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Malik Willis

Prospect Preview: Malik Willis 

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By: Nate Christian (@NateNFL) 

Position: QB 

College: Liberty 

Height: 6’ 1” 

Weight: 225 lbs. 

Age: 22 

247 Rating: 0.8857 (3 Stars) 

The Rundown: 

From a 3-star high school athlete to a backup at Auburn, Malik Willis has been underrated and overdoubted for the majority of his time in the sport. He decided to find a coaching staff open to his skill set and transferred to the Liberty Flames, an FBS Independent school. Over the past two years he’s shown flashes of greatness both through the air and on the ground. But many scouts will struggle with the inconsistencies littered in the tape, so how high can we rank Willis?  

College Production: 

During his time at Auburn, Malik Willis was a backup who didn’t see many snaps. Once he transferred to Liberty in 2020, he got on the field and showed an impressive dynamic ability. In the past two years he’s averaged around 2,500 yards through the air with a 2.6:1 TD:INT ratio and staying above a 60% completion rate. In addition, he’s run for over 1,800 yards in the past two years with 27 rushing touchdowns. A truly dynamic playmaker, Willis has all the physical tools to be great. 

Strengths: 

  • Cannon of an Arm 
  • One of the better arms in the class, Willis has no problem getting the ball down the field. Whether it’s inside the pocket or along the sideline while on the run, he is able to launch the football down to any receiver who may be open or in a 1v1 situation. This is impressive considering his technique is not very consistent from throw to throw, and gives hope that his arm could be an even bigger asset at the next level if he is able to reel in the footwork and elbow dip. 
  • Top Rusher 
  • Over the past two years, statistically, Willis has been one of the top rushing quarterbacks in college history. His nearly .6 EPA per rush puts him well over players like Lamar Jackson ($23,016,000) and Kyler Murray ($8,914,504), both who have been drafted in the first round. Now against weaker competition and with some more question marks surrounding his arm, Willis might not be the prospect either one of those players were, but there is something special about Willis’ ability to make plays happen on the ground. And for that he has to be on your fantasy radar. 
  • Dynamic 
  • At the end of the day fantasy football is about swimming for upside, and there is perhaps no player in this draft that possess the upside that Willis possesses. While there is no guarantee that he reaches that ceiling, his ability to make plays, score points, and win you weeks in fantasy football make him a prospect worth paying up for and taking the risk. The “Konami Code” quarterback has become a cheat code in fantasy football and with the right coaching and direction, Willis has the tools to help redefine the position. 

Weaknesses: 

  • Inconsistent with the Easy Throws 
  • Willis misses too many easy throws around the line of scrimmage or near the first down marker to give me confidence in his ability to start right away. The touch he puts on the ball doesn’t have the finesse that we want to see, as often he’s either too strong or too soft with the easy throws. He’s sure to make some “wow” plays as you watch his tape, but too many easy completions find their way onto the ground. 
  • Hesitant on Tight Windows 
  • Willis has the arm to fit a ball into a tight window in the middle of the field, but too often we seem him look at the opening and hesitate. This means that when the second window opens up for that receiver he’s trying to fit it in there too late and that has led to some turnovers or drive-stalling incompletions. 
  • Poor Showing against Ole Miss 
  • Under the spotlight against a Top-25 team, Willis did not perform well. He ended up with 173 passing yards and 3 interceptions, without any passing touchdowns. He did end up with a rushing touchdown during that game, but those overall stats didn’t look great either with 27 rushes for only 71 yards. Now it’s unfair to place all the blame with Willis, the talent surrounding him was also heavily outmatched, but when a team is looking at spending a Top-10 pick on a player, these situations will be heavily scrutinized.  

Things to Watch: 

Willis had a great Senior Bowl, and while he had his ups and downs, his improvement over one week of practice turned a lot of heads. While playing at Liberty may not have provided him with the best coaching and instruction, to show that he is teachable and willing to improve could end up meaning the world to an NFL team that thinks they can mold him into an NFL starter. 

Projected Round/Contract:   

All the noise screams that Malik Willis will be a first rounder. There are enough teams that love the upside and the tools that he brings to the table. We’ve seen NFL teams for years feel (over)confident about their ability to teach and grow players that are “tools” or have the kind of traits that lead to high-risk/high-reward players. Willis fits that bill, and it seems he will be drafted within the first 10 or 15 picks come Draft Day. This would likely give him a contract averaging around $4.35-$5.6 million a year. 

Team Fits:   

There have been two teams that have been heavily connected to Malik Willis during the pre-draft process. The first being the Detroit Lions, who currently have Jared Goff ($33,500,000) but are obviously in a rebuild and looking towards the future. Behind Goff, Willis would be able to take a redshirt year, a la Trey Lance ($8,526,319), and work on his footwork and learning the offense that Dan Campbell wants to run. While the team isn’t chock full of talent, this situation truly isn’t bad, but will require a bit of patience if you’re looking to add him to your dynasty team. 

Another team that has been rather heavily linked to Willis is the Carolina Panthers. Head coach Matt Rhule doesn’t have a great track record with quarterbacks so far, but maybe they think that Willis could be the one to change that. There is a lot of smoke surrounding them and a possible reunion between Rhule and Kenny Pickett (who he recruited while at Temple), but Willis offers more upside at the sixth overall pick. Either way, a team will be looking to put a lot of draft capital and manpower into Malik Willis, making taking a swing on him worth your while. 

Make sure to follow Nate Christian over on Twitter at @NateNFL and check out all the work he is doing with the Dynasty Rewind (@DynastyRewind). 

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