How the Jets Could Land Malik Willis
The Jets must pull out all of the stops to land free agent quarterback Malik Willis. He’s young enough with upside.
So many Jets fans are focused on the NFL Draft and who the Jets will land with the second overall pick. The fact of the matter is that it should be secondary to free agency. The Jets should only be thinking about drafting a quarterback as a pivot off of missing on Willis.
Let’s dive into the steps for landing Willis as a free agent.
Pry Ken Dorsey Away from the Cowboys
Ken Dorsey is currently the Passing Game Specialist for the Dallas Cowboys. Moving from PGS to Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Game Coordinator would be a promotion, and the Dallas Cowboys would not be permitted to block Dorsey from interviewing with the Jets.
In his last two stops as a quarterbacks coach, Dorsey helped two mobile quarterbacks develop into top-tier quarterbacks of their time: Cam Newton and Josh Allen.
In his time in Carolina, from 2013-17, Dorsey helped Newton to his best statistical season and win an MVP. In 2015, the Panther won the AFC South, went to the Super Bowl, Newton won NFL MVP, and he had approximately a 3.2:1 touchdown to turnover ratio, the best of his career.
In Buffalo, we saw the rise of Allen under the tutelage of Dorsey. Anyone who covers the Bills will tell you that Dorsey had a huge hand in the growth of Allen as a player, spending time away from the facility together during the offseasons to work on fundamentals. In 2022, when they added passing game coordinator to Dorsey’s plate, Josh Allen rose to third in the league in passing touchdown rate.
While Allen and Newton are different styles of running quarterbacks (power vs. speed) than Willis is, Willis is still a mobile quarterback with tools as a passer. Bringing in Dorsey as the quarterbacks coach should lend credibility to the Jets situation.
The Godfather Prove It Deal
Risks are sometimes necessary, and in the case of this, the Jets need a quarterback. So, the Jets need to try and figure out a deal where Willis can’t say no. Make him an offer he can’t refuse.
They gave Justin Fields a contract for 2 years, $40 million with $30 million guaranteed this past offseason. That’s a likely baseline for Willis.
Given the guaranteed money in the Fields contract, that’s the starting point. So, the Jets should offer him $35 million guaranteed. They should offer him a 2-year contract for a max value of $65 million.
If the Jets do this, it’s the best way to land Willis.