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Andy Richardson

Malik Willis

Quarterback will need some grooming

We've talked some about how Liberty quarterback Malik Willis will need some grooming by the team that drafts him, and there's a lot of evidence to back that up. It's a big jump to the NFL (he'll be the first Liberty passer ever selected), and Willis himself is pretty rough around the edges.

Willis was nearly as likely to run the ball (366 attempts) as complete a pass (388 completions, on 618 attempts) as a college starter. He tended to throw interceptions in bunches -- 18 in his 23 starts, including 3 interceptions on four different occasions. And he took an awful lot of sacks.

Last season, Willis took 51 sacks, more than any college quarterback. It looks even worse when you look at sacks per pass attempt, since he attempted 150-200 fewer passes than some of the other top prospects. He wound up taking a sack once per every 7 attempts, which is dramatically worse than most of the other quarterbacks talked about as 1st- or perhaps 2nd-round picks in the draft.

Table shows the 50 most sacked college quarterbacks last year, sorted by sacks per attempt. Willis was sacked twice as frequently as most of the other perceived top quarterbacks, listed in bold.

MOST SACKED COLLEGE QUARTERBACKS, 2021
PlayerComAttYdsTDIntSackSack/Att
DJ Irons7812089284294.1
Malik Willis20733928572712516.6
Chandler Rogers112179131193257.2
Sam Howell2173473056249487.2
Dylan Hopkins1552352274187317.6
Jordan Travis1221941539156257.8
Brendon Lewis1492571540103318.3
Hendon Hooker2063022945313368.4
Garrett Shrader123234144594278.7
Max Bortenschlager17834229351912398.8
Cameron Friel1412261608611259.0
Dustin Crum24538232382063810.1
Matt McDonald23639325551273910.1
Ben Bryant27940831211474010.2
Braxton Burmeister14225519601442510.2
Dequan Finn14425020671822410.4
KJ Jefferson19829426762142710.9
Max Johnson22537328152763311.3
Adrian Martinez189306286314102711.3
Holton Ahlers256414312618103611.5
Jonah Johnson25743827051083811.5
Jayden Daniels197301238010102611.6
Clayton Tune287421354630103611.7
Michael Pratt18932823812182811.7
Layne Hatcher201341242319132911.8
N'Kosi Perry21034527712072911.9
Jarret Doege272417304819123511.9
Spencer Petras16528818801092412.0
Jack Coan25338531502573212.0
Kaleb Eleby23036232772362912.5
Chevan Cordeiro195353279317112812.6
Tanner McKee20631523271572413.1
Bryce Young36654748724773914.0
Todd Centeio229380295815102714.1
Carson Strong36752441863683714.2
Sean Clifford26142831072183014.3
Sam Hartman299508422839143514.5
Desmond Ridder25138733343082614.9
Levi Lewis23639129172042615.0
Matt Corral26238633492052515.4
Brennan Armstrong326500444931103116.1
Davis Brin243410325418162516.4
Hank Bachmeier25240130792082416.7
Anthony Brown25039029891872317.0
Drew Plitt24841125411862417.1
Kenny Pickett33449743194272917.1
Devin Leary28343134333552517.2
Taulia Tagovailoa328474386026112519.0
Will Rogers50568347393693420.1
Jake Haener32949040963392321.3

My intent is not to trash Willis. He's got an NFL arm, and he'll heave up some 60-yard passes and complete some of them. He wasn't surrounded by the kind of top talent as the other top prospects; not playing behind an elite line or anything. With his running, he could be a fantasy star; if he gets in the lineup, he might look a lot like rookie year Lamar Jackson, who while starting 7 games his first season ran for 695 yards and 5 TDs while passing for 1201 and 6. We're playing fantasy football here, and Willis taking 3 sacks per game won't take away from that potential.

But I hope he's selected by Pittsburgh, or Atlanta, or New Orleans -- some team and coaching staff that has the luxury and time to keep him in a backup role this season. I worry that Carolina, with its decision makers hanging by a thread, will feel pressure to get him on the field too quickly. If that happens, fire up the opposing defenses for streaming purposes in fantasy leagues.

--Andy Richardson

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