The Minnesota Vikings are 3-0 and riding a serious wave of momentum heading into Week 4’s clash with the Green Bay Packers.
That’s not to say the Packers haven’t been impressive as well, though. Green Bay is 2-1 after two, frankly, dominant wins over lesser opponents in the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans. Beating the lesser team is what good teams should do — and usually, that’s not newsworthy — but Green Bay’s two wins have been more noteworthy than normal because both came with backup quarterback Malik Willis at the helm of the offense.
Willis was traded from the Titans to the Packers a few days before the season began for a seventh-round pick. He was seen as a “bust” having never even scratched his potential in Tennessee after being drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Willis seemed nothing than a risky pick for Green Bay’s backup quarterback job, but general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur obviously saw something in him. And through two starts, the Packers have been exactly spot on in their projection of Willis’ unexplored talent. He’s not an MVP candidate, but he hasn’t been asked to be. LaFleur has done a masterful job of finding easy and open throws for Willis in his playbook while leaning heavily on a league-leading rushing attack and league-leading defense in terms of takeaways.
LaFleur has been so good at reviving Willis’ career that even Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores has taken notice.
“I don’t think it’s being talked about enough— what’s going on over there with Malik Willis,” Flores said in a recent news conference. “It’s impressive to watch.”
