"Unpacking Malik Willis: The Rise of a Dynamic Quarterback Prospect"

Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

Our perspective on 2022 newcomer Malik Willis.

Malik Willis, quarterback out of Liberty University, 6’1 219 pounds but didn't test at the combine. Willis threw for 48 total touchdowns and rushed for another 29 while in college. He had absolutely wild broken tackle numbers in his career, leading the country with 146 broken tackles, with 89 coming last year. That’s number one among all positions, including running backs, so that's pretty impressive. Malik’s wheels weren’t his only weapon, as he had a 10.7 big-time throw rate last season, which is the highest grade ever recorded by PFF.

"Some of his ugliest games came against better teams."

Malik went through drills and threw the fastest ball of any prospect. Willis has showcased his strong arm as he can zip the ball around from any body position. He has good throwing mechanics and showed that he could improve his footwork, but he is considered a raw prospect. Quarterbacks that are great athletes always get knocked for being raw prospects.

Willis tends to stare down targets and leaves the pocket very quickly. Instead of stepping up in the face of pressure, he takes off. He faced lower-level competition and even had to leave Auburn to get a starting job. Some of his ugliest games came against better teams, mainly NC State and Ole Miss, where he threw three interceptions. In fact, he had just as many 300 plus passing yard games as he had three-interception games, four each, and he never passed for more than 400 yards.

Malik Willis is a run-first quarterback and sets up his feet because he is ready to run. In fact, almost all of his highlights were of him running. If he can fall into a situation similar to Lamar Jackson and a head coach who actually wants to use his skill set, he could be good. If he ends up a head coach that refuses to do anything but run his own system, then Willis is going to suffer.

Scouting Report

The athletic ability is awesome and exciting, but you can’t trust the NFL either to make athletic quarterbacks into legitimate starters. There aren't many starting jobs to go around for quarterbacks right now. There are some obvious teams in need, but Willis will have to potentially start sooner rather than later, which may hurt his development.

Willis currently has an ADP of 1.05, and depending on your league; you could get him as late as 14th overall. If you own an aging quarterback with around 3 out of 4 years left to play, Malik Willis is a high upside quarterback worth holding.