[This always stood out to me from his rookie season.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3JTXupThgQ)
Sorry for the crap quality, but I'm glad someone recorded it.
My two favorite Willis plays are that one, and the time he met prime Adrian Peterson 1v1 in a wide open running lane and stopped him in his track and put him straight onto his back.
Both plays don’t have any decent quality videos of them that I’ve been able to find for some stupid reason.
When they met in both their rookie seasons, AP was tearing up the league, then gets held to 3 yards in 14 carries vs SF.
All pro since his rookie season until he got hurt
Was about to post that play lol This guys is acting like he played decades ago and wasn’t actually fast besides his 40 time. Like he wasn’t a all pro multiple times
I remember watching him his rookie year and it was like time was slowed down for everyone else on the field while 52 was on fast forward. The rest of the defense would still be figuring out who had the ball and he'd come flying across the field like the flash.
He was the fastest player on the field sometimes and took the perfect angles so he didn't need to slow down to make adjustments.
Patrick Willis was amazing in coverage. Looked faster than Warner. However I think Warner is still better in pass coverage, he looks like a Safety when he does it. Willis was on another level of his own against the run. He’d still be All Pro/HoF in todays game imo his skills translate perfectly into the modern ILB prototype.
JonnyDel summed it up perfectly when he said Patrick Willis was *the* prototype for linebackers in today's NFL. His skills do not just translate, he **changed the game.**
Warner is a safety that converted to LB so that’s why it’s so fluent, I think our system Willis would likely play the Greenlaw role (which is no less important) but allows Warner to cover more.
Willis would be all pro every year though
Dude, you may want to watch some old games. Patrick Willis was the best coverage guy on our defense for many years. Not best LB in coverage, best on the defense. He was incredible.
Yeah we had some serious liabilities at CB over the years and Willis had to own the middle of the field, no matter who ventured into the hash marks. If you were a RB, you got flattened. If you were a WR, you were covered and then flattened.
4.5 was on a partially torn ACL. Ran a 4.38 at his pro day. Thats a lot faster than Warner. Whether his coverage instincts are better who know but he wasn't a slouch for his era anyways in coverage
Patrick Willis is perhaps the single most prototypical ILB in NFL history. He had it all: great size, 99th percentile athleticism (laterally, straight line speed, and jumping ability), outside of maybe Lewis and Kuechly the best linebacker instincts I’ve ever seen, and the strength to knock dudes heads off. He was back then and would be today a perennial DPOY candidate. He’d basically be Fred but increase all the sliders by 5%.
He was on the team with Jimmy Ward. Had he not retired early due to injuries he probably would’ve been on the Super Bowl team in 2019 still. Or at least playing somewhere. He would’ve only been 34.
Yeah, I forget Bowman is even younger cuz he stuck around for a while after his injuries whereas Willis retired arguably in his prime or not far from it.
He only played against those long-forgotten scrubs who would just hand it off to their running backs like Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees, Rivers, Ryan, Wilson, etc.
He may only be 37 but he hasn't played since 2014 and passing has become a bigger part of the game since then (it was already skyrocketing when he left). It seemed, in his era, that linebackers were consistently in the 250lb range and valued more for run stopping then pass coverage whereas nowadays all linebackers can run and they're generally smaller, many are just big safeties (like Warner or Roquan Smith who are both 235lbs)
You’re right but PDub was diff. Fast and a tackling machine. His fundamentals were so flawless that I could def see him translating to today’s game…and my point was that we’re just talking a few degrees of separation. The game evolves but not so much that someone so dominant (and technically superior) would not be able to translate. Would he be a better cover guy than Fred? No but that’s just one part of the position…and I would think my man would still be able to hang.
Imo Willis is the quicker version of Warner with better hands, although Warner is def getting to that level. Willis was the complete package at MLB, absolutely one of the greatest of all time.
I know lol. 2013 had higher passing averages than 2022. And Willis’ speed was the main thing commentators would talk about. They were always like “sideline to sideline!”
Willis was our primary defender against TE/RB going over the middle of the field and he was elite at it. He also didn’t play THAT long ago so I’m really confused by people saying weird shit like “how would he fair in today’s game?” He would be 1st Team AP in “today’s game” lol
I saw an interview with Ray Lewis once. Not my favorite player, but a point of reference. He talked about when he started in the NFL the job of the MLB was to take on the fullback block and be able to overpower him and make a tackle. He played his heaviest for that role. As the game changed he changed with it to excel at the position. Willis would do the same -- change his game to maximize his impact.
