David Hookstead
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Malik Willis’ time with the Tennessee Titans might be nearing a rapid end.
The Titans drafted Will Levis early in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and with Tannehill remaining on the roster for the time being, the former Liberty star might be heading for the exit.
“Malik Willis, a third-round pick last year, is the odd man out as long as Tannehill is on the roster. Levis is going to be on the team, and the Titans don’t typically keep three quarterbacks on the 53,” Fox Sports’ Ben Arthur wrote Tuesday.
Is Malik Willis done with the Titans?
Willis appeared in eight games last season, and his stats were brutal. He finished the season with 276 passing yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions on 31/61 passing. He completed just 50.8% of his passes and had an abysmal 12.4 QBR.
There is no spin zone in the world that can possibly claim the former third round pick’s rookie season was anything less than a complete and total disaster.
The Titans apparently felt the same way. If the team had faith in Malik Willis as the QB of the future, Tennessee wouldn’t have drafted Will Levis.
You don’t draft QBs relatively early in back-to-back seasons if you have faith in the QB room. Furthermore, Ryan Tannehill hasn’t been moved and it’s unclear if that will happen.
What trade package will upgrade the team at QB in week one? If he’s traded away and the Titans don’t get a starting QB in return, the team will roll with Levis or Willis.
Is there a Titans fan on the planet who thinks that’s a winning formula? Absolutely not. Tannehill could also be straight up cut, but again, that leaves the Titans with poor options.
The NFL can be a brutal business. As Arthur pointed out, the Titans don’t usually carry three QBs. That means somebody has to go and it won’t be Levis and Tannehill remains on the squad. That’s bad news for Malik Willis. He could be out after just one year.
I remember watching Willis at the end of his last year in college at the Senior Bowl (I think). It was the best level of player he’d faced in his career. Not like playing Alabama, and not an actual team, but good level players from around the country who had not even played together. If I recall, Willis threw for 11 yards. He ran fairly well, but could not throw against better competition- even competition that wasn’t a real team with a real plan. Then I still listened to weeks of ‘experts’ projecting him high in the draft. I didn’t get it then. The ending seems easily predictable to me. He was not NFL material.
He is not good. All you had to do is watch him play against Ole Miss.
Rule of drafting QBs – with the rare exception (Mahomes for example), never take a spread/air raid QB before the 3rd round. Most of them will fail. The only time they succeed is when they have a system that, like air raid, is designed to get the primary or secondary read open. Willis fits the bill for this and they only used a 3rd rounder. Can’t read defenses because they didn’t have to learn how. Can’t fit the ball in a tight window consistently because they didn’t have to.