Remember when we passed on malik wills 3 times for matt corral?

[kungfoodude]

6 hours ago, csx said:

So the fans who dont attend games in Chapel Hill would pack BofA? 

This local player crap is how we have whiffed on several guys. College sports fans are fickle and they aren't real professional sports fans. When whatever bum 9th stringer they care about gets cut, they will jump to supporting whatever team had their bum 8th stringer still on the roster.

This is particularly true of Clemson/South Carolina fans. Attempting to court college fans is a pointless exercise.

You will gather far more fair weather and potential long term fans if you just fuging win games. 

[Martin]

17 hours ago, mrcompletely11 said:

I didn't watch the game but apparently Willis made himself some money yesterday 

I watched part of that game (very small sample size), and he made a bunch of throws Bryce could only dream of. He would threaten the whole field every snap. We have no idea if he will pan out or not, but he looks to have everything you look for in a QB. Sitting for two years in GB looks to really have benefited him. We should not hesitate to go after him hard.

[djp14]

5 hours ago, csx said:

Cool but we didnt pass him 3 times or even twice in that draft. He went before our second pick in that draft. Ikem is the only selection we had before he was taken.

[PantherChris]

19 hours ago, micnificent28 said:

To this day I never got what everybody didn't see in Willis and saw more in corral. Yes he had more work to do on fundamentals but he had more physical gifts and given the time we see how that has paid off. After sitting for two three seasons he now looks prime to take over the free agency market. 

There's a pretty good chance he's better than Bryce as well. There's just so much upside to a guy that's played very little but looks the part so far and we could have had them for a pile of magic beans.

Dude you wanted him with with #6 overall lol. Yes he's obviously better than Corral, I'd 1000% take him over brycey....

 

And I'd love to see us aquire him or Sam Howell in the offseason.

[frankw]

I do agree the Panthers should curb the incessant need to draft players based on local proximity. Much like with how they approached the selection with Bryce Young it's like they value marketability way too much instead of focusing entirely on drafting the best football player.

[NCBlu]

Remember when the Panthers didn't give Matt C a single start to see what they had? 

Some guys need time they gave MC none. Panthers would have been better off letting MC play then trading draft pick after draft pick to get the same play.

 

[NCBlu]

I don't see what people seen in Willis coming out of college.

Seems like the same people that wanted Willis wanted BY9, I don't want either.

Give me a +6'2 guy with NFL arm and accuracy all day long and the rest can be worked on

[micnificent28]

1 hour ago, PantherChris said:

Dude you wanted him with with #6 overall lol. Yes he's obviously better than Corral, I'd 1000% take him over brycey....

 

And I'd love to see us aquire him or Sam Howell in the offseason.

I did lol.. you were around then? Even still at this point icky is fine I love him but is he that much better or more valuable than say Willis is right now?

[micnificent28]

40 minutes ago, NCBlu said:

I don't see what people seen in Willis coming out of college.

Seems like the same people that wanted Willis wanted BY9, I don't want either.

Give me a +6'2 guy with NFL arm and accuracy all day long and the rest can be worked on

Willis has an elite arm. And elite athleticism. He is big enough. 6'1 225 isn't small. NFL Network had a round 1 grade on him. The only knock on him really was he came out of liberty level competition.

[PantherChris]

8 minutes ago, micnificent28 said:

I did lol.. you were around then? Even still at this point icky is fine I love him but is he that much better or more valuable than say Willis is right now?

The answer to that is yes. Willis has played well but its still a small sample size...   

He would be entertaining to watch at least lol. Like I said I want to get him or Howell in the off season, both have strong arms and some mobility...  

Edited December 30, 2025 by PantherChris

[micnificent28]

3 minutes ago, PantherChris said:

The answer to that is yes. Willis has played well but its still a small sample size...   

He would be entertaining to watch at least lol. Like I said I want to get him or Howell in the off season, both have strong arms and some mobility...  

Agreed. I thought how was better than corral at the time as well and was disappointed when we took Corral. Not sure where Howell is but I hope he's still in the league. But my philosophy drafting any prospect is always bet on elite tools and what can't be taught. I rather fill in the blanks with mental coaching than try to make a guy 5 inches taller or throw 20 yards further or 2 seconds faster. 

[PantherChris]

2 minutes ago, micnificent28 said:

Agreed. I thought how was better than corral at the time as well and was disappointed when we took Corral. Not sure where Howell is but I hope he's still in the league. But my philosophy drafting any prospect is always bet on elite tools and what can't be taught. I rather fill in the blanks with mental coaching than try to make a guy 5 inches taller or throw 20 yards further or 2 seconds faster. 

Howell is the backup in Philly right now, hes anther guy i think needs a shot, guy put up 4k and 22 tds with the right coaching he could easly be a quality starter. 

Honestly there is a happy medium to that imo, you dont want guys who purely athletes and not football players, but you deff don't want guys who don't have the tools to succeed at the NFL level *Bryce young*.

Given the choice I'd take upside though.

Edited December 30, 2025 by PantherChris

[kungfoodude]

16 minutes ago, micnificent28 said:

Willis has an elite arm. And elite athleticism. He is big enough. 6'1 225 isn't small. NFL Network had a round 1 grade on him. The only knock on him really was he came out of liberty level competition.

His knock was that when he played any sort of level up in competition he looked completely lost and unable to deal with the competition level change. That should and did scare a LOT of teams.

His abilities were arguably the best in that draft but he did play like a Day 3 pick in college.

It's clear that the development at the NFL level has helped tremendously. And probably aided by being a long term backup. He is the exact type of player that needs that development route.

[micnificent28]

43 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

His knock was that when he played any sort of level up in competition he looked completely lost and unable to deal with the competition level change. That should and did scare a LOT of teams.

His abilities were arguably the best in that draft but he did play like a Day 3 pick in college.

It's clear that the development at the NFL level has helped tremendously. And probably aided by being a long term backup. He is the exact type of player that needs that development route.

I'm not arguing against any of that. But if a super talent looks bad vs elite competition you also have to factor in the level of talent around him. You can't expect him to beat say Auburn without another draftable player on the roster.  It works both ways. Yes he clearly developed over the course of his career but you could say any player not a instant success has the same benefit of time and learning.

You would rather get the talent in the building than just say oh well that car needs to much work vs taking a guy that has less ability and less upside. I wanted Richardson over Bryce and Stroud to this day I stand by that, you can't predict being injury prone, if the elite talent fails it won't be because he lacks the talent to play at the NFL level