OK ... Willis is an undisputed top 3 QB in this draft. He's still a project. And no, the two draft classes are nowhere near comparable in terms of talent.
And, I'm not saying Ben wasn't talented coming out. Just saying the small school background, coupled with where he was on the depth chart to begin the season, in addition to the way they had him as a game manager for the most part of his rookie year says to me they felt he was a bit of a project. He was raw for the NFL game.
Thats how every qb was handled back then… people thought it was nuts having Peyton start his rookie year and he was the most polished qb to ever come out… in 04 rookie qbs sat for at least a year
That 04 class was the most touted in decades and Ben was the only rookie starter, and that was forced by injury
Also I watched tge ranked Miami of ohio Squad that season… Ben was making nfl reads and throws… just compare willis vs ben in games against bigger schools to see tge obvious differences
Positives: Tall, mobile passer with long arms, thick legs and good quickness, balance and change-of-direction agility … Shows good fluidity and quickness in his pass set … Very good at reading defenses, showing patience and the ability to pick apart zones … Has an above-average, snappy release and excellent arm strength … Generates good velocity behind his deep tosses and is equally accurate throwing from the pocket or on the move … Shows great poise in the pocket and is never rattled by pressure … While he does not have blazing speed to escape, he does show good mobility to roll away from the rush and step up to avoid the sack … Has the powerful leg drive needed to break tackles and move the chains when running with the ball … Has a compact throwing motion and excellent touch (knows when to take something off the ball, when needed) … Has a fluid over-the-top throwing motion and shows consistency throwing from the opposite hash … Will sit in and take a hit vs. the blitz, yet still make the proper throw … Would look to run at the first sign of pressure earlier in his career, but over the years, has settled down, showing patience in the pocket while trying to locate his secondary targets … Effective emergency punter who does a nice job of angling his kicks toward the sidelines.
Negatives: Puts nice zip behind his passes, but his long ball will wobble at times (throws better from the right hash than left) … Needs to put some air under the ball when his receivers break open … Shows patience in the pocket but will try hard to make the play, resulting in throwing into coverage at times … Loses sight of his deep receivers when rolling out and on bootlegs … Despite his speed, he is not a great runner, relying more on overpowering the defender rather than eluding him … His deep tosses will sometimes take off at a low trajectory and high velocity … While he is quick to pick up the blitz, he needs to improve a little on reading zone coverage (needs to do more play action and misdirection, but shows confidence when his receivers work in man coverage, as opposed to the zone).
Compare that scouting report to any of willis’
Willis has the potential to maybe develop into something… ben was going to be a star, it was just what level of a star that was the question…
Again when aqb gets nailed for being inaccurate and doesn’t have the ability to make good reads quickly… those are huge red flags… you don’t overdraft those guys… regardless of arm strength…
