Steelers might have eye on their future QB in Malik Willis
Malik Willis is putting on a show just in time for next month's NFL Draft.
The 6-foot-0 1⁄2, 219-pound former Liberty quarterback, who is already considered by many to be the best quarterback in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft, put on a clinic with his deep passes at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were reportedly seen courting Willis after he dazzled at this year's Senior Bowl, and many mock drafts have the 22-year-old going to the Steelers in the first round.
When asked if he believes the Steelers would be a good fit for him, Willis — who said he met with all 32 teams in preparation for the draft — said he isn't familiar enough with their offense to know if it would be a match.
Willis might be unsure about a future in Pittsburgh, but Colin Cowherd is certain that he is NFL ready — wherever he lands.
Cowherd had the following to say about Willis on Friday's airing of "The Herd."
"He's had a remarkable week, but not just the football stuff," Cowherd said. "There was a piece of video yesterday that came out of Malik Willis helping a homeless man. I know what you're saying, ‘Colin, oh it’s probably set up.' No, it was not set up. Somebody across the street — opening his suitcase on a cold day in Indianapolis, handing shirts to a homeless man. Now that alone is not enough to draft him, but people at Liberty raced to Twitter to tell us that was a normal thing and quite really all about what Malik Willis is about."
"Then I also saw him at the Combine. OK, that was impressive. 80-yard throws, ripped, big arm down the field. Listening to Rich Eisen and others freak out. The kid is just a big-time athlete," Cowherd continued. "You know what's funny about football? You can have character issues at virtually every position, and you'll tolerate it. Quarterback is the opposite. You can have talent limitations, and people will tolerate it if you have great character. It matters."
"I looked at the draft order this morning, and if I was the Panthers at six, the Falcons at eight, the Broncos at nine, the Commanders at 11 and the Vikings at 12, I would draft Malik Willis. I would. He could start right away for some. … Malik Willis has hit an absolute home run at the combine. … That's my guy."
One team Cowherd did not mention was the Steelers, who are scheduled to pick at No. 20 in April's NFL Draft.
Of course, it's a possibility the former Liberty standout is already off the board by the time Mike Tomlin & Co. are ready to make their selection, but FOX Sports NFL Analyst Rob Rang believes Willis could be a great fit in Pittsburgh.
"With Ben Roethlisberger retired and general manager Kevin Colbert expected to move on, the Steelers could be hardly recognizable in 2022," wrote Rang, who has the Steelers selecting Willis in his most recent mock draft. "If the rebuild is, in fact, coming, don’t be surprised if Pittsburgh goes all-in on it, especially should a quarterback with Willis’ upside still be on the board."
Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins are the only quarterbacks currently on the Steelers' roster, and while it is possible one of those two could start the season under center, that could simply be a stop-gap while the organization develops a young signal-caller like Willis.
"Willis is the most gifted quarterback in this class, but he’s also quite raw and will require plenty of patience," Rang added in his assessment of the former Liberty QB.
Willis spent two seasons at Auburn (2017-2018) where he played in just 15 games (no starts) before transferring to Liberty in 2019 and sitting out one year due to NCAA transfer rules. In his following two seasons at Liberty, Willis started every game and led the Flames to a 17-6 overall record. He threw for 5,107 yards with 47 touchdowns and only 17 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,844 yards and 27 TDs.