How Malik Willis looked during Titans OTAs
It’s no surprise that the Tennessee Titans quarterback room is commanding a great deal of attention as preparation for the 2023 season begins. After drafting Malik Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Tennessee moved up in the second round in 2023 to select Kentucky’s Will Levis. All the while keeping Ryan […]
It’s no surprise that the Tennessee Titans quarterback room is commanding a great deal of attention as preparation for the 2023 season begins.
After drafting Malik Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Tennessee moved up in the second round in 2023 to select Kentucky’s Will Levis. All the while keeping Ryan Tannehill on the roster as the team’s starter.
Even after the NFL approved a new bylaw allowing teams to keep a third emergency quarterback on their 53-man roster without making them active on game day, Willis' spot on the Titans' roster is anything but guaranteed heading into 2023.
A couple weeks back, it was Levis that everybody had eyes on during Titans rookie minicamp, but with all three quarterbacks on the same field for OTAs on Tuesday, I directed a lot of my attention to Willis and the improvements he has made this offseason.
So, how did Willis look on Tuesday? Simply put, I thought he looked more comfortable and noticeably improved. I thought Willis was a lot smoother at the line of scrimmage, and threw with better accuracy and timing than he did at this point last year.
While he primarily worked on individual drills and route trees, it didn’t look like Willis was simply throwing the football to his receiver. It looked like he was guiding his receivers to the football. His footwork was cleaner and his deep balls were on point.
Here's a look at Willis working on a rollout drill with Tannehill and Levis during Tuesday's practice:
With all of this being said, Willis improving physically does not mean his performance is guaranteed to take a jump. One of the biggest knocks the media, fans, and even Mike Vrabel had of Willis as a rookie was his inability to see things at speed. Identifying where the football needed to go and getting his body in a position to make the throw on time was a challenge and not something we saw much development in over the course of the season.
In order to truly get a feel for Willis’ offseason development, we will have to see how he performs against a full defense moving at full speed. Until then, we must settle for the eye-test and the testimony of his teammates.
Titans tight end Chig Okonkwo told the media on Tuesday that he noticed a significant improvement in Willis’ command of the huddle.
“He seemed a lot more confident in the huddle, especially when calling the plays," Okonwko said when asked what he's seen out of his teammate. "With his reads, he's a lot more decisive and the ball still jumps out of his hand. He still has a great arm and I feel like he's really really accurate with his throws."
As for head coach Mike Vrabel, he said that Titans coaches were still early on in the evaluation process of all three quarterbacks, but that Willis has improved what he was asked to work on.
"What we asked Malik to do is come back with a presence to him," Vrabel said after practice on Tuesday. "When you're the quarterback of 32 NFL franchises, there's a certain demeanor that you have to carry yourself with, and presence. and leadership. There's a lot that goes into that."
"I felt like he did that. He came back and was into it and had a certain bounce to him," Vrabel added about his second-year QB.
Willis' journey to realizing his potential of being a dynamic NFL starter is going to be an uphill battle, but every early indication is that Willis has taken a big step in the right direction this offseason. With his newfound confidence and a new offensive coordinator, it's too premature to write Willis off right now. He still deserves every opportunity to prove it on the field.
