6 prospects the Steelers must watch closely at the NFL Combine

Steelers need to watch Willis

It came as a minor shock that the Steelers were so interested in Malik Willis out of all of the quarterbacks at the Senior Bowl. While the athletic option has a lot of positive traits, he also has some obvious warts that would have to be developed long term. Now the focus will be on how the team treats Willis at the combine, as further interest could continue linking the two together.

Willis doesn’t have much to gain at the combine, unfortunately, as almost everyone expects him to test extremely well as an athlete. If he doesn’t, don’t be surprised to see him drop a few spots on most draft boards. That said, I’m more curious about how much interest the team carries over to him at the combine. If they are drooling over him as they did at the Senior Bowl, then one has to consider him a front runner for their first-round pick.

Another element worth noting is what he actually measures size-wise. No, he won’t be the prototypical size for a quarterback, but he could end up being built similarly to fellow top quarterback Sam Howell. That said, the team’s interactions and his actual athletic testing will be the more important information here. Another heavy dose of interest could cause him to become a favorite to land with the team in the draft.