Malik Willis Vs. Kenny Pickett, Which QB Will Be Drafted First?

• Malik Willis is favored to be the first QB drafted with -175.
• Kenny Pickett has +150 odds to be the first quarterback drafted in the NFL Draft.

LAS VEGAS – With the NFL Draft comes plenty of betting opportunities on different players and positions. One of the odds to look at in particular are the odds on which quarterbacks will be selected first in the draft.

The quarterback position has been more of a two-man race leading into the draft between former Liberty QB, Malik Willis, and Pitt QB, Kenny Pickett.

Willis’ odds on legal online sportsbooks are slightly shorter, however, value can be found with both players.

1st QB Selected

• Malik Willis -175
• Kenny Pickett +150
• Desmond Ridder +700
• Matt Corral +1200

The Comparison

Each of these two have tons to offer a team. Willis offers tremendous dual-threat ability having thrown for 2,500+ yards and 27 touchdowns while also rushing for over 800 yards and 13 more touchdowns.

Pickett, on the other hand, has a cannon of an arm with more pocket passing skills having thrown for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns, both in the top-6 in the country.

While both styles of play are tremendously different, it could come down to the competition they each faced in college that could have helped them become an NFL-ready player.

Willis and Liberty played as an independent team and have played just four teams that play in a Power Five conference leaving not much competition.

As for Pickett, he has been groomed in a loaded ACC conference that has tons of draft prospects coming out of it which could certainly play a role in his scouting report and his draft stock as he was constantly going up against tough competition.

The Draft

The one team that could take a QB first in the draft are the Carolina Panthers as they have been linked to plenty of QBs over the last season such as Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson and do have the sixth pick in the draft.

The reason the Panthers scenario is an interesting one is because, over the last decade, they have been used as a dual-threat option under center with Cam Newton from 2011 to 2017 and a short stint of Teddy Bridgewater in 2020.

They clearly have something working with a dual-threat option as they went to the playoffs four times and even made a Super Bowl appearance.

In two recent seasons with pocket passers under center with Kyle Allen in 2019 and Sam Darnold in 2021, both seasons could be counted as failures having won just five games and finished in last place in the division both times.

That could be somewhat of a sign for the Panthers to stick with a dual-threat option and could lean on Willis’ NFL odds in the draft.

News tags: Carolina Panthers | football | Kenny Pickett | Liberty Flames | Malik Willis | NFL | NFL Draft | Pittsburgh Panthers