If you didn’t think this was possible before, it’s time to start coming around to the idea.
Even before Tuesday’s pro day workout, Liberty’s Malik Willis was the most dynamic quarterback prospect in the 2022 NFL draft class. After his eye-popping performance in front of a packed house of league decision-makers, he may have just gone from best in his position group to best in class, period.
Is it ridiculous for one throw in shorts to make that much of an impact?
Of course it is.
But the NFL has proven time and time again that with a top quarterback prospects, sometimes that’s all it takes to push a team over the edge into full-fledged “I gotta have that guy” mode.
So, could it actually happen?
Considering it takes two to trade-tango, you have to start with a team willing to move off the No. 1 spot. The Jacksonville Jaguars obviously have their franchise quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, last year’s No. 1 overall pick. We also have a draft class that doesn’t have clear-cut superstar who is head-and-shoulders above the rest of this year’s available players. The Jags still have plenty of other needs to fill, so taking a king’s ransom to move down to a later spot in the top 10 could be an ideal scenario for them to accelerate their rebuild around Lawrence.
Who would want to move up?
How about a pair of NFC South teams that just whiffed embarrassingly on Deshaun Watson?
Both the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons made strong pushes for Watson, presumably willing to give up the three first-round picks and more the Cleveland Browns eventually sent to the Houston Texans for the talented quarterback who is still facing civil lawsuits from 22 different women accusing him of sexual assault/misconduct.
The fallout for the Falcons included severing their relationship with 14-year starter Matt Ryan, who was unceremoniously shipped off to the Indianapolis Colts for a third-round pick Monday. They’ve since signed Marcus Mariota at the going bridge-QB rate, but they’re no closer to a long-term solution than when they had Ryan, and they’ve no doubt made plenty of fans angry in the process.
Carolina is still reeling from last year’s failed Sam Darnold experiment, having traded this year’s second-round pick for a former No. 3 overall pick who couldn’t convincingly beat out P.J. Walker or the second-coming of Cam Newton.
Both teams have top-10 picks, with Carolina’s being the higher slot at No. 6 overall. The Falcons pick at No. 8, but they also have more Day 2 picks to work with, should they want to make a move up to No. 1. It’ll obviously take at least one future first-round pick to make the leap to this year’s top spot, but the Falcons have more additional picks they can include, while the Panthers might have to cough up multiple first-round picks down the line to beat an offer from their division rivals.
If the Panthers and Falcons were both willing to cough up what it would have cost to land Watson, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be considering a move up to No. 1 for Willis. And there are plenty of reasons for the Jaguars to listen.
