ESPN’s Todd McShay: Insiders Were Praising Malik Willis, Desmond Ridder After Combine

AP Photo/Darron Cummings

While Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett has received plenty of attention leading up to the 2022 NFL draft, two other signal-callers apparently impressed at the combine and got people talking. 

Liberty’s Malik Willis and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder received high praise from insiders after the combine, according to ESPN’s Todd McShay: 

“With Malik Willis, the one thing that really stood out, almost every single person I talked to in the league, and I asked a lot of them about Malik specifically… they said that his interview was one of the best. Not just the character and the charisma that he has… but also the football intelligence.

“… Desmond Ridder was another guy that people were raving about. Talking about his maturity. Talking about his path and what he had gone through as a youngster and overcoming all of that and his football intelligence.”

NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter listed Willis as one of the winners from the combine, saying he “consistently made things look easy on Thursday night.” Reuter added that Willis did well with his deep throws and slants. 

Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department also says Willis is a great athlete, has good arm strength, good build and is a tough, competitive quarterback. 

The 22-year-old had an impressive four-year collegiate career. He played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Auburn before transferring to Liberty ahead of the 2020 season.

Willis had arguably the best season of his collegiate career in 2021, completing 61.1 percent of his passes for 2,857 yards and 27 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He also ran for 878 yards and 13 scores. 

Ridder was also considered one of the winners of the combine after he showed off his incredible arm strength during on-field testing. Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department also lauds Ridder for being a good athlete and having good arm strength and movement in the pocket. 

Like Willis, Ridder also had the best season of his collegiate career in 2021. He completed 64.9 percent of his passes for 3,334 yards and 30 touchdowns against eight interceptions to lead the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff. He also ran for 355 yards and six scores. 

Post-combine NFL mock drafts have yet to come out. However, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. had Pickett being the first quarterback off the board (No. 11 to Washington Commanders) in his latest mock draft, which came out before the combine.

That could change in his post-combine mock draft, especially based on the performances of Willis and Ridder. 

Kiper currently has Willis going 20th overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he isn’t projecting Ridder to be selected in the first round. Ole Miss signal-caller Matt Corral is the only other quarterback whom Kiper has being picked on the first day, at 32nd overall to the Detroit Lions. 

In addition to Washington, Pittsburgh and Detroit, the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be in the market for a quarterback this offseason. And seeing as there’s no clear-cut No. 1 quarterback option in this year’s draft, these teams could end up selecting a player whom they believe is best for their system overall.