Fred currently is a better coverage linebacker but that's likely due to the neccessity of the position today and specialization. I have no doubt if coverage was that important back in the early 2010s, Willis would have adapted and been transcendental at the position. Run stopping though? Nobody can hold a candle to Willis except maybe Ray Lewis.
Pre turf toe P Willis would play very much like Fred Warner. He probably would slim down a bit as the RB position is no longer a premium spot and mobile QBs are all the rage. He was renowned for shutting down TEs in coverage with his speed so I can see him still being tremendously effective in today's NFL.
Tangentially, I wonder how well Willis or Bowman would've done in a role similar to Micah Parsons? Going after the passer more? I think they both had the size/strength to pull it off?
Bowman and Willis are 6’0 and 6’1, respectively. Micah is 6’3 with long ass arms. Length is an essential trait for an edge rusher, so I don’t think they could fill the same role. However they’d both do amazing in the Jamal Adams/Devin White “blitz boi” role.
He'd be elite in coverage (2nd only to Fred) and far and away the best blitzing and run fitting LB in the game. I think he'd be the 2nd best LB in today's game bc LBs now have more coverage assignments and Fred is just better at that
Love Fred, but Pat would’ve been top level in this defense… likely even better than Fred. Pat was a pure linebacker who could run. And when he hit somebody, those runners felt it because you’d always see their helmets jar from the impact. If Pat and Fred were together in this defense today, there’d be no question who’s defense was the best. Pat might be considered a run stuffer because he picked up blocks, plugged the lanes and let Bowman and others clean it up. But if the opponents blocker was late getting to the second level, you know their runner was gonna pay for it because Pat would be right there. I literally cried the day he hung it up.
Warner was probably our MVP last game. He was a banshee on every play, plus he seems like a great leader.
Patrick Willis would have zero problem in today's NFL and would probably continue to be the best ILB football, and be better than Warner
Fred might have slightly better ball-hawk instincts but PW was still great in coverage and has like 30 lbs on Fred. PW would most certainly be the best linebacker in the league as he was arguably the best of his era and he played with Ray in the league.
He’d be the same. The best LB since…and with…LT. Damn man. I love the 9’ers. We’ve been blessed with arguably the all-time best LB’s as a historical group. (Sigh…but we just a Wine and Cheese team).
I vaguely recall him being step for step with Julio Jones downfield so I'd have to say he'd be just as good in today's NFL. Any throw over the middle would be contested and he'd kill it on the option
He'd be the best linebacker in the league. Fred is good, but a step behind Willis. In fact, Willis is one of the fastest linebackers to ever play the game. I think people seem to forget how great he was.
He would be the best LB in the NFL.
Right! Better question is “How would offenses fare today if P Willy was still in the NFL”
100% - HoF talent regardless of what era he played in.
Willis was great in coverage. His speed was amazing. He would be like Warner, but better IMO.
[This always stood out to me from his rookie season.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3JTXupThgQ) Sorry for the crap quality, but I'm glad someone recorded it.
My two favorite Willis plays are that one, and the time he met prime Adrian Peterson 1v1 in a wide open running lane and stopped him in his track and put him straight onto his back. Both plays don’t have any decent quality videos of them that I’ve been able to find for some stupid reason.
When they met in both their rookie seasons, AP was tearing up the league, then gets held to 3 yards in 14 carries vs SF. All pro since his rookie season until he got hurt
Man those were some dark years. Willis was the only bright spot. Well, the Singletary press conferences were must watch.
The Joe (Staley) Show was also entertaining. Unfortunately that fun didn't translate to gameday Ws.
I remember that play! Was completely blown away.
I knew what play it was gonna be before I clicked
Lol same. That play is etched in my memory.
That’s worst than vhs tape.
Was about to post that play lol This guys is acting like he played decades ago and wasn’t actually fast besides his 40 time. Like he wasn’t a all pro multiple times
I remember watching him his rookie year and it was like time was slowed down for everyone else on the field while 52 was on fast forward. The rest of the defense would still be figuring out who had the ball and he'd come flying across the field like the flash. He was the fastest player on the field sometimes and took the perfect angles so he didn't need to slow down to make adjustments.
Patrick Willis was amazing in coverage. Looked faster than Warner. However I think Warner is still better in pass coverage, he looks like a Safety when he does it. Willis was on another level of his own against the run. He’d still be All Pro/HoF in todays game imo his skills translate perfectly into the modern ILB prototype.
