Steelers NFL Draft Series: QB Malik Willis

Each draft season, there is a player who stands out from the rest in the early going - and becomes the Steelers' "darling." Last year, it was easily Alabama running-back Najee Harris, who fans latched onto early in the process and never did let go of. That came to fruition of course, with the team drafting Harris at pick 22. From Jarvis Jones all the way to Devin Bush, the list of Steelers' hopefuls is lengthy and legit.

This year, we are here to officially proclaim Liberty QB Malik Willis the darling of the Steelers' draft.

I recently evaluated North Carolina's signal-caller Sam Howell, and although he possesses some quality traits, let's just say I had a lot more fun watching the tape of Willis.

I'll start by saying this, which could make some heads spin: I would understand if a General Manager had Willis as the number 1 player on their board. I would also understand if a GM had Willis off their board entirely. The term "boom or bust" accurately describes him. My draft range is extremely wide for a reason. If he realizes his full potential he is worthy of a top 5 pick. If he doesn't, he'll be a gadget quarterback that can occasionally help a team in the red zone.

Willis' strengths:

Athleticism

Arm Strength

RPO Game

Read-Option experience

Decisive Runner

You cannot doubt his incredible talent. He can make all of the throws. And I mean all of them:

His legs are actually both a blessing and a curse. Unfortunately, there is not much evidence on tape of Willis being able to go through his progressions. When his initial read is not open, he tends to hold onto the ball too long and take sacks. He also needs to improve on ANTICIPATING throws. He far too often waits until a receiver gets open and throws, opposed to throwing his receiver open.

While he is an incredible rushing quarterback in the mold of Lamar Jackson or Kyler Murray, sometimes it becomes a disadvantage when he's too quick to use those legs. I scrutinized multiple plays in which Willis never gets off his first read. NFL defenses won't even need to study his tape to stop that. They could just take that week off and go on vacation unless it changes. Check out this play below:

Willis leaves a clean pocket after his first read, and runs through a cavalry of defenders. Is it an amazing, superman-esque play that only a handful of mortals on earth can make? Yes. But is it something that will work in the NFL consistently? Absolutely not, even though it may have worked against Eastern Michigan. Linebackers like Darius Leonard would likely be waiting to punish him.

His glaring weaknesses as previously mentioned include:

Working through progressions

Pre-determining throws

Deep ball accuracy

Anticipation

Some Pro comparisons that I think are fitting are former Steelers' QB Kordell Stewart, Former 49ers' QB Colin Kaepernick, and even the late great Titans signal-caller, Steve McNair.

With all of this said, would I take him at pick 20 if I were the Steelers?

Absolutely. Much like Slash, he may need some molding, and the learning curve would probably be more steep for Willis opposed to a Ridder or a Howell. But the upside is just too high at the end of the day.

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