MOCK DRAFT SZN HAS BEGUN!
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has delivered his first 2022 mock of the year while we’re in the middle of the playoffs and — like our Charles McDonald in his first mock draft — the expert has both big-name pass rushers Aidan Hutchinson from Michigan and Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux going off the board Nos. 1 and 2.
So … what about the quarterbacks in a class that many think isn’t the strongest?
You’d have to go all the way down to No. 11, where the Washington Football Team (or whatever they’ll be called starting next month), where he projects them taking Malik Willis out of Liberty. No Kenny Pickett there. Matt Corral? Kiper has him going to the Steelers at No. 20. Here’s his take on Willis:
Time for the first quarterback off the board. You might be surprised that it’s Willis, but you really shouldn’t be. He was in the QB1 mix all fall before he faded a little bit in the last stretch of the regular season. The more tape I watch of his past two seasons and the more I talk to evaluators in the league, the more I like him. Put simply, Willis is the most talented quarterback in this class. He didn’t always get to show that at Liberty, which didn’t have much NFL talent around him. (He was sacked an astounding 51 times in 2021.) This is a dual-threat signal-caller — he rushed for 1,822 yards and 27 touchdowns over the past two seasons — with a powerful arm. I’m really excited to see him compete against the other top QBs in the Senior Bowl in a couple weeks.
Like Denver, Washington could be in the veteran QB market, but I like the fit with Willis. Washington can’t go into the season with Taylor Heinicke as the starter.
There you have it! Intriguing!
