There were five quarterbacks taken in the 2021 NFL draft. All five started games in 2021, although San Francisco’s Trey Lance started just two games due to an injury to starter Jimmy Garoppolo.
The last quarterback taken — Mac Jones to the Patriots at No. 15 overall — was the most successful of the rookies in 2021.
Now, we turn out attention to the 2022 NFL draft, where most scouts are split on who is the top passer for this class. Some say Kenny Pickett; others say Malik Willis, Sam Howell, or Matt Corral. Most agree that none of this year’s crop of passers would have gone ahead of any of last season’s first-round quarterbacks.
This week at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, six of the draft’s top quarterbacks have had an opportunity to impress NFL scouts and coaches. The Washington Commanders, who own the No. 11 overall pick, will acquire a starting quarterback before the 2022 season. Will it be via trade, free agency, or the NFL draft?
While all the quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl have impressed to some degree, Willis has stood out the most.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Willis has the highest upside of all the passers available in the upcoming draft. Willis has a thick build, a rocket for an arm and impressive escapability.
Check out this play from Thursday’s practice:
Malik Willis is FUN. Coming off of PA rollout to his right, he slips. Regains his footing and fires a hot sidearm to the TE. Sheesh. #SeniorBowl pic.twitter.com/BsKpn3TYIb
— Jared Feinberg (Burrow stan) (@JRodNFLDraft) February 2, 2022
You can’t teach what Willis brings to the table. Washington coach Ron Rivera has stated mobility is an integral part of the process for the Commanders’ next quarterback.
Willis spoke to Crissy Froyd of The Draft Network this week and spoke of some areas he was working on in the pre-draft process:
“In this pre-draft process, I’ve been focused on showing some things I wasn’t able to show during the season that I can do,” Willis said. “Just honing in on those things so whenever I get the opportunity these next few months to put it in front of somebody. I’ve definitely fine-tuned the footwork. I’m learning a whole new set of footwork from under center than what I learned in college, where I was mostly in the gun. Just getting snaps and getting out of there, so I don’t get stepped on by one of these linemen.”
One of the knocks on Willis was his accuracy. Early in the week, he had a tough day. However, Willis has shown daily growth as the week has moved on.
Jim Nagy, executive director of the Senior Bowl, says another team with a quarterback vacancy is already eyeing Willis.
Wednesday @seniorbowl practice recap: pic.twitter.com/yxv0saYGfL
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 3, 2022
If Mike Tomlin likes what he sees from Willis, then Washington should, too.
Quarterbacks will rise and fall in the next three months, but don’t be surprised if Willis lands somewhere inside the top six picks in April.
