2022 NFL Draft: 3 players the Lions should target at No. 2

1. Malik Willis, QB, Liberty

It is a dangerous proposition to reach for a prospect. Consider Jared Goff and Carson Wentz. Both players were between 13 and 17 on most scouts’ big boards, yet they went first and second overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. Six years later, neither player is on the team that drafted them.

Players move all the time, but there is not a team in the NFL that wants a draft pick that high playing elsewhere. There is always a run on quarterbacks as well. Christian Ponder, Jake Locker, and EJ Manuel were first-round draft picks. None of the three are playing in the NFL currently.

NFL.com has Willis as the 20th-rated draft prospect in 2022. The Lions reaching this far for a quarterback feels a bit different than the other situations. First, the Lions’ front office has to know this is a three to four-year rebuild. This is an ideal time to pick a quarterback and develop him since they are going nowhere for the next three to four years.

Jared Goff is acceptable in the interim until the coaching staff feels that Willis is ready to start. There is the possibility he picks things up faster than expected and starts sooner rather than later. the Seahawks did not expect Russell Wilson to be ready to play as quickly as he was, and he beat out Matt Flynn for the starting job in Seattle.

Dan Campbell has begun to shift the culture in Detroit. It seems more feasible that they could develop a young quarterback with a lot of talent. Drafting Willis here is a reach but possibly worth taking.