Why Washington should draft Malik Willis
Howdy, Washington Football Team fans. Well, sort of? Happy future new named Washington fans! That sounds better.
We are back today with our third installment of a brand new series titled “Why Washington should draft (enter 2022 NFL Draft QB Prospects name)”, I really wish we had a better name for these articles but I digress. I’m not creative enough for that!
With our first two pieces in this series, we tackled two second-round prospects that Washington fans and likely the Football Team themselves will do their homework on heading into the 2022 pre-draft process. We began with Nevada’s Carson Strong, your prototypical pocket passer with a big-time arm.
In our second piece, we touched on your modern NFL quarterback archetype in Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder. A big-time athlete with an NFL-caliber arm, Ridder is as experienced and a proven leader at the collegiate level.
Today, we’re tackling my favorite quarterback prospect in the class, so before you read this, I’ll “discount” myself by letting you know that I am one of the lone believers in Malik Willis’s potential as a first-round prospect.
That being said, Willis has a very long way to go. If Washington were to draft the former Liberty signal-caller, I’d imagine they take a developmental route similar to what the San Francisco 49ers are doing with Trey Lance, or if they add a strong veteran, potentially, the Packers with Jordan Love.
Nonetheless, Malik Willis is the real deal as a prospect that projects to have the highest ceiling in the class. As an athlete, Willis is by far the best in this class and would arguably be one of the best athletic talents in the NFL from the moment he laces up a pair of cleats.
As an arm talent, Willis has a rifle for an arm that can make every throw in the book at every level in the passing game. From tight-window throws in the red zone, to throws on the run down the field, to throwing darts from the opposite side of the field, there is not a throw that Willis can’t make.
He is much more of a prospect than a day-one starter at this point, but with real Pro-Bowl upside and a work ethic that’s been proven at the collegiate level, here’s why Washington should draft Malik Willis.