Seattle Seahawks: 3 possible replacements for Russell Wilson

Malik Willis

My gut reaction to the Seahawks trade was, Malik Willis is going to be the future of this franchise. In 2012 when the Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll was able to run the football and play defense. Early on in Russ’ career, he was featured in many option plays and made many plays with his feet to keep the chains alive. I’m not comparing Malik Willis to Russell Wilson by any stretch of the imagination, but he could potentially serve as a QB1 in the eyes of Pete Carroll and what he wants to re-establish.

Willis did not run the 40-yard dash at the combine, but he did impress. So much so, that most mock drafts now have him as the projected first quarterback taken off the board. Whether it was his selfless acts off the field helping the homeless, or showing off his deep ball, Willis reportedly went up on a lot of draft broads. He interviewed extremely well, which carries a lot of weight for management.

In fact, I personally think he really impressed the Seattle Seahawks. Call me crazy, but if he were to catch their attention, he could have made their decision easier for moving off Wilson. Russ is going to be up for a contract soon and we just saw Aaron Rodgers reset the quarterback market with a monstrous deal. Maybe Seattle felt a rookie quarterback on a cheap contract will allow them to build a better all-around team.

With the 9th overall pick in the draft, the Seahawks certainly have a legitimate shot of acquiring Willis. Or, I could be completely wrong and Seattle can use their early draft pick to address some needs on the defensive side of the ball. We all know Russell Wilson will never be duplicated in Seattle, let alone in the NFL. But, Wills can serve as a franchise quarterback and be one of the pillars of this team as they look to rebuild.