Malik Willis in 2026?

Yeah, but in the same regard if you learn a system deeply you understand the steps and maturation needed to go deeply into a system. If you never learn past surface level, you don't get to see if the player has the ability to learn any system deeply enough to succeed in the NFL. Just a thought. Doesn't make it right lol

 

I hold Willis' early career against him, simply because he could easily revert to that. No thanks.

 

You can't really operate an offense at "surface level". There has to be a deep knowledge of the offense or the quarterback is severely limited as to what they can do and how much of the field they can operate in.

Say a quarterback goes into the transfer portal and immediately becomes the starting quarterback for that school. If the quarterback plays at a very high level and you can see that the QB goes through progressions and is processing information quickly, you know that they were able to get to that level in just one year in an offensive system. Again, showing the ability to quickly learn the language of the offense, the playbook, all the checks and protections if they do that, and the ability to retain all that information and be able to know where everyone is on the field and being able to operate the offense at a high level in just one preseason shows that a player can do things quickly.

Sometimes, it is the player that has only played in one system their entire college career that is harder to identify how quickly they can catch on to a new offense because it may have taken them 5-6 years in an offense before they really thrive in it.

The teams are also able to learn a lot from the interviews with the quarterbacks. They can drill them on their depth of offensive knowledge and how quickly they can learn things and be able to understand it and repeat it back to them. There is also something to be said for being in the room and getting a good idea of how a young man is built, their character, and if they truly love the game. There is obviously no perfect way to identify who can and who can't play in the NFL at a high level. They try to get as much information as possible and put the puzzle together.