RedRamage Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 I just watched a bunch of Willis highlights on youtube and I can't say that I'm overtly impressed. It's not that he was bad... not at all. But I just wasn't wowed either. Of course, that's my opinion as a just who watches the Lions and very little else so I'm certainly not an expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyMarsh Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) Willis could be Josh Allen or he could be Jamarcus Russell, normally I would be opposed to spending a high pick on somebody with that type of risk but considering there aren't many if any sure fire pro bowl type players in this draft I wouldn't be that upset if they did. Maybe use him in a JJ Mcarthy type role so he atleast gets familiar with NFL speed and to provide a different wrinkle to the Lions offense, then let him take the reigns in 2023. Hopefully by then we will have added another weapon or two. Edited March 22, 2022 by RandyMarsh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hongbit Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, RandyMarsh said: Yeah I keep thinking about that too when talks of them taking a qb come to mind. Fields was viewed as much superior to any of the qb prospects this year so if he passed on him you would think he'd pass on all the guys this year. I guess the caveat is that there also likely isn't a non qb available that is viewed as highly as Sewell was either, particularly among our regime and Goff just had a so so year where as a year ago they may have had more hope that he could get back to where he was a couple years prior. Fields had medical question marks which played a big role in him slipping down the board. Where the franchise is at now and the top of this draft class makes the risk/reward of taking a shot Willis a much better proposition than the situation last year had they reached for Fields. Edited March 22, 2022 by Hongbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyMarsh Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Mel has us taking Hamilton and Corral in his latest mock and personally I don't like that thought process. To me if you're going to take a qb take him at 2 so you know you're getting the one you covet most. Like for instance going by Mel's draft we could get our qb1 at 2 then get Lewis Cine or Dax Hill at 32 if we felt the need to go safety. I'd rather get potentially a little worse player at safety than a worse player at qb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.TaterSalad Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 55 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said: Willis could be Josh Allen or he could be Jamarcus Russell, normally I would be opposed to spending a high pick on somebody with that type of risk but considering there aren't many if any sure fire pro bowl type players in this draft I wouldn't be that upset if they did. Maybe use him in a JJ Mcarthy type role so he atleast gets familiar with NFL speed and to provide a different wrinkle to the Lions offense, then let him take the reigns in 2023. Hopefully by then we will have added another weapon or two. Willis is the biggest tease in the draft. The dude makes us, scouts, analysts drool dropping dime throws like that. Here's the problem, when under duress with a defense in his face he misses that throw by a solid yard and may not even see that progression develop downfield given how often he is used to locking onto the first read and throwing it. For every Josh Allen that has a lower-end completion % in college and turns it around in the pros there are 10 Jamarcus Russell's, Akili Smith's, Paxton Lynch's, etc. I was all aboard the get rid of Stafford and go get me a young QB train. I wanted one of Fields or Lance in last years draft. I just don't think Willis is either of those players. I don't think he's Josh Allen either. I worry that we're drafting a Tyrod Taylor with a better, stronger arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLion Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 The Willis stuff is intriguing to me with all this media hype, the supposed Lions interest etc. I've been against taking any QB in this draft but with Hutchinson likely going to Jacksonville and no prospect even close to being worthy of being taken at #2 if we're being honest, I'm sort of warming up to the idea of taking a swing for the fences with Willis at 2 because you will never get more value than you'd get from a QB if you hit with that pick. Bigger risk of course but the potential reward would be higher than any other position. OR the Lions being a threat to take him drives up the value of the pick. A team like the Falcons comes to mind that has a bridge QB in place and nothing else (unless they make a trade for Mayfield). They have the #8 pick and two 2nds so they could be a good dance partner if they're willing to dance. Anyway, in a draft with a whole bunch of unappealing options at 2, I think Willis could be the most appealing one on a couple of levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.TaterSalad Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 Former Lions QB JT O'Sullivan did a 5 part breakdown on Malik Willis. I am going to watch it tonight. If you want to watch it here are the links below. Malik Willis Part 1 Malik Willis Part 2A Malik Willis Park 2B Malik Willis Part 3 Malik Willis Part 4 Malik Willis Part 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLion Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, Motown Bombers said: If there was a draft to take a gamble on, this would be the one. There is no can't miss player in this draft. There