Malik Willis is turning heads.
According to Luke Easterling from the Draft Wire, the Liberty product had an impressive pro day March 22 to add to his body of work at the NFL Scouting Combine early in March and a solid week at the Senior Bowl in February.
The Houston Texans may be hitching their wagons to Davis Mills for 2022, which takes them out of the running for a signal caller such as Willis. However, there are still quarterback needy teams in the draft who may be intrigued by Willis’ promise.
Can the Texans take advantage of the hype surrounding Willis, much the same way the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles took advantage of teams in last year’s NFL draft?
The Texans have picks at No. 3 overall and No. 13 overall in Round 1. The nearest team with a possible quarterback hole would be the Carolina Panthers at No. 6. The New York Jets at No. 4 and the New York Giants at No. 5 have quarterbacks and won’t be in the market. Similarly, the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 1 are set with Trevor Lawrence and the Detroit Lions at No. 2 may be content to ride out Jared Goff for another year.
The Panthers can afford to let Willis come to them, if they want him. Additionally the Atlanta Falcons (No. 8), Seattle Seahawks (No. 9), and Washington (No. 11) are in good position to take Willis.
If any team wanted to leap Carolina, they would do business with the Giants at No. 5 overall. If the Panthers decided to go with Sam Darnold for another year, the Giants would again be the team to talk to as they have the No. 7 overall pick.
The Texans are on the dance floor of trade talks, but not close enough to hear the music. Their 13th overall pick similarly is too far outbound from the glut of quarterback needy teams to be enticing enough for a team to consider a trade.
General manager Nick Caserio told reporters on March 19 that the Texans would be willing to look at moving down if need be, but they are also ready to make a selection.
“You always have to be prepared to pick a player regardless of position,” said Caserio. “We’ll be ready to pick a player whenever that is.”