Tale of 2 QBs: While Kenny Pickett starts for Steelers, fellow 2022 draftee Malik Willis sits for Titans
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Two of the top quarterback prospects from the 2022 NFL Draft will meet up Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Tennessee Titans at Acrisure Stadium.
Only one is expected to play a significant role on the field, however.
While Kenny Pickett has become the starter for the Steelers, Malik Willis has languished on the bench for the Titans. Not only is he not the team’s quarterback of the future, but Willis also finds himself behind a rookie on the depth chart.
Apparently unimpressed with what they saw from Willis in spot duty last season, the Titans drafted Will Levis in the second round of this year’s draft. Levis, coming off a four-touchdown performance in his NFL debut, will get the start against the Steelers in place of the injured Ryan Tannehill.
Entering the 2022 draft, Willis was viewed as a likely first-round pick, and the Steelers were one of the teams attached to him. The Steelers, of course, went with Pickett instead, taking him at No. 20 overall.
As it turned out, Willis didn’t go in the first round. Or the second. It wasn’t until the No. 86 overall pick that Tennessee selected Willis, who was the third quarterback off the board. (Desmond Ridder went to Atlanta earlier in the third round).
Willis started three times in eight games as a rookie, completing 50.8% of his passes. He threw three interceptions and zero touchdowns in 61 attempts.
After Tannehill was injured, coach Mike Vrabel announced both of his young quarterbacks would rotate against Atlanta. But Willis fumbled away his first snap, which came just four plays into the game. When Willis returned for a play in the second quarter, his entrance was met by a chorus of boos from the Titans fans. Willis never played another snap.
Pickett also has navigated his ups and downs, although fans haven’t given him such negative treatment. Returning from a rib injury he suffered shortly before halftime Sunday, Pickett will make career start No. 20 when he faces the Titans.
Willis will be watching. And waiting.