is a realistic chance a safety could be the best player at 2. The Lions still have another 1st round pick and high 2nd round pick to fill holes plus two 1st round picks next year. Bingo and is similar to what I said in the previous post. With a bunch of prospects that look to be a reach at 2 (thanks Thibs for acting like such a jackass), why not take a shot at the QB with upside if there's no obvious pick at 2? They have 4 other picks in the top 97 to fill other needs. Edited March 22, 2022 by NYLion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 https://www.nfl.com/prospects/malik-willis/32005749-4c61-4428-8345-922a57c28423 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 willis has been wildly inaccurate in college, especially against better defenses. you compare him to trey lance, but he's also 4 inches shorter than lance and wasnt nearly as good in college. otoh, lance and justin fields were "rated" similarly to willis, but both were rated a little higher. is that enough to take willis at #2? jalen hurts with a better arm? is he appreciably better than matt corral or kenny pickett? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.TaterSalad Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 4 minutes ago, buddha said: https://www.nfl.com/prospects/malik-willis/32005749-4c61-4428-8345-922a57c28423 I noticed the comparisons being both Jay Cutler and Jalen Hurts. If that's who he ends up being, no thanks. I think if Cutler didn't have such a shit attitude and was more coachable, he could have been a better QB. Maybe Willis is a more coachable individual and can prove to grow and develop better than Cutler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganCardinal Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 I’m not remotely interested in Malik Willis. In a “normal” year, I think he’s a late 1st or early 2nd round prospect. He’s risen because people drool over QBs every year. I could be wrong, and if we take him I’ll hope like hell that I am. It’s not impossible a mid-1st prospect turns into a good NFL QB. I just think taking Willis at #2 would be making the move we are “expected” to, just because we are drafting #2. If we envision ourselves as building how the Chiefs did, then patience is a-okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLion Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, buddha said: willis has been wildly inaccurate in college, especially against better defenses. you compare him to trey lance, but he's also 4 inches shorter than lance and wasnt nearly as good in college. otoh, lance and justin fields were "rated" similarly to willis, but both were rated a little higher. is that enough to take willis at #2? jalen hurts with a better arm? is he appreciably better than matt corral or kenny pickett? Yes but on the other hand, he had very little talent around him compared to even Lance so it makes it an almost impossible evaluation based on game tape. Essentially, you're projecting based almost entirely on physical tools and whether that can translate to the next level. Everybody knows it's a major risk but it's a risk that presents potential major reward. It just illustrates how poor this draft is at the top that this is even a consideration (he'd probably be the 6th QB last year) but, here we are. We're also talking about guys like Travon Walker who would be a mid 1st prospect in most drafts and Thibodeaux the same due to inconsistency and character issues, do you want a safety at 2 with Hamilton? a corner at 2 with Gardner? another tackle? so there's risks with every prospect taken that high. Edited March 22, 2022 by NYLion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyMarsh Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) I mentioned before but the biggest deterrent for me when it comes to drafting Willis is that we really won't know what we have till atleast the end of the 2023. I just fear that we will pass on potentially superior qbs next draft and possibly the one after before we really get a good idea to what type of player Willis is. If he was already seen as NFL ready and we threw him into the fire next year and he looked terrible we then would atleast have an idea of what we had and could move on asap like the Cards did with Rosen and Washington did with Haskins. That's not gonna happen with Willis. For better or worse if we draft him we're gonna be married to him for atleast the next 2 and probably 3 seasons. Edited March 22, 2022 by RandyMarsh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.TaterSalad Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 How long after Willis gets drafted do Holmes and Campbell get to use the whole "we're developing him" argument? That is to ask, if he doesn't start developing and this team is struggling in year 2/year 3 of Willis' career are they fired and out the door as a result of this? Drafting Willis seems like the type of move that you are staking your entire rebuild and ultimately your career around. I suppose you could say that for any QB prospect you draft and build around, but Willis is especially polarizing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLion Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 1 minute ago, Mr.TaterSalad said: How long after Willis gets drafted do Holmes and Campbell get to use the whole "we're developing him" argument? That is to ask, if he doesn't start developing and this team is struggling in year 2/year 3 of Willis' career are they fired and out the door as a result of this? Drafting Willis seems like the type of move that you are staking your entire rebuild and ultimately your career around. I suppose you could say that for any QB