Depending on who you ask, there is either still hope for Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis to become the team’s starter, or there isn’t.
One thing is for certain: after what we saw from the rookie this past year, the team cannot blindly depend on Willis to be the guy in 2023 if they truly intend on competing next season.
We all knew Willis was going to take at least a year to develop, but it was no doubt disheartening to see how much more the offense struggled with him starting, especially as compared to Joshua Dobbs, which was the most damning thing.
We did see flashes from the Liberty product, but not enough to get really excited about. As a result, it’s hard to say Willis progressed much, and some would say he didn’t progress at all.
However, Willis believes he progressed “a whole bunch” in 2022 because of what he was able to learn and the experience he gained via reps, both in games and at practice.
“You can say what you want to, but it’s my first year in the NFL — I think I progressed a whole bunch,” Willis said, according to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “You may not think so, but I learned a lot. So just having that film and those reps. I’d never been under center before I got to the NFL. I got over 1,000 reps of being under center [in games and practices] and that is very helpful. That is what it is about, repetition and building that muscle memory.”
Despite the 23-year-old’s confidence in his amount of progression, he is not shy about admitting his struggles on the field. Until he shows better there, Willis will have no shortage of doubters.
“Nobody is perfect. So, you just always have to learn from whatever mistakes you make,” Willis said. “You see guys making mistakes that have been playing quarterback for 10 years. I have been playing quarterback for a year [in the NFL]. So, it is understanding to learn from those mistakes and not get too high or too low.”
With all the hype surrounding Willis’ arrival in Nashville, it’s easy to forget the fact that he was always going to be a project, which is one important piece of context here.
So, thanks to an injury to Ryan Tannehill, the Titans were forced to send their young, raw quarterback out on the field before he was ready, and he had to play with a supporting cast (and play-caller) that wasn’t even close to good enough to set him up for success.
Are we really that surprised he struggled, and did so more than a signal-caller who, despite not having any starting experience, had six more years of development in the NFL?
Now, that’s not to say the supporting cast is the only reason Willis struggled, or that he’ll end up being the franchise quarterback we all hope, but giving up on him entirely at this early stage is premature.
Looking ahead to 2023, the expectation should be for Willis to be the backup to a veteran starter (Ryan Tannehill or someone else), and the Titans should have him compete for that job with a veteran, perhaps Dobbs.
In the process, hope that he shows he’s capable of more and becomes the future starting option for the franchise. If not, at least it was only a third-round pick.
