A clear pecking order is starting to take shape among the quarterback prospects at the 2022 Senior Bowl.
After an intense three days of practice, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty quarterback Malik Willis are separating themselves as the top two throwers in Mobile, Alabama.
With Sam Darnold as the only Panthers quarterback under contract in 2022, Carolina is closely watching all the signal-callers at the Senior Bowl. General manager Scott Fitterer and other staffers man the sidelines during practice, gathering intel that will help them decide if Pickett or Willis is worth their No. 6 pick in the upcoming draft.
Pickett bounced back on Thursday while throwing indoors after a spotty Day 2 performance where he struggled with accuracy and ball control in the pouring rain at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Moving practice indoors helped Pickett, who wears gloves on each hand and is fighting hand-size concerns.
Meanwhile, Willis hasn’t had a poor outing yet. The Day 2 elements did not bother him. The electrifying prospect has the most pro-ready arm. The ball whistles out of his hand. When Willis is accurate, he delivers some pretty strikes.
Pickett was concerned the No. 1 quarterback heading into Senior Bowl week while Willis possessed intriguing upside as an off-script playmaker. For the most part, both lived up to their expectations. Willis proved deserving of sharing a tier with Pickett. As the Senior Bowl nears an end on Saturday, Pickett and Willis will carry their momentum into the NFL combine and keep jockeying for QB 1 status.
To help sort out the class, Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy spoke to The Observer about Pickett, Willis and the rest of the quarterbacks in Mobile.
Willis impressing with maturity
Willis’ college career began at Auburn backing up quarterback Jarrett Stidham. As a Tiger, he never earned an opportunity to showcase his talents. It was partially because of limited opportunities, but also he admits he was not ready for starting responsibilities.
“Going back to the first time I met Malik, I asked him about the Auburn transfer. I really didn’t know a lot about the circumstances surrounding that,” Nagy told The Observer. He’s like, ‘I wasn’t ready. That’s on me. That wasn’t an Auburn thing. That was a me thing.’ So I think he has matured a lot. He’s ready to be a pro.”
By owning his mistakes and dedicating himself to playing quarterback, Willis had a standout senior season at Liberty. He dazzled with highlight throws from all angles and proved difficult to tackle in or outside the pocket.
“The major takeaway was how strong he is. It kind of brought me back to like when I evaluated Ben Roethlisberger,” Nagy said. “Two completely different body types. But they couldn’t get Ben down. He made throws with people draped all over him. And Malik did the same thing.”
Willis completed 61% of his passes, averaged 8.4 yards per attempt and threw 27 touchdowns this past season. Like North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell, Nagy said Liberty asked Willis to shoulder much of his offense’s production. Playing in a controlled practice environment, Willis hasn’t had to freelance in the pocket. Instead, he’s showing scouts his swift decision-making capabilities and effortless throwing power.
He has turned heads on several play-action bootlegs designed to get him on the perimeter and throw downfield.
“There’s just there’s so much upside. I mean, that’s, that’s no secret,” Nagy said. “He’s a great athlete. So it’s pulling it all together, you know. He’s probably similar to where Trey Lance was last year.”
Lance shot up draft boards during the evaluation process last year — going No. 3 to San Francisco — by honing his pocket presence and only showcasing his feet when necessary. Willis took a similar approach this past year.
“After leaving Auburn, I just decided I was going to be like a sponge to the game. Just focus on taking my athleticism out of the picture and just focusing on being more cerebral,” Willis said Wednesday. “I focused on taking what the defense gave me and using my athleticism only when absolutely necessary.”
Willis hasn’t had a poor practice all week. There have been some off-target throws, which match his sometimes inconsistent tape. But he showed enough to challenge Pickett for the top quarterback spot. He can take another leap on Saturday during the Senior Bowl game.
“I’m excited to see the game on Saturday,” Nagy said. “You know, we’ve had a lot of guys like Daniel Jones and Justin Herbert have big games. Saturday should be big.”
Pickett drawing Joe Burrow comparisons
Pickett was wise to listen to advice Nagy gave him following his junior season at Pitt last year.
“He made tremendous growth last year. I was upfront with him a year ago. He was gonna be a fourth- or fifth-round pick. Some teams even had him in the sixth,” Nagy said. “But for him to come back and get healthy and put it all together, he had a phenomenal year.”
A finalist for the Heisman Trophy, Pickett led Pitt to its first ACC championship in program history. He threw for 42 touchdowns, averaged 8.7 yards per attempt and completed 67 percent of his throws. He demonstrated mastery inside the red area, highlighted by his mere seven interceptions.
An average Day 1 compounded by a challenging Day 2 had Pickett in need of a triumphant Day 3. Pickett did not disappoint. He dissected the red zone during short-yardage seven-on-seven drills and showed why Nagy compared him to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
“What we’ve always liked about Kenny is instincts; he just knows how to play. He sees it. He feels it. He anticipates. Things that are hard to coach,” Nagy said. “Then the leadership component, being around him the last couple years at Manning camp and different events like that, and just seeing him interact with guys like he is. He’s got true leadership ability. Guys gravitate to him.”
Winning the red area takes everything Nagy sees in Pickett. Leadership, game feel, anticipatory instincts and control.
Nagy said five quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl have Round 1 grades. That doesn’t mean all five will go in the first round but the position almost always is pushed up, which could make Pickett or Willis a top-five selection.
“Coming into our week, if there was a guy at the top spot. It probably is Kenny. But there’s no consensus there. That’s why this week is so good for us and our game. There’s real intrigue around it and how this shakes out,” Nagy said. “This greatly determines where we are in April, because this is the last real football they’ll play. The rest is just shorts and T-shirts.”
Sam Howell and other quarterbacks
▪ Howell impressed on Day 1 by showing off his deep ball and snappy release. He needs to show more disciplined footwork. His short game becomes sporadic sometimes because he doesn’t throw with all his cleat spikes in the ground.
But Nagy said Howell may have the best deep ball at the Senior Bowl, though other scouts would argue that title belongs to Nevada’s Carson Strong.
▪ Strong has a complicated history of knee injuries. He missed his senior high school season after an MRI revealed he needed surgery to mend a crack in his lateral femoral bone. Following his breakout 2020 season, he had surgery on the same knee to clean up cartilage. He rushed back to be a full participant in fall camp this year.
Structurally, his knee is no longer an issue, but he continues battling a stigma around it. Through three days of practice, his knee seems fine. He throws with comfort from the pocket and has connected on several beautiful long balls.