Mel Kiper, Todd McShay reveal surprising latest intel on Malik Willis

This year’s quarterback class in the 2022 NFL Draft is one of the most polarizing ones in recent memory. There isn’t a quarterback that is a consensus top pick, nor is there a single quarterback that has separated himself from the others. The two at the top of the class are Pittsburgh Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett and Liberty Flames quarterback Malik Willis. But while Willis is seemingly rising on some NFL Draft boards, ESPN experts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay aren’t buying the hype.

Many mocks recently have Willis being selected with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, but that’s way too early for Kiper.

“I think it’s too high – I know there have been a lot of mocks recently that have come out that have Malik Willis going No. 2,” Kiper said. “He’s like 18, 19 on my latest big board.”

In Kiper’s latest NFL mock draft, Willis went 20th overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers with Pickett going 18th overall to the New Orleans Saints. McShay agrees with Kiper in saying that second overall is too early for Willis, and he maybe shouldn’t be a top ten pick at all.

“I’ve got him at 20, McShay responded. “I’ve got him at 20 and Kenny Pickett at 21. So I agree with you. I’ve heard the same rumors. Listen, I can’t do it. I can’t pull the trigger there unless I hear something different. I love the intrigue with it, I think Malik is probably more intriguing when you get down to eight with the Falcons, nine with Seattle if he’s going to be a top ten pick. But both of us are in agreement, Mel, that he’s not necessarily a top five pick and maybe doesn’t deserve to be a top ten pick.”

Kiper believes Willis would be a huge reach at second overall in the NFL Draft

Willis spent the previous two years at Liberty, throwing for 5,107 yards with 47 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. But he makes his greatest impact with his legs. With Liberty, Willis also rushed for 1,822 yards with 27 touchdowns on the ground.

The upside with Willis is there, but second overall is too early for him in Kiper’s eyes. When debating the topic, Kiper remembered the Baker Mayfield draft, taking a subtle shot at the current Browns backup.

“When you’re picking second, you mention Malik Willis,” said Kiper. “Malik Willis is in that 18-20 range on our boards right now. Well, you’re picking two, you’ve got to either get the second best player on your board if your number one guy goes No. 1, or your number one guy. If you want to stretch it for three because of position need, or its two and 2A, fine. But you can’t go past five, six, seven, eight in that area. I don’t care how you do the A’s, B’s, C’s, and D’s and you lump them all together. And you certainly can’t go from 18-20.

“I remember when Baker Mayfield went No. 1, that was a shocker to me. You do rankings, and I had a GM tell me this back in the ’80s. You go through this exercise, and it’s very difficult to rank players and stack them and put them up on a board. You spend so much time agonizing over that, even changing it the night before or the morning of. To go against that completely makes no sense. That’s the built in protection against making a terrible reach in the draft.”