2022 NFL Mock Draft: Panthers, Steelers, Lions All Take QBs In Round 1
By Evan Bachman
6. Carolina Panthers: Malik Willis, QB, Liberty
The current regime for the Carolina Panthers has put themselves in a spot where they most likely will need to draft a quarterback. After back-to-back five win seasons for Matt Rhule the clock is ticking on how much time he has left, so it’s essential that they find a quarterback.
Unfortunately for them, this isn’t a great draft to need a quarterback. There’s plenty of solid options who could turn into franchise quarterbacks, however there aren’t elite level quarterback prospects like last year’s class had with Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, and Justin Fields.
There’s a lot to like about Malik Willis. He has a very good arm as he can make basically any throw on the football field. In fact, according to PFF, 10.7% of his passes have been big time throws, which is the best in college football by a large margin.
Willis can also add an extra dimension as a runner as he is fast, elusive, and has good vision. This season he has recorded 90 missed tackles on 86 rush attempts.
The concern with Willis is that his competition level isn’t very high. However, we’ve seen many quarterbacks from smaller schools go very high in the draft such as Carson Wentz and Trey Lance, so that shouldn’t stop NFL teams from drafting him.