Malik Willis vs. CJ Stroud

The War Room Detroit Lions — The Den
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Argue with me all you want, but I think this is the choice we’re going to end up essentially making in April for our next QB.

It’s Willis if they take one this year. It’s Stroud if they wait.

I’ll explain for those of you who haven’t read my thinking about it already.

Malik Willis would be the obvious pick of the Dorsey eye. Even over Sam Howell, the Mayfield clone. Dorsey did draft Baker but he also drafted Mahomes and helped draft Aaron Rodgers. He would be a complete fool to not see which of his picks ended up better than others. I expect Willis’s arm talent to really appeal Dorsey like it did with Mahomes and Rodgers, and I think Campbell will really be drawn to Willis’s mobility and ability to affect the running game. Creating an extra blocker with a read is something he’d be totally into.

I don’t say CJ Stroud because I’m a Buckeye. I say it because it looks like that’s where we’re at right now. Could it change? Zach Wilson says hello.

Bryce Young is going to be the number one pick in the 2023 draft. Will Anderson will go 2. That leaves us Stroud as the only remaining good QB prospect in the 3-5 range where we will either be or trade up to.

We would hopefully take into account the playmaker we’d be passing up to take Willis. I hope we could still get Jaquan Brisker at the top of the 2nd at 33 so we at least have someone, but we would pass up a Chris Olave or a Devin Lloyd to pick Willis, and is that where this team is at right now to be making that pick?

Hopefully neither of these guys would start until week 1, 2023. When’s the last time a Lions rookie wasn’t thrown to the wolves immediately? Play out next season with Goff, build the team, and you’ve got your rookie learning the new system and developing (hopefully).

So comparing the two…

It’s Willis by a landslide for me right now.

Willis has…

Better arm atrength
Better mobility
Better at throwing on the run
Better release
More talented in the run and pass games.

Stroud is…

More accurate
Better processor
Mobile enough to pick up a 1st down

So who would you pick?

“Neither! OSU QB!! STAY AWAY!!!”

I’d take Willis, for what that tells you.

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I think Malik Willis will be long gone before the Rams pick.

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Bryce Young in '23

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I have not seen enough of Willis to attempt an opinion.
What is the #1 trait to becoming a good/great QB in the NFL?
Your traits listed above are all good qualities to have, some of the GREATS have a mix of them. Tom Brady, Payton Manning, Drew Brees, Troy Aikman, ect. has few of them.
The #1 trait in my opinion is the quick processer ability. Mac Jones has this in spades over Justin Fields.
The biggest flaw in Goff’s game is him waiting to throw the ball until he sees the receiver open. Tom Brady, Payton Manning, Erin Rogers throws the receiver open. It’s how quick they process what will happen as a play is developing. I want a QB who can see it before it’s happening (Processing) I want a QB who feels in the pocket and I want a QB with a good accurate arm. Mobility is also a desire, but not top 3. The list of good running QB’s who have played in a SB is small.

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5

Well stroud straight up sucks.
I’ll take Carson Strong.

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Pocket passers win Superbowls and Championships, just sayin.

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I’m a just gonna leave this here…

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The best 2 dual threat QBs I’ve seen in my lifetime are Steve Young and Russell Wilson. I’d gladly take a prime version of either of those. But most of these athletes that fans clamor for, they just plain suck at playing the QB position.

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9

Willis impresses me Stroud not so much.

The biggest issue for me on Willis is the level of competition he’s played against. We haven’t really seen him play against top shelf competition.

Willis has a rare combination of size, speed, strength and arm strength. There’s rumors that he runs a 4.3 forty. If true that makes him one of the fastest QB’s to ever play the game. In history. His athleticism is in a rare class.

Then you look at the throws he makes. How he can make every throw. How he throws off platform. How he throws from multiple arm angles. His deep ball is impressive. He does it with good accuracy too.

His only real knocks are his level of competition and he struggles against the better blitzing teams. The way to beat him is to pass rush him. The kid hasn’t faced a lot of top shelf pass rushing teams either.

Like Mahomes and Rogers he needs a year on the bench learning. I honestly think this will help him make the jump to the NFL game. I think the biggest mistake an NFL team could make is to rush this kid into action.

I think a QB needy team will jump on this kid. Especially someone like NO, CAR, PIT, ATL or IND.

The problem I see for the Lions is that he’s not worthy of a 1OA and he won’t make it to our next pick.

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We have seen him play against better competition. It was a disaster.

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I watched Zappe against MSU earlier this year and he looked really good. He can make all the throws. He’s someone I have my eye on during the draft process as a later round option.

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His team was overmatched… and he forced the issue against Ole Miss because they asked him to carry the team.

That is the real problem with evaluating him.

This isn’t like looking at Matt Corral and seeing that he only three for 300+ yards against bad teams. Corral still had an O line full of SEC caliber players.

Liberty’s Oline is bad… really bad.
Ole Miss had 9 sacks and 11 TFLs.
Louisiana had 7 sacks and 8 TFLs.
Syracuse sacked him 6 times, and 7 TFLs.

Willis was sacked 51 times on the season, with 22 of them in those 3 games. :eyes:

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Throwing a couple of nice long passes against inferior competition gives me zero reason to believe he can play QB in the NFL. That’s not what playing QB in the NFL is about. The long passes are few and far between and when you get them, they’re the gravy on top of the mashed potatoes.

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I don’t see this staff taking a “Project” QB which is what Willis is. I don’t think they can afford to.

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The league was almost exclusively pocket passers throughout its entire history until the last 15 years or so so some context needed.

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I dont see why you guys are sleeping on the best qb in 2023…

DJ Ugalala

As much as we all want a mobile qb…it just seems the really mobile guys do not last. It is something to think about. And I was fully on the “mobile qb” wagon and I do really.like willis. I feel Willis is leader and wants to win.

I personally would never draft a qb from OSU or Alabama. You can say that is silly, but I do not care.

Former qb Jt Osullivan broke down willis… there was good and bad. Willis also has an atrocious OL and help around him.

Actually, out.of all the break downs osullivan did for the QBs this year, Sam Howell was the most impressive and it was tape from when he was a freshman. Osullivan was very impressed that a freshman could read the field so well. I like Howell, I just wish he had a stronger arm.

I see these QBs as options for this in 2022:

Willis
Ridder
Howell
Carson Strong

The Lions will get an up close look at Willis and ridders at the senior bowl, where they have legit NFl talent surrounding them. They’ll all see how quick they learn. They’re attitudes. Leadership ability, etc.

I like all these guys

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Mahomes and Rogers were project QB’s. That’s why those two went where they did. In a redraft they would be drafted 1OA. Willis has that type of upside.

Honestly I don’t think they can afford not to take him. They have Goff. A veteran QB for him to learn a year or two behind. They just can’t afford to do it at 1OA. He’s too much of a gamble to take that high. They need to get the closest can’t miss, difference maker, that they can get with their top pick. A solid safe pick. That’s why they took Sewell over Smith or Parsons.

But if they can trade down and use that ammo to move back-up with the Rams pick and get him. I think that makes sense and has far less risk involved.

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Josh Allen also was a project

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I like him. But whenever a college provides the height (in his case, 6-1) I subtract an inch.

He can throw and is athletic. Later round only.

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Win just one for the Zapper.

Has a nice sound to it.