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TItans’ Malik Willis has all the tools, but needs to be much quicker


Malik Willis

Malik Willis
image: beautiful pictures

There was a lot of attention on Kenny Pickett during his first pre-season performance for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They picked him with a 20th overall pick, meaning they hoped that he would be Ben Roethlisberger’s successor. That succession plan may have to start soon as Mitchell Trubisky is now the Steelers QB1.

Pickett played well, and led the Steelers down the field to win the game, but it meant Pickett was out late in the game, playing against a fourth-half defense ahead of season 1. The quarterback quartet. that much thought that the Steelers will take on in the first round, Malik Willis, started for the Tennessee Titans against the Baltimore Ravens last Thursday.

As long as Tannehill is healthy, he will be the warm-up when the regular season begins. He replaced Marcus Mariotta in 2019, and since that change was made, the Titans have played their best football since the late Steve McNair at center. Last season, the Titans were the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time since the 2008 Kerry Collins season and lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in the Group Stage. In a game that was drawn 16 all at the end of the fourth half, Tannehill made the third interception of the game, and the Titans were conceded by a goal on the field.

Tannehill has been spectacular in 10 appearances in 2019, but his form has declined since then. Last season, he threw 14 interceptions and totaled fewer passes than Roethlisberger. He’s 33 years old now, and if the Titans want to do it final pitch of improvement To win a Super Bowl, it would have to have someone else behind the center.

Willis got his first chance to be that guy during Pre-Season 1 Week when veteran Tannehill wasn’t playing, and he proved his athletic prowess was exceptional. He stepped up in the bag and threw a stunning 48-yard pass to second-year wide receiver Racey McMath. In the first quarter, Willis showed off his 878-yard running legs in Liberty, going into the final zone with a score of seven.

Yet, with all of that first-half success, Vrabel still pulled Willis out of the game in the second half earlier than he had planned to.

“I wanted Malik to throw the ball and he wasn’t,” Vrabel told media after the game. “So I put Logan [Woodside] In.”

Vrabel also mentioned that. Once the pass catchers were open, Willis needed to be more assertive and get the ball for them. Willis failed throw the ball it was the Titans’ first turn to pick Treylon Burks in what could have been a touchdown over 50 yards. Willis holds the ball for an average of 3.98 seconds per play. According to Next Gen Stats, last season Jalen Hurts had the longest throw time of 3.12 seconds.

For all the talent Willis has, he still has a lot to learn about quarterback in the NFL. He won’t carry the ball 197 times like he did at Liberty in 2021. Even Lamar Jackson doesn’t hold the ball as much for the Ravens. Willis also had to get used to calling plays from a group chat. According to Turron Davenport, Liberty of ESPN motioned in plays from the sidelines.

It was a training camp with ups and downs for Willis when the Titans captured him used to work as much as possible. He also only used shotguns in college – that wouldn’t work for a team with Derrick Henry in the backyard.

For all the work Willis still needs to do to competently run an NFL game, it’s pretty clear that he’s not only the most talented quarterback in his rookie class, but on his team. When he lets football have confidence, it’s a beautiful sight.

A rookie quarterback who has to adjust to the speed of decision-making in the NFL is nothing new. During Tom Brady’s rookie season with the Patriots, one of his defender coaches Note for him is “everything he does, he needs to do faster.” The assistant is talking about both his movement and his decision making.

Willis doesn’t have to transform into Brady for the Titans to get that final pitch. He just needed to process the information fast enough for those 50-yard rainbows to become more common and get into those scrambles at the right time. He and Derrick Henry share a backyard that could be special if Willis can land that QB1 job quickly.





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