Is Malik Willis the Lions' Quarterback of the Future?
As the Lions head into Week 5 of the 2021 season at 0-4, many in the team's fanbase are starting to already look ahead and wonder if college superstar quarterback Malik Willis could be Detroit's pick in the first round of next year's draft.
With veteran QB Jared Goff looking like a shell of his old self, there is no question Detroit will need to address the position in the first round, if this regime has any hope of sticking around.
The only question is where will Detroit be picking.
Probably in the top five.
That brings us to perhaps the biggest risk-reward signal-caller in next year's draft - - small-school prospect Malik Willis, out of Liberty. And, the hype is already starting to build to a crescendo.
At first glance on game film vs. Old Dominion, Willis looks like the slam-dunk pick. Send the card in now.
He is a dynamic, game-changing runner, with a strong enough arm and good ball-handling skills in the pocket. He runs a mean option, along the lines of Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields. However, the longer the game film plays, more and more question marks start popping up.
Could Willis sell season tickets? Yes.
Would Willis jerseys be flying off the shelves like Barry Sanders'? Absolutely.
Willis would instantly be the most dynamic player Detroit has ever had at the position of QB. However, could the Lions actually win with him in the National Football League?
That is where I need to step off this ride.
Mark Konezny, USA TODAY Sports
Willis is an exciting and raw prospect. There is no question Willis will draw the Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin III comparisons, but those comparisons are not warranted.
Willis only works the perimeters of the field in passing situations for the most part, and stays completely away from throwing into the middle of the field. This really concerns me.
Willis loves to throw short-to-intermediate out patterns all day long. That takes the Jackson comparison off the table. Jackson knows how to throw an NFL route tree, while Willis does not show that he does.
"RGIII" had crazy speed and athletic ability coming out of Baylor, and prior to his catastrophic knee injury, RGIII made defenses adjust to him because of those factors. I am not seeing nearly enough for my liking with Willis. That takes the RGIII comparison off the table, as well. I also wonder about Willis' durability, with him standing in at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds. Quarterbacks in the NFL cannot make a living just running.
Willis does two other things which are also the kiss of death at the next level - - he tends to pat the ball prior to throwing it (which telegraphs where he is going with the ball, which would give NFL defensive backs even more time to break on his passes) and he also locks in with his receivers. He stares down his receivers a lot of the time, prior to throwing it. I am not seeing Willis scan the field and go through his progressions.
The combination of patting the ball and locking in with receivers is like having an interception-pitching machine set up behind center.
Willis is a real project. He is the kind of project that ideally would go in the third round.
However, that is not the NFL we live in. Undoubtedly, Willis will go high in the first round, and the hype machine will start cranking out his trading card.
I like Willis a heck of a lot more than I liked QBs Zach Wilson and Trey Lance, but I do not love Willis.
If I did not love Willis against the likes of Old Dominion, Syracuse and Troy this season (which is the case), how am I going to love him playing against the Packers, Bears and Vikings?
This is where I stall out on Willis. Detroit needs a ready-made franchise QB that comes off the draft stage the way Ford cars roll off the assembly line. The last thing this team, this regime or these fans need is another project.
Willis just has too much to learn, in order to play at the next level, when expectations in these situations are already high enough as it is.
If you are asking me, I would pass. This is not just about selling tickets and jerseys. It is about winning, and Willis simply wouldn't lead to enough of it for the Lions.
