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The Seattle Seahawks could be an ideal landing spot for one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the NFL.
As suggested by CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso, the Seahawks should be considered one of the top five landing spots if the Tennessee Titans decide to move on from Malik Willis. The 2022 third-round draft selection has a questionable future in Tennessee after he struggled during his rookie campaign along with the fact that the Titans spent a second-round draft pick this year on Will Levis.
Trapasso argues that Willis’ strong arm combined with his athleticism makes a perfect fit in Seattle’s air-raid offense, which heavily relies on big plays.
“Like Smith, Willis’ ability to spin the football will never be questioned,” writes Trapasso. “He can really rip it and has more electricity in his legs. Last season, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron did a marvelous job creating an offense that resembled the Air Raid attack Smith operated at West Virginia. He finished the 10th-most passes of 20-plus yards and had the league’s best touchdown-to-interception ratio (15:2) on those deep launches.”
Seahawks Previously Passed on Malik Willis
There’s no doubt that Willis has traits that a lot of quarterbacks don’t have. He was considered the most athletic quarterback in the 2022 NFL Draft class, which led to some mock drafts projecting Willis to be selected in the first round. In fact, the Seahawks were one of those teams that were considered to be a fit for Willis following their offseason trade of Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.
However, Seattle passed on the idea of drafting Willis even after he fell all to the way down to the 86th overall pick in the third round of the draft. According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, the Seahawks felt Willis wasn’t NFL-ready.
“The Seahawks passed on Willis four times before he was taken 86th overall — feeling he was nowhere near NFL-ready, according to one source — and didn’t think enough of the other quarterbacks to take one with any of their nine selections,” wrote Henderson in May of 2022.
Considering Willis completed just 50.8% of his passes with zero touchdowns and three interceptions for a 42.8 passer rating, the Seahawks’ belief that the dual-threat quarterback wasn’t ready was proven correct. In fact, the Titans actually opted to start journeyman quarterback Joshua Dobbs over Willis in the season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars with the AFC South division title on the line.
Why Malik Willis Could Make Sense for Seahawks
With that being said, the Seahawks are in no rush to develop Willis into a franchise quarterback. They already have one after re-signing Geno Smith to a three-year deal worth $105 million. Seattle could opt to acquire Willis and develop him for at least a couple of years before potentially leaning on him as the franchise quarterback.
As Trapasso notes, the only other Seahawks quarterbacks on the roster are Drew Lock and undrafted free agent Holton Ahlers. Neither projects to be a franchise quarterback for any team in the near future.
“No one is tantalized more by a possible quarterback reclamation project than gum-chomping head coach Pete Carroll in Seattle,” writes Trapasso. “And check that quarterback room! Tiny!”
While it’s unlikely the Seahawks trade draft capital for Willis, the idea of the 24-year-old quarterback playing in Seattle could be a possibility if he’s released. The Seahawks could consider developing Willis as a potential successor to Smith, who will turn 33 years old this season.
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