A seventh-round gamble paid off handsomely. Discover how Malik Willis became one of Brian Gutekunst's most valuable, surprising acquisitions for the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunsts has had some great hits during his time calling the shots for the team. He's also had a few terrible misses, but the same can be said for just about any GM in the NFL.
Things like drafting, trading and signing are an inexact science.
One thing is for sure, though, and that's the fact that Gutekunst, like his predecessors in Green Bay, has an eye for the quarterback position.
He was the one who went out and traded up in the first round to grab Jordan Love out of Utah State despite the fact that he had Aaron Rodgers playing at an extremely high level already on his roster. That's a familiar story, isn't it? The same thing happened with Rodgers and Brett Favre.
It hasn't had franchise-changing consequences, but the decision to trade a seventh-round draft pick to the Tennessee Titans for their draft bust quarterback, Malik Willis, has also played out well for the Packers.
Last season in relief for an injured Love, Willis went 2-0 as a starter. He also came in when Love got hurt against the Jacksonville Jaguars and won the Packers that game.
This past weekend against the Chicago Bears, Willis was again called into action when Love went down after a nasty-looking helmet-to-helmet hit led to him being ruled out with a concussion.
Willis calmly came in and completed 9-of-11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown while rushing 10 times for 44 yards.
He brought a spark and confidence to the team that they needed with Love out, and he, frankly, should have won that game for the Packers. If it wasn't for a botched onside kick return late in the game, he would have won it for Green Bay.
That game, plus his other moments for Green Bay since being castaway by the Titans, is undoubtedly why team insider Wes Hodiewicz said in a recent mailbag that Willis is one of Gutekunst's best moves as a GM.
"Willis has proven he deserves the opportunity to compete for a starting job. Whatever happens, Willis will go down as one of the best moves Brian Gutekunst has made," Hodiewicz wrote.
For the modest seventh-round price it took to acquire Willis, he's been an incredible return on investment for the Packers."
Willis has been an incredible return for the Packers, but Hodiewicz's first statement about the backup quarterback is going to end up being trouble for Green Bay.
Willis does deserve a shot to be a starter somewhere, but that shot won't be able to b in Green Bay. Not only is Love the consensus starter and a Top 10 NFL quarterback when he's "on", but the Packers recently paid him as such. The Packers gave Love a $220 million contract over four years. Willis won't get that on the open market, but he's going to get much more than his $1.1 million base salary that he's getting from the Packers this year.
He'll be a free agent in 2026 and he'll be wise to test out that market and get paid. There's really no world where the Packers can justify paying him what he's worth, even as a backup quarterback.
The good news is that their rehabilitation of Willis is a strong indicator that they can trade away another seventh-rounder and do it again with a different quarterback, but it will be sad to see Willis playing for another team (most likely) in 2026.
He's been a great Packer and he's undoubtedly the best backup quarterback in the league.