Do you see what I see?

[armsteeld]

Simple exercise I want us to conduct. We will scout 2022 NFL draft prospects one by one. We need at least 5 evaluations done prior to moving on to a different prospect. Start at whatever position you prefer. The minimum is 5 evals but we can do unlimited evals (which allows everyone an opportunity to scout said players). Once 5 evals are done, immediately bring up a prospect to scout or breakdown. You can provide as much outside information as possible (everything doesn't have to be written by you). Be passionate and pound the table for the guys you like but provide proof of why you're doing so. Alrighty. Shall we dance?

I'll start with Liberty QB Malik Willis. I believe Willis is a franchise changing QB who can he Steelers get back to their playoff winning days. Games watched Ole Miss, Old Dominion, Syracuse, Western Kentucky (2020), Army, Virginia Tech (2020), Troy, NC State (2020)

Arm Strength: 10. Elite. Can make every throw. Very tight release. Quick release with tight spiral. He also uses touch well on passes that need it.

Mobility: 10. Elite scrambler with breakaway speed. Accelerates quickly and has the jitterbug feet to make defenders look silly.

Pocket Awareness: 8. Could be higher due to poor OL play. He gets sacked a lot for a player with his skill set. 

Poise: 10. Always seems under control. Doesn't look rattled or confused. Recognizes most coverages and quickly gets his guys the ball to give them RAC opportunities. 

Ball Placement: 10. His accuracy whether hitting a receiver in stride on a slant or deep fade is outstanding. Most of his throws are in the right location and away from the defenders. 

Toughness/Situational Awareness: 10. This guy is not leaving a first down a yard shy and running out of bounds. Nope. He's going to power through or evade in order to get that hidden yardage that many players leave on the field. As a pro, I want him to slide more so he can stay healthy for the entire season/career.

Malik Willis would make Najee Harris and the rest of the offensive players look so much better if he were our QB. I'm not saying immediately make him the starter but have an open competition and he'll beat out Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins. Malik Willis should be the future QB of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 

[jebrick]

IMHO, Willis is a high ceiling low floor player.  Classic Boom/bust.  When he messes up badly, he is generally trying to do too much because he is the entire offense for Liberty.  That could be solved with a decent QB coach.  If you would guarantee he would not start in 2022, I would be fine.  The key will Willis is to take your time as a team.  Get his head straight.

[cjfollett]

2 hours ago, jebrick said:

The key will Willis is to take your time as a team.  Get his head straight.

Isn't that what the Steelers are attempting to do with Haskins?

I'm not high on Willis as a QB. I think he'd be an awesome slash type of player though.

[armsteeld]

The purpose of this thread is for us to watch film (YouTube cutups) and discuss what is there to like or dislike in different prospects. Give me more than you don't like him. Explain why. Does he get stuck on reads? Is his throwing motion jacked up? Bad mechanics. I want more analysis rather than he sucks or he will need to sit for a season or two. Don't be afraid to say what you feel. There are absolutely NO wrong answers in this thread.

[jebrick]

1 hour ago, cjfollett said:

Isn't that what the Steelers are attempting to do with Haskins?

I'm not high on Willis as a QB. I think he'd be an awesome slash type of player though.

Haskins is not the athlete that Willis is.  Haskins is a pure pocket passer.  He needs a coach to teach the how to play his position in the NFL.  Maybe he can do it and maybe not.

Willis is an RPO QB.  He has issues with his touch.  His accuracy while moving is amazing.  In the pocket, not so much.    he has the best arm in the class, bar none.  He is a developmental QB that needs a year with a QB coach to get his throwing mechanics straight.

[armsteeld]

41 minutes ago, jebrick said:

Haskins is not the athlete that Willis is.  Haskins is a pure pocket passer.  He needs a coach to teach the how to play his position in the NFL.  Maybe he can do it and maybe not.

Willis is an RPO QB.  He has issues with his touch.  His accuracy while moving is amazing.  In the pocket, not so much.    he has the best arm in the class, bar none.  He is a developmental QB that needs a year with a QB coach to get his throwing mechanics straight.

Much better. Thanks @jebrick

A couple more analysis and we can move on to the next player.

[mwalker]

Positives:

Elite mobility
Canon
Gamer

Downsides:

Run first - yes, he has a strong arm, but his tendency is still his legs
Accuracy- misses the easy ones too often
Experience - he just hasn't played enough to be a first round pick
Level of Competition

I would agree that he is boom or bust - but I think even that's a longer term 
description. I think shorter term, this kid isn't ready to start in the NFL.

