue Jays 2011 "extended" spring training camp.

I hope he can get in the training he needs to avoid injuries or his career will be over before it gets started.

I especially enjoyed this quote:

"I had got a phone call at pick No. 157 and when I answered the phone I saw a Seattle area code. I answered it and it was (GM John Schneider) and I actually gave the thumbs up and my family and friends erupted. To be honest, I actually didn't even watch my selection on TV because I already knew and, besides, I was shaking I was so excited."

sports.ca.msn.com/nfl/news/seahawks-select-canadian-luke-willson-in-5th-round-of-nfl-draft

Okay I'll jump on the Luke Willson bandwagon myself. I'm willing to bet that he makes the 53-man roster.

May the force be with you, Luke.

Raible's first "Wilson to Willson" call is highly anticipated.

SE174":255uxmgo said:

Missing_Clink":255uxmgo said:

Very interesting. I will readily admit that was the one pick I thought seemed pretty ridiculous, only because he seemed like a 7th rounder at best. It would be awesome if they strike gold yet again on an unheralded 5th rounder

Click to expand...

Our 4th and 5th rounders seem to be very hit or miss:

2010
4 - Walter Thurmond - Hit on talent, miss on health
4 - EJ Wilson - Miss
5 - Kam Chancellor - HIT

2011
4 - KJ Wright - HIT
4 - Kris Durham - Miss
5 - Richard Sherman - HIT
5 - Mark Legree - MISS

2012
4 - Robert Turbin - HIT
4 - Jaye Howard - Miss (so far)
5 - Korey Toomer - Miss

2013
4 - Chris Harper ?
5 - Jesse Williams ?
5 - Tharold Simon ?
5 - Luke Willson ?

Click to expand...

That hit rate, coupled with the fact that we intentionally add additional 4th/5th round picks by sacrificing our day 1/2 draft position is virtually akin to getting 2 first round picks every single year. Even if you account for the NFL standard 'hit' rates.

That is beyond fantastic. And what's better, is that it's an ability that is sustainable throughout periods of success.

I would just like to point out I was the first person to take Luke Willson as my adopt a rookie. So far its looking like I made a pretty good choice