The Detroit Lions have a front row seat to the '22 Senior Bowl, as their coaching staff gets the honor to coach, develop and scout the young talented Seniors in this year's draft class. The headline this far has been former Liberty Flames' QB Malik Willis. The young potential star has caught the eye of more than just Brad Holmes and the Lions'. Malik's hometown team, the Atlanta Falcons' have shown plenty of interest in the former Atlanta resident. The Denver Broncos have been one of the most engaged teams on Willis. Pittsburgh Steelers' insider's have reported that Mike Tomlin's Steelers are showing more interest in Willis than former Pittsburgh Panthers' QB Kenny Pickett, who has been predicted to land back in Pittsburgh with the 20th overall pick in many mock drafts. Houston, Carolina, Philly, and Washington could be apart of the Malik Willis sweepstakes, but all the hype around the 22 year old, standout athlete, can shake up the Lions draft in more way's than one...
The 6 ft 1 inch tall, 215 pound QB from Georgia certainly has a very bright future ahead of him. He attended Roswell High School located in Roswell Georgia. His HS stats are impressive. Total passing yards 3318, 41 passing TD's, Passing Yards/game 100.5, 235 pass completions, 396 passing attempts, and 14 INT's... In 2018 he became the Quarterback for Auburn University and was the 2018 Music City Bowl MVP. After a year with Auburn he transferred to become a Liberty Flame in 2019. He didn't play in 2019, But In 2020 his breakout season opened the eyes of NFL scouts. In his first season with the Liberty Flames he threw for 2,260 Yards, 170 complete passes In 265 attempts, 64.2 completion percentage, 20 TD's, and 6 INT's. In the final season of his college football career, Malik Willis put together 2,857 yards, 207 completions in 339 attempts, 61.1 completion percentage, 27 TD's, and 12 INT's… It was a certain skill set that had scouts most impressed. It was what he did with his feet. His playing style has me believing that he is the next Lamar Jackson. Who was the 2018 NFL MVP award winner and has spent his entire career with the Ravens. Lamar Jackson and Malik Willis have a similar build. Jackson is an inch taller, and only 3 pounds lighter. both of them have found their most successful time with a college team that isn't a very competitive team. Lamar attended Louisville and played his college days there and was selected with the final pick (32) in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. But there is more to Malik's game which sets him apart quite honestly from Jackson. In this year's Senior Bowl Malik Willis has impressed with his arm strength, reaching a top air speed of 85.7. The average air speed is only 48.5. Footwork is a little bit of a concern for NFL scouts, but most believe his ability to escape "Bad Situation's" offsets that concern.
As mentioned earlier, the Malik Willis sweepstakes offers more than one way to shake up the draft in a big way and it all starts with the Lions. Willis is quickly rising to the top of the draft board and nobody is receiving as much media attention as him. Many teams will likely view him as the best player in the draft, and we've seen even recently in the past few years that teams are willing to offer a big price to make a big splash for their teams fan base. Lions' GM Brad Holmes said and I quote "I'm never scared to move around'. Meaning he is willing to listen to trade offers for the #2 overall pick in the draft. It looks like teams will be willing to pay a hefty price for Malik Willis or even a EDGE Rusher for that matter. The teams interested in Quarterback's will probably make the biggest move for the 2nd pick. Atlanta has been aggressive in the past, they hold the 8th overall pick and could look to move ahead of the Houston Texans' who would almost surely take Willis if the Pass Rusher they were more interested in was off the board. Perhaps the Denver Broncos' do the same. Philly is a bit of an oddball considering they made the playoffs somehow with Jalen Hurts and probably won't be giving up on him just yet. Could we see Pittsburgh make a splash to get themselves a QB?. The Seahawks depending on how they feel about their future with Russel Wilson could be a team that would be interested. Maybe the Indianapolis Colts aren't happy with Carson Wentz after failing to make the playoffs In 2021. The Saints have to be atleast in the conversation although I find them unlikely to draft a QB... I could've just said long story short and that Holmes phone would be ringing off the hook, but nobody knows that for sure. All that and the Lions are very interested in Malik Willis, a trade back is just another option on the table for them, but where is the real risk vs reward?... Considering there is gonna be one if not both of the very highly thought of EDGE Rushers remaining in Michigan Wolverines' Aidan Hutchinson and Oregon Ducks' Kayvon Thibodeaux, who are considered to be an easy project and players that won't be hard to develop. They both can be considered to be the best EDGE Rushers in a draft class since Myles Garrett who was picked #1 overall by the Cleveland Browns' a few years ago... Chosing a Quarterback is a risky move, especially with one of the top picks in the draft. There's always the fear of swing and missing badly. If the Lions select Malik Willis 2nd overall, it shows Holmes trust in the staff to develop him, which will definitely take time in the NFL level. However, hitting the jackpot in the draft with a QB can change the narrative for a franchise. Take Joe Burrow and the Bengals for example, got their franchise QB, built a strong WR core around him, and even with maybe the worst offensive line in football the Bengals have found their way to the Superbowl after being the worst team in the league just two years ago. They finished last in their division in 2020. Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Justin Herbert are good examples as well. It's a facinating Risk vs Reward for the Lions, you can be the judge, and have your own idea on how it will play out and how it will work out for Detroit in the future, either way with the Lions having so much draft capital, maybe with Aaron Rodgers leaving the NFC North likely next season or maybe as soon as this season Detroit would want to have their QB of the future which makes a ton of since to get him now, develop him and build around him before the dominate force which is Aaron Rodgers is gone so they are prepared to take over the division...
Thanks for the read!
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