Malik Willis To Falcons? Atlanta To Meet With Liberty QB
Liberty's Malik Willis has a chance to be the first quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Atlanta Falcons also could be the team that selects him with the No. 8 pick or in a trade up.
All that depends on how next week goes down in Atlanta.
Robert McDuffie-USA TODAY Sports
Robert McDuffie-USA TODAY Sports
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
According to ESPN, Willis is expected to meet with the Falcons as one of their 30 prospects coming for in-house visits. Willis is also expected to meet with the Carolina Panthers, who currently own the No. 6 pick in April's draft.
Willis has consistently been considered the No. 1 or No. 2 quarterback in the class alongside Kenny Pickett. The former Flames' starter has met with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and others in the past month.
Atlanta's need for a new franchise quarterback makes the Willis visit that much more enticing. The Falcons traded Matt Ryan after 14 seasons for a third-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts and also signed Marcus Mariota on a two-year deal.
Mariota is a bridge quarterback who should fill the void for either a full season or until the next young prospect is ready to handle first-team reps. Wills has all the talent to be a top-tier passer in today's game, but he's far from ready to take reps Week 1 of the 2022 season.
One of the biggest concerns with Willis has been his accuracy. Despite having one of the biggest arms in recent memory to enter the league, the deep ball trajectory has been inconsistent at best. In 2020, Willis completed 64.4 percent of his throws. A year later, that number regressed to 61.4 percent.
That also has led to turnover concerns in his overall game. Last season, Willis had three games in which he threw three or more interceptions. And while he threw for 27 touchdown passes and tacked on 13 more scores with his legs, that's a long-term issue that must be resolved before it becomes a habit.
Atlanta has not made known if they would be willing to trade up to select a quarterback and pass Carolina, but if both visits go well, it might have to. The Detroit Lions and Houston Texans seem to be the two most logical trade partners. Both Lions GM Brad Holmes and Texans GM Nick Caserio have expressed interest a potentially moving back for more picks.
The Falcons currently have nine picks in the draft — six of which are in the top 115 selections.