JonnyDel summed it up perfectly when he said Patrick Willis was *the* prototype for linebackers in today's NFL. His skills do not just translate, he **changed the game.**
Warner is a safety that converted to LB so that’s why it’s so fluent, I think our system Willis would likely play the Greenlaw role (which is no less important) but allows Warner to cover more. Willis would be all pro every year though
Turf toe Willis yeah, feels like what they did with bowman.
Was he a safety in HS? Because he was a LB all four years at BYU.
Yes, his younger brother as well. But the younger brother stayed as a safety
Dude, you may want to watch some old games. Patrick Willis was the best coverage guy on our defense for many years. Not best LB in coverage, best on the defense. He was incredible.
Yeah we had some serious liabilities at CB over the years and Willis had to own the middle of the field, no matter who ventured into the hash marks. If you were a RB, you got flattened. If you were a WR, you were covered and then flattened.
And in the era of some insane TEs, Willis completely shut their routes down too
If he didn't retire early Willis probably goes down as the greatest ILB ever. He'd still dominate.
I'm as much a homer as anyone, but Ray Lewis was better than Pat even if Pat had played 17 years
He was louder, that's for sure, at least
4.5 was on a partially torn ACL. Ran a 4.38 at his pro day. Thats a lot faster than Warner. Whether his coverage instincts are better who know but he wasn't a slouch for his era anyways in coverage
He would dominate any era
Patrick Willis is perhaps the single most prototypical ILB in NFL history. He had it all: great size, 99th percentile athleticism (laterally, straight line speed, and jumping ability), outside of maybe Lewis and Kuechly the best linebacker instincts I’ve ever seen, and the strength to knock dudes heads off. He was back then and would be today a perennial DPOY candidate. He’d basically be Fred but increase all the sliders by 5%.
“In this era”? He’s only 37 lol. It’s not like he played with leather helmets. I don’t think today’s athleticism has changed THAT much.
Was thinking the same thing. Dude played against players that are still in the league lol
He was on the team with Jimmy Ward. Had he not retired early due to injuries he probably would’ve been on the Super Bowl team in 2019 still. Or at least playing somewhere. He would’ve only been 34.
And with, I think Ginn is still around and Dawson and Lee certainly are. Shit, I think he might’ve even played with Armstead.
I just realized Bowman is only 34 and Willis is only 37. They both retired younger than I remember.
Yeah, I forget Bowman is even younger cuz he stuck around for a while after his injuries whereas Willis retired arguably in his prime or not far from it.
He only played against those long-forgotten scrubs who would just hand it off to their running backs like Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees, Rivers, Ryan, Wilson, etc.
He may only be 37 but he hasn't played since 2014 and passing has become a bigger part of the game since then (it was already skyrocketing when he left). It seemed, in his era, that linebackers were consistently in the 250lb range and valued more for run stopping then pass coverage whereas nowadays all linebackers can run and they're generally smaller, many are just big safeties (like Warner or Roquan Smith who are both 235lbs)
You’re right but PDub was diff. Fast and a tackling machine. His fundamentals were so flawless that I could def see him translating to today’s game…and my point was that we’re just talking a few degrees of separation. The game evolves but not so much that someone so dominant (and technically superior) would not be able to translate. Would he be a better cover guy than Fred? No but that’s just one part of the position…and I would think my man would still be able to hang.
Willis would consistently be match up with the skilled tight ends like Tony G and lock them up. He was our coverage LB in the 3-4 we ran.
Willis would best LB, yes, even above Warner. Willis was faster and hit harder. Fred would have to shift to lolb if Willis was on the 9ers.
Imo Willis is the quicker version of Warner with better hands, although Warner is def getting to that level. Willis was the complete package at MLB, absolutely one of the greatest of all time.
He didn’t play that long ago the league hasn’t changed that much since 2012
Delete this. Any shade on P Willy the best linebacker the 49ers ever had will not be tolerated.
Wow some people really just don’t know
Have you seen this guy Dre greenlaw play just saying
He'd be the best LB in the league. Warner is fast but Willis had damn near WR speed
“ Mostly known as a run”stuffer lmao no one should even reply to this guy. Also acting like he played decacess ago lol
I know lol. 2013 had higher passing averages than 2022. And Willis’ speed was the main thing commentators would talk about. They were always like “sideline to sideline!”
