Throughout the week of preparation for the Packers’ Week 3 matchup against the Titans in Tennessee, quarterback Malik Willis downplayed the fact that, until about a month ago, he had been a member of the Titans going back to when he was first drafted, in the third round of the 2022 draft out of Liberty.
On Sunday, though, Willis did play like a guy who had a chip on his shoulder over having been jettisoned by the Titans after just three starting opportunities, all as a rookie in 2022 on a team that was overmatched in every sense of the word. The Titans were still overmatched on Sunday, getting drubbed by the Packers, 30-14, in a performance that saw Willis look like a sharp and polished veteran.
Willis was 13-for-19 passing for 202 yards and a touchdown. He carried six times himself, gaining 73 yards. The Packers got a stifling defensive performance but perhaps most striking was how out of place Tennessee’s starter—Will Levis—looked relative to Willis.
Levis was Tennessee’s second-round pick in 2023, and though he was 26-for-34 passing with 260 yards and two TDs, he also threw two interceptions and rarely capitalized on the small slivers of momentum his team created.
“Malik, I can’t say enough about him, just the job that he’s done,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “To be able to lead our offense and be productive—he made some big-time plays over the course of the game.”
Packers Making Most of Malik Willis
There was plenty being said about Willis during and after the game, especially in comparison to Levis. To be fair to the Titans, they had made their decision that Levis was their guy going forward, so Willis would have been sitting behind him either way. Trading Willis only made sense.
But that decision did not look great on Sunday.
Andy Herman, host of the “Pack a Day” podcast, wrote on Twitter/X: “This is stunning from Malik Willis. He looks like a legit starter right now. I mean a ton of credit to MLF and this offense but Titans fans have to be sick seeing the difference between Willis and Levis right now.”
A graphic from FOX Sports NFL posted on Twitter/X highlighted Willis’ improvement, with stats that include the rise of his passer rating, from 39.0 in three Titans starts to 131.7 in two Green Bay starts.
A change of scenery has benefited Malik Willis 🧀
A change of scenery has benefited Malik Willis 🧀 pic.twitter.com/E1akEikcyd
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 22, 2024
Twitter user @RRGrindhard summed it up nicely: “The Packers have done a better job of developing Malik Willis in 2 weeks than the Titans did in 2 years.”
Castoff Quarterbacks Showing Out
Certainly, there is something important to be said here about the value of the quarterback position in the NFL, which is something few franchises know quite as well as the Packers. But it is worth noting that, while quarterback spending in the league continues to skyrocket, players who were booted to the curb—perhaps prematurely—are thriving.
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg, host of “Get Up!” put Willis in a bucket with two other castoff quarterbacks who are making good, Sam Darnold in Minnesota and Justin Fields in Pittsburgh. He wrote on Twitter/X:
“If you don’t think coaching is everything in the NFL, then you aren’t watching Malik Willis or Sam Darnold or Justin Fields play. (*or a half dozen others too.)”
Those three QBS are a combined 8-0 in their starts this season. The Top 5 QBs in terms of annual pay, which includes Jordan Love as well as Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa, are a combined 2-8 to start the year.