Liberty quarterback Malik Willis was thought by some experts (including our own Mark Schofield) to be the best quarterback in the 2022 draft class. But Willis was the third quarterback selected, after Kenny Pickett and Desmond Ridder, and it was the Tennessee Titans who stole him away with the 86th overall pick in the third round.
Willis did have some things to work on in his NFL transition, but early on against the Baltimore Ravens in his preseason debut, he looked pretty seasoned out there.
There was this seven-yard escape touchdown with 14:18 left in the second quarter, in which he eluded fellow rookie Kyle Hamilton, our best player in the 2022 class…
Malik Willis escapes Kyle Hamilton for the TD pic.twitter.com/WL6KoiUPgn
— Adam Pfeifer (@APfeifer24) August 12, 2022
…and this 44-yard burner to receiver Racey McMath…
LFG Malik! Beautiful deep ball.pic.twitter.com/OGXKr88rhC
— Full-Time Dame 💰 (@DP_NFL) August 12, 2022
…and this nifty sidearm throw to tight end Tommy Hudson.
He’s doing sidearm throws now?! @malikwillis
📱: Stream #TENvsBAL on NFL+ https://t.co/AXsI2aWMg0 pic.twitter.com/9CtqFTRGBJ
— NFL (@NFL) August 12, 2022
If we wanted to nitpick, we might say that Willis could have avoided this sack by stepping up in the pocket as opposed to looking to bail.
The general consensus on Willis was that he would need a season to sit and learn the game at the next level before he would be able to help his NFL team in the regular season and beyond. That may be true, but so far, Willis is showing as much as he possibly can as a young, developing player.
