The most appealing quarterback available this offseason? Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. But he’s not really available to anyone besides the Raiders.
The same is mostly true for Daniel Jones after the Colts used the transition tag on him, meaning they can match any offer given to the 28-year-old.
That might make Malik Willis the best quarterback available. Can he revive a downtrodden franchise like the Jets, Cardinals, Browns or Dolphins? The No. 8 overall free agent on The Athletic’s top 150 has already revived his career, after all.
Inside: What history tells us about this year’s best QB available, plus Dane Brugler’s post-combine mock and a Rams-Chiefs blockbuster trade. Also, Maxx Crosby seems done with the Raiders, but he won’t be cheap.
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What history tells us about Malik Willis
A third-round pick out of Liberty by the Titans in 2022, Willis was awful in his first two seasons. And that might be an understatement.
As an inaccurate passer and poor decision maker, his completion percentage ranked last among 78 qualifying quarterbacks from 2022-23, despite 70.7 percent of his passes traveling fewer than 10 yards in the air. By the summer of 2024, he was behind Will Levis and Mason Rudolph on the Titans’ depth chart. Tennessee flipped him to the Packers for a seventh-round pick that August.
Something clicked in Green Bay. Just 20 days after Willis arrived, he was starting for an injured Jordan Love. It went well. And he kept improving. He’s now accurate, and without just dinking and dunking. Over the last two seasons, he’s led the league in completion percentage while also attempting the third-highest percentage of passes with 15-plus air yards.
But is this just a misleadingly small sample of six starts, or could Willis’ sudden development be real? History is full of red flags.
Only a few players have had such strong performances across just five starts or fewer. There’s an obvious connection to Matt Flynn, another former Packers backup who impressed in limited action before signing a big 2012 free-agent contract. Flynn, who was then beaten out by a rookie Russell Wilson in Seattle, is one of many small-sample wonders who never became long-term starters, alongside players like Bill Volek in 2003, Josh McCown in 2013, Kyle Allen in 2018 and Sam Howell in 2022.
The most promising examples might be 2005 Matt Schaub, 2012 Kirk Cousins or 2016 Jimmy Garoppolo. Each had strong showings in spot starts before starting for several seasons. But that’s about it. Consider me skeptical, but optimistic, since the elusive Willis has a markedly different style than those three. Willis has already rushed for more yardage than Schaub did in his entire 155-game career.
My colleague Zack Rosenblatt just predicted every landing spot for quarterbacks this offseason. He sees Willis signing with the Cardinals, who released Kyler Murray earlier this week, for somewhere between $25 million and $30 million per year.
I want to hear from you. Does Willis succeed as a starter? What would you pay him? Cast your vote here. Over to Dianna before we dive into a mock draft.
What Dianna’s Hearing: Market rates for Crosby and Brown
We’re roughly four days away from the opening of the NFL’s legal-tampering period, and asking prices remain high for both Eagles WR A.J. Brown and Raiders DE Maxx Crosby.
- In Las Vegas, GM John Spytek and company are asking for two first-round picks and a player, similar to the package that landed Micah Parsons in Green Bay. Decision-makers are getting mixed signals from the Raiders as to their genuine interest in dealing their star pass rusher.
- Meanwhile, Philly GM Howie Roseman’s philosophy has remained consistent: He won’t part with a great player for nothing, especially with his team in the middle of its championship window. His asking price for Brown: a first- and a second-round pick.
We’ll see if these prices change as moves continue ahead of the start of the new league year. Back to Jacob.
Inside Dane Brugler’s notebook
Whatever Dane Brugler does in Indianapolis, it works. Just check any of his post-combine mock drafts from prior years.
- In 2025, Dane left Indy projecting Ashton Jeanty to the Raiders at No. 6 and Jalon Walker to the Falcons at No. 15 … while dropping Shedeur Sanders down the board.
- Results were similarly strong in 2024. Dane paired the Rams with edge Jared Verse, Cowboys with OT Tyler Guyton and Chiefs with WR Xavier Worthy, all before free agency even started.
So yeah, I was excited to see his 2026 post-combine mock. It’s the inside scoop on who impressed teams in Indianapolis and who didn’t. These are the biggest movers when compared with his January mock:
Two things stood out to me:
The Jeremiyah Love hype is real. We haven’t seen a running back drafted in the top five since Saquon Barkley in 2018, but Love’s sensational combine has Dane sending him to the Titans at No. 4. Dane’s compared the Notre Dame running back’s impact to that of Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco or Bijan Robinson in Atlanta. We cannot let the Chiefs get him at No. 9. More on Love.
Less excitement for Jordyn Tyson. Though he was long considered this class’ top receiver, the Arizona State product’s allure has faded. A lingering hamstring issue dropped the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from No. 5 to No. 24 in Dane’s mocks, though the Browns now get a potential steal. Carnell Tate sped past Tyson to top Dane’s receiver projections.
Otherwise, there are plenty of new additions to the first round, led by Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman’s jump from No. 56 to 18 after a terrific combine. Read the full mock here.
Rams are all in
What’s the significance of an All-Pro cornerback? The Rams acquiring Trent McDuffie from Kansas City was big enough for them to tie the Seahawks as 2026 Super Bowl favorites, per BetMGM. Worth it, but the star corner didn’t come cheap:
- Los Angeles sent the Chiefs the No. 29 pick, plus two day-three picks and a third-rounder in 2027.
- They’ll now need to pay McDuffie. The 25-year-old is entering the final year of his rookie contract, with the leverage to demand an extension among the league’s highest at his position ($25 million to $30 million).
The Rams want to maximize the 38-year-old Matthew Stafford’s window, and this trade addresses a glaring hole. As for the Chiefs, they get significant compensation for a player they could’ve barely afforded. A win-win, as suggested by Jeff Howe’s trade grades.
Extra Points
📕 What’s inside a scouting report? Jourdan Rodrigue takes you into the world of NFL scouts, sharing typical QB notes and what to look for in receivers.
📉 Why so few elite young QBs? A 44-year-old grandfather named Philip Rivers returned to the NFL last season. It led to at least one positive: my colleague Jason Lloyd investigating the absence of young superstar quarterbacks.
📽 Meet Mendoza. Ted Nguyen’s film review of this draft’s top quarterback hints that Klint Kubiak’s offense could be a good fit. It also makes you a smarter football fan, and we’re all for that.
Elsewhere, Myles Garrett got his ninth speeding ticket since 2017. His insurance costs must be equal to my mortgage. Do you work in insurance? Tell me what he must be paying in the comments.
▶️ Monday’s most-clicked: What we heard at the combine about all 32 teams and their free-agency plans.
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