prospect you draft and build around, but Willis is especially polarizing. It's the case with any regime. You either come out looking like a hero (Mahomes, Allen, guys who had major question marks coming into the draft) or a zero (Trubisky, Darnold). This would be no different. It all depends on how much they trust Goff to be THE GUY which could be just as risky if they pass on QB this year and don't have the chance again in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.TaterSalad Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 5 minutes ago, NYLion said: It's the case with any regime. You either come out looking like a hero (Mahomes, Allen, guys who had major question marks coming into the draft) or a zero (Trubisky, Darnold). This would be no different. It all depends on how much they trust Goff to be THE GUY which could be just as risky if they pass on QB this year and don't have the chance again in the near future. It just seems like if they had taken a guy like Fields last year and he didn't work out that there would be more of an opportunity of them getting a redo versus waiting a year into your regime and taking Willis now. Maybe my take is off base there and they'd deserve to be fired if either Fields or Willis didn't work out by 2-3 years in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1984Echoes Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 3 hours ago, buddha said: ... that said, the last thing they need is to draft the next akili smith... Or Andre Ware v2.0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.TaterSalad Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 3 minutes ago, 1984Echoes said: Or Andre Ware v2.0. Or Rodney Peete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLion Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 16 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said: It just seems like if they had taken a guy like Fields last year and he didn't work out that there would be more of an opportunity of them getting a redo versus waiting a year into your regime and taking Willis now. Maybe my take is off base there and they'd deserve to be fired if either Fields or Willis didn't work out by 2-3 years in. Apparently the Lions scouts really liked Lance so it seems like they have a "type" that they prefer if there's any credibility to them liking Lance. There is no Sewell in this draft that's a no brainer so I think it would be easier for them to take a swing for a QB they love unless Hutch is there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TP_Fan Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Mr.TaterSalad said: Willis is the biggest tease in the draft. The dude makes us, scouts, analysts drool dropping dime throws like that. Here's the problem, when under duress with a defense in his face he misses that throw by a solid yard and may not even see that progression develop downfield given how often he is used to locking onto the first read and throwing it. Liberty didn’t use progressions. It was a one read offense. Lions coaching staff even talked about it at the senior bowl and discussed that they were impressed when they asked him to go through reads, his first time. And liberty had a terrible team outside of Willis. I have to imagine that will have been the only time in my life I will watch 8 liberty games in a season, or ever again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1984Echoes Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Rodney Peete was at least a somewhat serviceable backup. And a 6th rounder to boot. No expectations for anything more than that. Ware at #7 couldn't read defenses, had difficulties transitioning from a shotgun to under-center QB, and was not accurate. IIRC our scouting director quit after Fontes insisted on drafting him (that may have come from Mouse Davis & June Jones in Wayne's ear...). A complete and total disaster with about 7 starts his entire career. Drafting Wilis at #2, if he never gains the ability to read NFL defenses and/or struggles badly with accuracy issues and locking-onto-#1 option issues... would be closer to a Ware than a Peete. Peete was nothing but an unspectacular yeoman. But not a top 10 pick either. 6th rounder? He provided great "value" for where he was selected. I don't think Willis will be either of those guys... I was just being smart with the Ware mention... Ware was particularly a disaster of an NFL QB... But if all Willis turns into is a lesser Jalen Hurt... I don't know if that's good enough. If the Lions draft him, they have to believe they can coach him up... and they better be successful with that too, if they want to stick around for the long haul... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1984Echoes Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 1 minute ago, TP_Fan said: Liberty didn’t use progressions. It was a one read offense. Lions coaching staff even talked about it at the senior bowl and discussed that they were impressed when they asked him to go through reads, his first time. And liberty had a terrible team outside of Willis. I have to imagine that will have been the only time in my life I will watch 8 liberty games in a season, or ever again. This would give me reason for hope if we do indeed draft Willis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TP_Fan Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 For more context: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinzaki Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 "Who's Andre Ware and why does everyone hate him so much" my wife circa 1991 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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