According to a report by Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, the Seahawks “would consider” taking Liberty quarterback Malik Willis with the No. 9 overall pick if he’s still available tomorrow night in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. The team also “likes” North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell, but would more likely target him on Day 2.
Here are the details, per Bleacher Report:
“ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Tuesday on SportsCenter that the Seahawks would consider taking Liberty quarterback Malik Willis with the No. 9 pick if he is on the board. The Seahawks also like North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell, although they would be more likely to target him on Day 2, per Fowler.”
Willis is perhaps the biggest boom-or-bust prospect in the entire 2022 draft class. Our best-case comp for him is Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, but he could also have a career something like P.J. Walker, who’s our worst-case comp. Odds are he’ll fall somewhere in-between.
Howell is pretty much universally compared with Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, who the Seahawks have been rumored to be interested in ever since the Deshaun Watson trade. So far, Mayfield has been the most inconsistent starter in the NFL outside of Jameis Winston. Teams taking Howell are betting that he’ll be more like the good version of Mayfield we saw in 2018 and 2020.
Somewhere in-between where these two QBs are projected is Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, who’s become the prospect most-connected to Seattle in the draft. The prevailing theory is they will either trade down from No. 9 target Ridder in the teens or a trade up from Nos. 40-41 and take him at the tail-end of the first round.
