ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper has the top quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL draft rated too low to take one with the eighth overall pick, which currently is held by the Falcons.
After the trade of Matt Ryan and the signing of Raiders backup Marcus Mariota, the Falcons are in the quarterback market, Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot confirmed Wednesday.
Kiper has the top quarterbacks in the draft, which is set for April 28-30 in Las Vegas, ranked 18, 19, 21 and 28.
“If you pick in the top 10, that’s way too rich for me,” Kiper said. “I talked to some of my friends in the league who don’t need quarterbacks, but they don’t have quarterbacks ranked in the top 10, either. But it only takes the teams that need a quarterback to believe that.”
The Panthers are in front of the Falcons with the sixth pick, and they need a quarterback. They also whiffed in the Deshaun Watson derby.
“(Malik Willis) would be the one because you're rolling the dice on talent. You're betting on the talent. That's what happened with Josh Allen (and) with Justin Herbert. The talent has won out."
Kiper has Liberty’s Malik Willis as the No. 1-rated quarterback in the draft. The former Westlake and Roswell High standout had a strong Pro Day on Tuesday.
“Well, in terms of (the) Falcons, I thought about a quarterback, and Mariota is coming in with Arthur Smith,” Kiper said. “Pair him with a young quarterback, I get that. Is eight too high for Malik Willis?”
In addition to a strong Pro Day, Willis is personable and interviews well.
“He’s got the rocket arm,” Kiper said. “I compared him yesterday to kind of a right-handed version of Michael Vick in a lot of ways. I could see that. I could definitely see Carolina at six and Atlanta at eight or Seattle at nine taking Malik Willis.”
Willis started his career at Auburn but rededicated himself to the game when he transferred to Liberty.
Willis played in seven games in 2017 and completed 6 of 7 passes and five games in 2018 and completed 5 of 7 passes at Auburn. After transferring to Liberty, Willis took a different approach to his game.
Willis developed into one of the more dynamic dual-threats in all of college football.
In 2020, he completed 64.2% of his passes for 2,250 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. He added 944 yards rushing and 14 more touchdowns.
Last season, he completed 61.1% of his passes for 2,857 yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 878 yards and 13 touchdowns.
“(Willis) would be the one because you’re rolling the dice on talent,” Kiper said. “You’re betting on the talent. That’s what happened with Josh Allen (and) with Justin Herbert. The talent has won out. They weren’t the first quarterback taken. Allen was the third. Justin Herbert was the third, and they’ve been better than the guys that went ahead because of talent.”
Allen is with the Bills and has led them to the playoffs over the past two seasons. Herbert is with the Chargers.
“OK, they were a little raw, but they had great talent,” Kiper said. “Same thing with Malik. So, I could see that happening.”
Behind Willis, Kiper has Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Nevada’s Carson Strong as the top quarterbacks in the draft.
In addition to quarterback, the Falcons also need wide receivers. Kiper has them taking Ohio State’s Garrett Wilson in his latest mock draft.
“Garrett Wilson isn’t my most highly rated receiver,” Kiper said. “That would be (USC’s) Drake London, who I have going four. Garrett Wilson is a guy who’s an excellent route runner. He’s got a great first step out of his break. He gets easy separation. He catches with his hands. He can catch with his body. So, he varies that when he needs to.
“He gets yards after the catch. He runs the route tree. He does all that. He ran well. Tested well. I think he’s done everything possible from production to workouts to be a top-10 pick. That’s why I have him going to Atlanta at eight.”
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