Packers’ Malik Willis Underrated in Ranking of Backup Quarterbacks

A backup quarterback is like a life raft. You only need one in case of emergency. Without one, you’re sunk. With one that floats, it can be a lifesaver.

The Green Bay Packers found their life preserver in Malik Willis.

Acquired at the end of training camp last summer, Willis was thrown into action quickly. With Jordan Love’s knee injury, Willis won starts in Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts and Week 3 at his former team, the Tennessee Titans.

When Love suffered a groin injury in Week 8 at the Jacksonville Jaguars, Willis made one clutch throw to help win that game. Finally, in Week 18, Willis replaced Love against the Chicago Bears and might have won that game, too, if not for poor clock management and a bad call by defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

In a ranking of projected backup quarterbacks at Sports Illustrated, Willis is ninth.

“Willis needed some experience – and to leave the Titans – to get his career on track,” Gilberto Manzano wrote. “There was nothing special about Willis’ two starts with the Packers last season, but he showed strong command of the offense and did enough to win both games while Jordan Love recovered from a knee injury.”

It’s true that Willis didn’t have to play a leading role in any of his performances.

Having joined the team only three weeks earlier, Willis leaned on Josh Jacobs in a 16-10 win over the Colts, but Willis wasn’t exactly an innocent bystander in completing 12-of-14 passes for 122 yards and one touchdown with an additional 41 yards on six runs.

With more of a grasp of the offense and trust gained from the coaching staff, he was unleashed a bit more in a 30-14 blowout of the Titans. Willis was 13-of-19 for 202 yards and one touchdown through the air plus six runs for 73 yards and another touchdown.

Against the Jaguars, Willis’ 3-yard touchdown pass gave the Packers a 27-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars rallied to tie the game and had the Packers on the ropes until Willis hit Jayden Reed for 51 yards to set up the game-winning field goal.

Willis wound up playing most of the finale against the Bears after Love suffered an elbow injury. He was 10-of-13 passing for 136 yards, highlighted by a 41-yard pass to Malik Heath on third-and-21 that set up Emanuel Wilson’s touchdown run that pulled the Packers with in 21-19. Green Bay kicked the go-ahead field goal on the next drive but snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

In those four games, Willis had passer ratings of 126.8 vs. the Colts, 120.9 vs. the Titans, 152.9 vs. the Jaguars and 109.8 vs. the Bears. In seven appearances, he completed 40-of-54 passes (74.1 percent) for 550 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions, averaged 10.2 yards per attempt and assembled a rating of 124.8. Among all quarterbacks who threw at least 50 passes – a small sample size, obviously – he was No. 1 in the league in passer rating.

A third-round pick by the Titans in 2022, Willis in two seasons in Tennessee completed 35-of-66 passes (53.0 percent) for 350 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions, averaged 5.3 yards per attempt and fashioned a rating of 49.4.

“Willis has come a long way since his disastrous performances with the Titans,” Manzano wrote. “Also, Willis gets a bump for these rankings because he has the benefit of playing with Josh Jacobs and receiving play calls from coach Matt LaFleur.”

Maybe not enough of a bump.

Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins is the No. 1-ranked backup, which is logical considering his superb career. It’s hard to quibble about the Rams’ Jimmy Garoppolo being No. 2, given his success with the 49ers, or Jake Browning being No. 3 after he went 4-3 with a 98.4 passer rating for the Bengals in 2023.

However, a case could be made that the Packers are in better shape with Willis than they would be with former first-round flops Daniel Jones (Colts), Mac Jones (49ers) and Marcus Mariota (Commanders). Also ahead of Willis are the Panthers’ Andy Dalton, who had an excellent career with the Bengals but went 1-4 with an 82.0 passer rating for Carolina last season, and Giants rookie Jaxson Dart.

“He was a welcome addition,” Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine. “I don’t think when you bring a player in right at the cutdown day and you expect him to start in a couple weeks and do what he did. So just really appreciative of his professionalism and how prepared he was.

“Got to give Matt (LaFleur) and his staff a lot of credit, because when that happened, they those guys were able to flip a switch and put us in the best position to win football games with Malik as our starter. So, very appreciative of the way he attacked things and really fit into our football team well.”

Willis will be a free agent at the end of the season. He could be in line for a starting opportunity if he has to play again this season and keeps the Packers afloat again.