NFL writer slams Hugh Freeze Liberty transfer, former Auburn football QB: 'No one's definition of no-brainer pick'

The Jet Press' Derek Praschak was defending running back Breece Hall from Pro Football Focus's George Chahrouri's 2022 NFL draft cold take that NY should've drafted Malik Willis instead, but that defense turned into an attack on the college career of the former Auburn football QB-turned-Hugh Freeze transfer at Liberty.

"Willis, on the other hand, though a talented player, was no one's definition of a no-brainer pick," Praschack prefaced before saying, "He couldn't hack it at it Auburn, so he had to transfer to Liberty in order to shine.

"While he put up reasonably impressive numbers there, there's a reason he was drafted in the third round at an incredibly high-value position. Most QBs with seemingly any hope to be a future starter, get taken in the first and second rounds."

To be fair to Praschak, Chahrouri came at the Jets franchise sideways and it certainly came off aggressively. But there's no denying New York's recent futility has most sports analysts jaded about most everything they do.

It's always premature to call a draft pick a bad one before the draft class he came from even steps on the field, though. Chahrouri fell for a classic pitfall professional pundits do when trying to cook up hot takes in the aftermath of the draft.

Auburn football reporter didn't buy the Malik Willis hype

The Opelika-Auburn News' Justin Lee doesn't believe Willis would've made Auburn any better in 2019 than where Bo Nix had them.

"There's no way the 2019 season would've been any better for Auburn with Malik Willis as the quarterback," Lee prefaced before saying, "They beat Oregon and Alabama and only lost at the Swamp, at the national champions in Death Valley, and to Georgia. He wouldn't have done any better."

Ultimately, Lee, not Chahrouri, was more right about Willis. In two years with the Tennessee Titans, Willis has completed 35 of 66 pass attempts and is 1-2 under center as a starter.