I'll admit, I wasn't high on Lamar Jackson and he's better than I thought he'd be,
but Jackson had a career on this kid in terms of game experience. 

In a year where we really need a QB - he just doesn't feel like a solution to me.
I think D.Ridder is more of a fit in terms of where our team is and I don't love Ridder either.
But he's closer to playing for me and the level of competition makes him battle tested
against more NFL type talent and schemes.

I'd wait until 2023 - and go hard on both sides of the trenches in 2022.

[43M]

Problem with Willis to the Steelers is...I don't feel like we are in position to accommodate him the way I feel he needs to be accommodated.

As @jebrick said, he is a boom/bust guy and needs work and the right pieces around him to be successful.   This is why I was on board with drafting Lamar Jackson a few years back, because at that point, we were in a spot where a project QB made sense.   Now?   I feel like we need to fix the other issues before we take chances like that.   While the offense might get better, I simply have zero faith in drafting Willia behind this OL, with these WRs, and these coaches.   I have zero faith in Canada becoming a good OC.   Feel how you want about Ben and the affect he had on our offense, Canada was a horrific playcaller who doesn't even seem to understand the NFL game that well.

Willis IMO isnt nearly THAT good of a prospect.   You probably watched much more of him than I have @armsteeld, but based on what I see, Id give his arm strength an 8.5 or 9 and his pocket awareness a 6.   He looks to run WAY to often, even when he has protection.   Im not a big fan of QBs like that in the NFL.    

With the current makeup of our team, there isnt a single QB Id take in round 1.    If there was a solid, largely pro ready 1st round talent that fell to us, I could get on board.   This draft is mainly project QBs, boom/bust guys and guys who will be overdrafted in a weak QB class.

Is rather see us fix our other issues than invest in a raw rookie QB and ask him to carry us.  

[Cbrunn]

Not much added here , my thing with Willis is are you ready to commit? 

Like the ravens did with Lamar, from the FO to the coaches , you have to commit to that style of football. 

If you draft him and try to fit him in, instead of building an offense around him then your in for a mistake

[armsteeld]

Steelers are horrendous vs the run. ILBs lack the physicality, play recognition, speed, toughness, lacked the ability to get off blocks, etc... Jordan Davis would make the Steelers ILBs become solid players. Davis is 6'6 350ish and is quick as hell for a NT. Montravious Adams was a serviceable player at NT but he'd fit better at DE. 

Jordan Davis is the anchor for the Steelers defense. He can help eliminate the opposing teams'running game which allows TJ and the rest of the pass rushers to get after the QB.

 

[mwalker]

I'd love Davis, but don't think he's there at 20.

[warfelg]

I don’t see it with Willis. He’ll always need too much help around him and after his rookie contract he’ll likely make too much to be that dude. I’ll expand on what I see on tape when I have my computer in front of me but the short of it is he’s an athlete that’s a QB who struggles at too long of stretches to deliver an on time offense. 

[warfelg]

9 hours ago, armsteeld said:

Steelers are horrendous vs the run. ILBs lack the physicality, play recognition, speed, toughness, lacked the ability to get off blocks, etc... Jordan Davis would make the Steelers ILBs become solid players. Davis is 6'6 350ish and is quick as hell for a NT. Montravious Adams was a serviceable player at NT but he'd fit better at DE. 

Jordan Davis is the anchor for the Steelers defense. He can help eliminate the opposing teams'running game which allows TJ and the rest of the pass rushers to get after the QB.

 

I see a guy that tends to rely on length and strength and can struggle with pad and hip level at times. NFL Cs might be able to get under him easily and control his movements. 

[armsteeld]

3 hours ago, warfelg said:

I don’t see it with Willis. He’ll always need too much help around him and after his rookie contract he’ll likely make too much to be that dude. I’ll expand on what I see on tape when I have my computer in front of me but the short of it is he’s an athlete that’s a QB who struggles at too long of stretches to deliver an on time offense. 

I look forward to it. 

[armsteeld]

4 hours ago, warfelg said:

I see a guy that tends to rely on length and strength and can struggle with pad and hip level at times. NFL Cs might be able to get under him easily and control his movements. 

The thing that separates Davis from other DL is he has quickness, power, gets off blocks, plays like he feels he's the best player on the field, and has the quickness to flow down the LoS and Chase down RBs. 

Everyone wants a strong OL to free up Najee and give the QB time to throw the ball. Davis is just as important because he's going to allow the ILBs behind him to eat. He commands a double team most of the time. He can push the pocket as a passrusher but he has all the tools to develop into being a wrecking ball which frees up TJ, Alex, Heyward, and Adams to be even more of a menace on QBs.