(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Top 3 Offensive Grades
Jordan Love +3.15
Christian Watson +1.00
Zach Tom +0.70
SALE: 75% off first year
Get access to this article and all of the in-depth coverage from the 247Sports Network with this special offer.
75% off Annual VIP
(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
By Mark Eckel
Chances are, and we'll never know for sure, the Green Bay Packers would have not made the playoffs in 2024 without Malik Willis.
It's highly doubtful Sean Clifford, the team's No. 3 quarterback a year ago, would have engineered the wins over Tennessee and Indianapolis or come off the bench to beat Jacksonville.
And as it turned out the Packers (11-6 in '24) needed all three off those wins to edge out Seattle (10-7) for the NFC's final wild card spot.
There's also a good chance the Packers would not have beaten the New York Giants last Sunday without Willis, who came off the bench with the team down 7-0 and led a touchdown drive that got them to 7-6. It wasn't Willis' fault the extra point was missed.
Matt LaFleur certainly agreed.
"I can't say enough great things about Malik Willis,'' LaFleur said after the win over NewYork. "He's a great competitor. He's is so calm.
"He made a lot of plays in that game and obviously we don't win that game without him.''
Willis completed both of his passes, one for a touchdown to Christian Watson and ran for 16 yards on his one scoring drive.
Whatever happens from here until the end of the season that win over the Giants could be key. A loss to the 2-win Giants, which would have been a third straight defeat for the Packers could have been devastating.
Instead the team is now 6-3-1, as they prepare for three consecutive games against NFC North opponents.
Willis is set to become one of 10 unrestricted free agents on the Packers current roster, and although three are starters on offense — wide receiver Romeo Doubs, center Sean Rhyan and tackle Rasheed Walker — and one is a starter on defense, linebacker Quay Walker, you could make the point Willis is the most important of the bunch.
Popular opinion is some team will make Willis a big-time offer with the opportunity to be its starter. The Packers won't be able to do anything about it and just accept the 2027 compensatory pick that goes with losing him.
That might not necessarily be true.
A quick look at teams that will need a starting quarterback in 2026 includes the Pittsburgh Steelers, the New Orleans Saints and the New York Jets. Other could emerge, but for now those look like the main three.
Pittsburgh, at least under Mike Tomlin for close to two decades, has not gone with a mobile, running-style quarterback such as Willis. The last time the Steelers employed such a QB was Kordell Stewart and his last game in Black and Gold was 2002. That's five years before Tomlin took over.
New Orleans, which benched second-year QB Spencer Rattler for rookie Tyler Shough, might look to the draft again especially with a pick destined for the top five. The Saints could also look to deal for someone such as Kyler Murray, who the Cardinals are expected to make available.
The Jets?
C'mon.
Willis, after being stuck in Tennessee, has finally found success in Green Bay, albeit as a No. 2. Would he really go to the league's most unsuccessful franchise who hasn't developed a quarterback since Joe Namath (maybe Mark Sanchez for two years, maybe). Broadway Malik just doesn't have a good ring to it.
The Packers need to make Willis a high priority, even if it means losing one of their other free agents. A good backup at the game's most important position might mean more than a replaceable starter elsewhere.