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Malik Willis NFL Draft Profile
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Malik Willis Scouting ReportMalik is a very confident passer who shows good accuracy and feel when in rhythm. He shows better ball placement from previous years and throws very catchable passes. Willis has excellent arm strength. He will step up into the pocket while looking downfield, reset his feet and deliver. He is generally accurage on intermediate and short throws. He flashes anticipation and placement on intermediate outs and the ability to lead receivers on deep throws. He goes through his reads quickly. Malik is patient and allows routes to develop. He doesn't scramble more than necessary. He has put up good numbers despite playing behind a truly awful offensive line. Willis is a supreme athlete and shows impressive power and contact balance. He is a patient runner with good vision to see all the field. He is a dual threat qb with athletic footwork and mobility. He is an instinctive runner with good toughness. He uses stiff arms and runs with good body strength. He has very good vision balance, elusiveness, and deceptive speed and power as a runner. |
Areas for ImprovementMalik sometimes trusts his arm too much, trying to stick passes late in the play or when off balance. He often goes for the big play, unwilling to take the short dump off which leads to mistakes. He puts too much air in some of his throws. He needs to show a lower trajectory on deep throws. He needs to improve his touch at all levels and know when to gun it and when to take something off his throws. He has solid accuracy, but not great. He needs help with footwork. He will need to develop a more regimented style in the NFL. He too often fails to give receivers a chance to make a play after the catch. He is similar to 49ers Trey Lance, in putting too much mustand on the ball. He will need to learn how to throw a catchable ball. |
Malik Willis Career at Auburn/LibertyMost colleges viewed Willis as a receiver, not a quarterback which hurt his stock, so despite being a big-time playmaker blessed with athleticism, he received only three stars and only three offers from Power Five schools. After agreeing to join Virginia Tech he was greeted by an opportunity to play quarterback at Auburn and so quickly switched to the Tigers. Unfortunately for Willis, Auburn wasn't quite as advertised as he ended up sitting behind Bo Nix after being beaten out for the starting role - as a result, Willis transferred to Liberty, redshirted a year to comply with NCAA rules, quickly won the No. 1 job in 2020 and his since never looked back. In 10 games during 2020, Willis managed 2,250 with 20 passing touchdowns and 6 interceptions and while on the surface his numbers don't sound special they hide the real story. Willis averaged an excellent 8.5 yards per attempt, and he was constantly looking far down the field to make plays. He also added a crazy total of 14 rushing touchdowns and almost 1,000 yards on the ground all while leading Liberty to a 10-1 record. The 2021 campaign started well for Willis, putting up impressive shows in both the running and passing game. However, he has had some issues this season, his three-pick game against Middle Tennessee and Louisiana-Monroe highlighted a problem. The ball placement isn’t very consistent and he has errant throws that can be easily intercepted Some scouts aren't yet convinced he can make the transition to the drop-back passing game in the NFL. |
Malik Willis NFL Draft Player ProfileWhile he must learn to override his big-play mentality at times, Malik Willis possesses borderline-ideal traits for a dual-threat NFL quarterback. He has the potential to be a game-changer at the next level.
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