With the 2022 free agency period right around the corner and the NFL Combine starting up this week, news and rumors are running rampant around the NFL. Here is the latest I am hearing on the Pittsburgh Steelers and their plans at the quarterback position.
NFL Free Agency News and Rumors: What are the Steelers going to do at quarterback?
With the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers will be in the market for a quarterback. That market could extend to free agency as well as the NFL Draft. The team wants a mobile quarterback or at least a signal-caller that offers more mobility than Big Ben.
Word right now is Pittsburgh is targeting Malik Willis in the 2022 NFL Draft. And though I cannot confirm Pittsburgh is targeting Willis, I do know they like him an awful lot. As far as free agents, I am told they are targeting three signal-callers: Mitch Trubisky, Teddy Bridgewater, and Jameis Winston.
The combination of one of those three QBs plus selecting Willis in the NFL Draft would set the Steelers up both short and long-term.
PFN’s scouting report on Malik Willis
Here’s what PFN’s Oli Hodgkinson had to say about Willis, “A dual-threat quarterback with two years of starting experience at the college level, Willis is a dynamic playmaker with both his arm and legs. At 6’1”, he won’t be the tallest quarterback in the class, but the NFL shouldn’t hold that against him. At 215 pounds, he has an excellent build to hold up to the elevated physical rigors at the next level.
“That allows Willis to play the game with impressive toughness. That presents itself in multiple ways. He can hang tough in the pocket and take a hit. Furthermore, Willis demonstrates grit as a ball carrier when escaping the pocket. He is challenging to take down in the open field due to his toughness and athletic ability.
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“Willis possesses exceptional athletic qualities. The Liberty QB is fast, owns an excellent short-area burst, and his change of direction is phenomenal. This allows him to be an entertaining, electric, and effective dual-threat quarterback. Willis is elusive both in and out of the pocket, shows stellar vision as a runner, and is brilliantly creative. He’s comfortably the most dangerous quarterback in terms of mobility in this 2022 NFL Draft class.Â
“Willis also possesses the most impressive arm in this draft class. Where most people have an arm, the Liberty quarterback has a laser-guided missile launcher, a cannon, insert your own metaphor here. He’s capable of launching the ball downfield with relative ease, routinely making throws that leave you flabbergasted.”
Stay up to date with the latest in NFL free agency
As the league transitions into free agency, there will be plenty of news and rumors from around the NFL regarding your favorite team. That includes chatter about players who will be on the move (or not) in free agency. Stay updated and keep track of Pro Football Network’s Top 50 Free Agent Rankings to better understand the free agent market.
In this article I didn’t see anything about Willis’ ability to read defenses, his overall accuracy, or his throwing mechanics – the basics. No doubt he is a fantastic athlete, but from what I’ve seen lately in the film breakdowns by people I respect, there are some clear red flags with Willis. He played mostly against lower level competition. He showed some bad habits on tape with his footwork. His arm is strong but erratic. He will make some amazing throws, but then regularly miss easy ones as well. The offense he ran was extremely vanilla. That isn’t his fault, but it doesn’t translate to the NFL very easily. He struggles to find check downs, many times it’s clear that he knows who he’s throwing to before the snap, and that doesn’t bode well on the pro level. His ability to run is fantastic but it also lends itself to him taking off before he needs to and passing up throws that were available. These aren’t small issues when it comes to making the jump to the NFL. So far – based on the film breakdowns that I’ve seen pre-combine, the most NFL ready QB’s in this class (meaning they’ve shown the ability to understand defenses and can make quick and accurate throws) are Pickett, Howell, and Strong. I wasn’t a big fan of Howell to begin with because his size reminds me of Baker Mayfield. His mechanics are very good though, he is also an extremely accurate deep ball thrower, and he checks many of the boxes as far as athleticism and arm strength. Pickett is similar, but I feel like Howell might be a better runner. Strong is very good mechanically, his arm strength is also excellent – the questions are with his knee though. I know Willis is an amazing athlete, but drafting a guy like that early in the first round, especially if you have to swing a trade to get him would scare me because he will require a lot of development (like Trey Lance in SF) to become the difference maker that so many people seem convinced that he will become.
Will the Steelers look to trade up to get Willis?