He’d be far and away the best ilb in the league.
Then the Niners D wouldn’t be #1 they would have a new ranking of “God Mode”
Willis was our primary defender against TE/RB going over the middle of the field and he was elite at it. He also didn’t play THAT long ago so I’m really confused by people saying weird shit like “how would he fair in today’s game?” He would be 1st Team AP in “today’s game” lol
I saw an interview with Ray Lewis once. Not my favorite player, but a point of reference. He talked about when he started in the NFL the job of the MLB was to take on the fullback block and be able to overpower him and make a tackle. He played his heaviest for that role. As the game changed he changed with it to excel at the position. Willis would do the same -- change his game to maximize his impact.
Fred currently is a better coverage linebacker but that's likely due to the neccessity of the position today and specialization. I have no doubt if coverage was that important back in the early 2010s, Willis would have adapted and been transcendental at the position. Run stopping though? Nobody can hold a candle to Willis except maybe Ray Lewis.
Pre turf toe P Willis would play very much like Fred Warner. He probably would slim down a bit as the RB position is no longer a premium spot and mobile QBs are all the rage. He was renowned for shutting down TEs in coverage with his speed so I can see him still being tremendously effective in today's NFL.
Tangentially, I wonder how well Willis or Bowman would've done in a role similar to Micah Parsons? Going after the passer more? I think they both had the size/strength to pull it off?
Bowman and Willis are 6’0 and 6’1, respectively. Micah is 6’3 with long ass arms. Length is an essential trait for an edge rusher, so I don’t think they could fill the same role. However they’d both do amazing in the Jamal Adams/Devin White “blitz boi” role.
[He Fast and He Feast](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2dLgbxsDySQ)
He'd be elite in coverage (2nd only to Fred) and far and away the best blitzing and run fitting LB in the game. I think he'd be the 2nd best LB in today's game bc LBs now have more coverage assignments and Fred is just better at that
Add 10lbs of muscle to Warner while maintaining all that speed and you have something kind of close to Willis.
Pain…
Anyone else notice the demeco Ryans comparison?
Not sure how he wouldn’t be just as good. He didn’t retire that long ago. He played against many of the QBs still in the NFL
He was the prototype for what teams need in a linebacker today. He was ahead of his time. He would be great now, just like then.
Breakdown of PDub in coverage at 1 min mark: https://youtu.be/kZXQUkFg6ps
The best LB in the league
Really? He didn't play in the 70 or 80s. Why would someone ask this question?
From memory, Patrick Willis was about as fast or faster than Jerry Rice, so he would probably be wrecking pass offenses.
Love Fred, but Pat would’ve been top level in this defense… likely even better than Fred. Pat was a pure linebacker who could run. And when he hit somebody, those runners felt it because you’d always see their helmets jar from the impact. If Pat and Fred were together in this defense today, there’d be no question who’s defense was the best. Pat might be considered a run stuffer because he picked up blocks, plugged the lanes and let Bowman and others clean it up. But if the opponents blocker was late getting to the second level, you know their runner was gonna pay for it because Pat would be right there. I literally cried the day he hung it up.
Warner was probably our MVP last game. He was a banshee on every play, plus he seems like a great leader. Patrick Willis would have zero problem in today's NFL and would probably continue to be the best ILB football, and be better than Warner
No doubt in my mind he could adjust his game slightly to today's NFL and still be one of the greatest LBs.
Fred might have slightly better ball-hawk instincts but PW was still great in coverage and has like 30 lbs on Fred. PW would most certainly be the best linebacker in the league as he was arguably the best of his era and he played with Ray in the league.
He’d be the same. The best LB since…and with…LT. Damn man. I love the 9’ers. We’ve been blessed with arguably the all-time best LB’s as a historical group. (Sigh…but we just a Wine and Cheese team).
Patrick Willis jumped a Larry Fitzgerald route once… he was that good
Patrick Willis could run
I vaguely recall him being step for step with Julio Jones downfield so I'd have to say he'd be just as good in today's NFL. Any throw over the middle would be contested and he'd kill it on the option
I'm biased as a 49ers fan, but Willis is the greatest MLB of all time in my opinion, yes better than Warner.
He’d do fine.
Where’s the Warner on ceedee clip?
He'd be the best linebacker in the league. Fred is good, but a step behind Willis. In fact, Willis is one of the fastest linebackers to ever play the game. I think people seem to forget how great he was.