NASHVILLE – The Titans drafted Malik Willis in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and over the past few months the rookie quarterback has made some nice strides.
Now, Willis will take a backseat to starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill as the regular season approaches.
Willis finds himself in a much different position compared to some other quarterbacks drafted by the team in Tennessee, especially Vince Young (2006) and Marcus Mariota (2015).
Those two QBs were immediately put on the clock, and each one ended up on the field playing a whole lot as rookies. Meanwhile, the Titans were more patient with quarterback Jake Locker, a first-round pick who played sparingly behind veteran Matt Hasselbeck as a rookie in 2011.
The Titans aren't ready to speed up the timetable for Willis.
But before we move forward, let's take a quick look back to see how Willis fared in the preseason in comparison to Young, Locker and Mariota.
Here's a look:
GAMES
| QB | GAMES PLAYED | GAMES STARTED |
|---|---|---|
| Malik Willis | 3 | 3 |
| Marcus Mariota | 4 | 4 |
| Jake Locker | 4 | 0 |
| Vince Young | 4 | 1 |
PASSING
| QB | ATT | COMP | YDS | COMP % | YDS/ATT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malik Willis | 51 | 28 | 318 | 54.9 | 6.2 |
| Marcus Mariota | 30 | 21 | 326 | 70 | 10.87 |
| Jake Locker | 49 | 32 | 316 | 65.3 | 6.45 |
| Vince Young | 57 | 29 | 357 | 50.9 | 6.26 |
PASSING
| QB | TD | INT | LONG | SACKED | RATING |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malik Willis | 2 | 1 | 48 | 9 | 78.7 |
| Marcus Mariota | 1 | 1 | 59 | 2 | 102.9 |
| Jake Locker | 2 | 1 | 45 | 3 | 88.5 |
| Vince Young | 1 | 1 | 28 | 4 | 69.1 |
RUSHING
| QB | RUSHES | YARDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malik Willis | 14 | 159 | 11.4 | 50 | 1 |
| Marcus Mariota | 5 | 17 | 3.4 | 14 | 0 |
| Jake Locker | 8 | 64 | 8 | 22 | 1 |
| Vince Young | 12 | 75 | 6.3 | 13 | 1 |
And here's a different QB-by-QB look at the stats:
QB: Malik Willis (2022).
Games played: 3.
Games started: 3.
Attempts: 51.
Completions: 28.
Yards: 318.
Completion %: 54.9.
Yards/Attempt: 6.2.
TDs: 2.
INTs: 1.
Long: 48.
Sacked: 9.
Rating: 78.7.
Rushes: 14.
Yards: 159.
Average: 11.4.
Long: 50.
TDs: 1.
QB: Marcus Mariota (2015).
Games played: 4.
Games started: 4.
Attempts: 30.
Completions: 21.
Yards: 326.
Completion %: 70.0.
Yards/Attempt: 10.87.
TDs: 1.
INTs: 1.
Long: 59.
Sacked: 2.
Rating: 102.9.
Rushes: 5.
Yards: 17.
Average: 3.4.
Long: 14.
TDs: 0.
QB: Jake Locker (2011).
Games played: 4.
Games started: 0.
Attempts: 49.
Completions: 32.
Yards: 316.
Completion %: 65.3.
Yards/Attempt: 6.45.
TDs: 2.
INTs: 1.
Long: 45.
Sacked: 3.
Rating: 88.5.
Rushes: 8.
Yards: 64.
Average: 8.0.
Long: 22.
TDs: 1.
QB: Vince Young (2006).
Games played: 4.
Games started: 1.
Attempts: 57.
Completions: 29.
Yards: 357.
Completion %: 50.9.
Yards/Attempt: 6.26.
TDs: 1.
INTs: 1.
Long: 28.
Sacked: 4.
Rating: 69.1
Rushes: 12.
Yards: 75.
Average: 6.3
Long: 13.
TDs: 1.
