Will Titans Stash or 'Slash' Willis This Season?

The third-round draft pick won't be rushed into the role of starting quarterback, but with his dual-threat skillset, he likely won't stay on the sideline either.

NASHVILLE – The prevalent school of thought involving Malik Willis is that he will be the Tennessee Titans’ starting quarterback in 2023.

It’s a projection that makes sense for two reasons: Willis would get a year of seasoning behind Ryan Tannehill as he transitions to the NFL; and the Titans would also be in a financial position – if they so chose – to get out of Tannehill’s contract after this season.

Assuming for the moment that timeline is accurate, it will still be intriguing to see how creative coaches will be using Willis’ skillset in 2022 – even if he’s not starting.

His versatility, athleticism and open-field ability as a runner should help the Titans’ offense throw a different look at opponents.

“I think that there's a lot of things that we can do with different skill players,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “So when we look and we talk and … watching his tape, he is a tough tackle. Obviously, there's a lot of things that we're going to have to work with and develop that our coaches are excited (about), and I know Malik is ready to get here and get to work.”

What might a Willis offensive package look like?

It might be worth looking back at a player Willis has been compared to from time to time – former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kordell “Slash” Stewart – to get an idea.

A second-round pick of the Steelers in 1995 (the fourth quarterback taken overall that year), Stewart wasn’t Pittsburgh’s starter in either of his first two seasons. He threw a combined 37 passes as the backup to Neil O’Donnell (1995) and Mike Tomcazk (1996).

But that didn’t mean Stewart simply sat on the bench. He earned the nickname 'Slash' from the punctuation mark used to help highlight his versatility at a time when he was a quarterback/running back/wide receiver.

He totaled a combined 785 yards from scrimmage, averaging 9.2 yards every time he touched the ball and scoring 10 touchdowns. Breaking down Stewart’s stats a bit more over those first two years: He ran 54 times for 257 (4.8-yard average) and six touchdowns, and he caught 31 passes for 528 yards (17-yard average) and four touchdowns.

Would Willis potentially be able to handle spot duties as a pass-catcher, after posting just one reception in college? Why not? Stewart learned to do so quite well, despite never catching a pass in four seasons at Colorado.

The reasons the Titans would want to work the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Willis into the offense – even if he’s not the starting quarterback – are obvious.

His speed, elusiveness and difficulty to bring down make him special in the open field. In two seasons as Liberty’s starter, Willis ran 338 times for 1,822 yards (5.4-yard average) and 27 touchdowns. He also broke an eye-opening 89 tackles last season, per Pro Football Focus, the highest number of any college player – including running backs.

“(He has) a good arm, athletic, moves around well,” Titans general manager Jon Robinson said. “Got a really good skillset. Throws a good ball. He is tough to tackle.”

Added Willis: “I try to learn some from everybody. There's a lot of great players all over the place. … It's just taking little pieces, like Russell Wilson's deep ball and Tom Brady's anticipation and check downs. Lamar Jackson, his elusiveness. It’s just understanding what they add and how you can add that to your game.”

Assuming Willis does eventually become the starter here, the Titans would hope his passing abilities eventually surpass those of “Slash.”

Stewart eventually had some good years as a dual-threat quarterback for the Steelers, starting for six years and guiding Pittsburgh to a 46-29 record.

His passing numbers, however, were so-so at best – even when factoring in the less-inflated quarterback stats of that era: Stewart threw 70 touchdowns versus 72 interceptions, posted a quarterback rating of 72.3, and completed only 56.5 percent of his passes. In terms of accuracy, He never improved much over his college days, when he completed 58.1 percent of his passes for Colorado.

Willis has faced some criticism of inconsistency in his accuracy as well, even though his completion rate at Liberty was 62.8 percent, higher than both quarterbacks taken ahead of him in the draft – Pitt’s Kenny Pickett (62.4 percent) and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder (62.1 percent).

“Ball placement needs to improve to make things easier on his receivers and help create YAC opportunities,” The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote. “Stares down targets and played in an offense that relied on pre-snap decisions ... footwork is raw and leads to him throwing from an unbalanced base.”

The good news, as mentioned, is that – barring injury to Tannehill – Willis is likely to have a “redshirt” season to polish his passing skills.

In the meantime, who knows what the Titans will cook up in special packages this season?

It surely can’t hurt that new passing game coordinator Tim Kelly worked extensively with dual-threat quarterback Deshaun Watson in Houston.in Titans quarterbacks coach Pat O’Hara did the same with Marcus Mariota in Tennessee, including special packages after Tannehill became the starter.

Kelly, O’Hara and offensive coordinator Todd Downing have to be rubbing their hands in anticipation, eager to get started creating things for Willis – even before he becomes a starter.