Call on Malik Willis was Just Business as Usual
The Eagles and Malik Willis talk has heated up a bit locally after Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze appeared on the Rich Eisen show last week.
In a year where it's 'What's your favorite flavor at QB?' Willis, the one-time backup to Jarrett Stidham at Auburn before transferring to the little-known Liberty, is the EKG of quarterback prospects with huge spikes and deep dips depending on the organization and scouting staff you happen to be speaking with.
If you looking for a consensus, it's that Willis has the highest ceiling in the oft-maligned 2022 quarterback class but his floor as a prospect is beneath the other potential Round 1 picks, a group that includes Pitt's Kenny Pickett, Ole Miss' Matt Corral, who will be at the NovaCare Complex for a top-30 visit this week, Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder. and North Carolina's Sam Howell.
Call Willis boom or bust.
The Eagles' pre-draft trade with New Orleans is a good indicator that Philadelphia is turning away from QB at the top of the draft but that doesn't necessarily mean they dislike the players or won't be doing the due diligence to be ready for all scenarios which might include a trade down with teams needing a QB.
Corral's visit to South Philadelphia is a good example of filling in the blanks when it comes to the signal-callers.
As for Willis, it's more likely he goes in the top 10 than doesn't so it shouldn't be that much of a concern for the Eagles, who currently possess Nos. 15 and 18 in the first round.
Freeze, the former Ole Miss coach, before bringing the SEC flavor with Willis to Liberty is as perplexed as anyone when it comes to his now-former student but eventually dropped the Eagles' name when talking with Eisen.
First, Freeze went to the most obvious fits.
"This is the most confused— I had a lot of first-rounders when I was at Ole Miss. And I kind of had an idea. I have no clue on this one," Freeze admitted. "I know the teams that have spent an enormous amount of time visiting with me. Whether it’s Carolina or Pittsburgh or Atlanta ... all of those, Seahawks, have spent a lot of time with us.
"... I called him last night and he told me where his rotation was in where he was going to all visit, which none really surprised me."
All of the team's Freeze mentioned are considered QB needy with the Panthers souring on Sam Darnold, the Steelers and Falcons preparing like Mitchell Trubisky and Marcus Mariota will be capable bridge QBs, and the Seahawks having Drew Lock as the QB1 on their depth chart.
Lo and behold, the one team who doesn't have an obvious need at QB who spent a lot of time with Freeze on the phone discussing Willis the day before his Eisen appearance was the quarterback factory.
"Philadelphia’s called here recently and I talked to them a lot (one recent night)," Freeze admitted.
Eisen perked up for that and asked if Howie Roseman himself was inquiring.
"No, I talked to [Eagles assistant special teams coach Joe Pannunzio]," Freeze answered. "I think he’s in their personnel. We go back from our days in the SEC together. But he was calling on behalf of them with just some more conversation."
Pannunzio is obviously not a top decision-maker on the personnel end for the Eagles but he is a former Alabama assistant who developed a relationship with Freeze so perhaps the strategy was to get the most accurate information possible with someone Freeze is already comfortable with and trusts.
The so-called "cohabitation matrix" has been a big part of the Eagles' evaluation process since Joe Douglas was Roseman's right-hand man and the Eagles encourage anyone in the organization with intell on a potential prospect to add in their two cents.
In this case, it's probably not that big of a deal that Pannunzio picked up the phone to discuss Willis. Just business as usual for the Birds to get as much information as possible with the draft looming.
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
