Is Malik Cunningham The Next Taysom Hill?
Malik Cunningham is starting to make things very interesting in Patriots’ camp. Cunningham is starting to become a jack of all trades for New England very early in his career. So much so that the Taysom Hill comps are already being thrown out there.
Mike Reiss at ESPN wrote a really interesting column people should read. I’ll share some key quotes in the post below.
“Cunningham did something unique in the Patriots’ preseason opener by playing 10 snaps at wide receiver and then 17 at quarterback, leading an impressive 75-yard drive in the fourth quarter with dazzling running and pinpoint passing that ended with him scoring on a 9-yard run.“
“Although he wasn’t targeted as a receiver, he completed 3 of 4 passes for 19 yards and rushed five times for 34 yards. His one incompletion might have been his best throw — an on-the-move toss to the end zone that should have been caught by Tre Nixon for a 21-yard touchdown.“
“Last season, there was just one instance in which a player logged double-digit snaps at receiver and quarterback — when Taysom Hill had 11 apiece for the New Orleans Saints in a 24-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8. Hill had 10 carries for 61 yards that day, was 1-of-1 passing for 2 yards and added one reception for 11 yards.“
I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t very high on Cunningham during the pre-draft process. We’re talking about a guy that was actually drafted in the USFL. Find me the last superstar quarterback in the last ten years that happened to. The idea that Cunningham was going to become the next developmental star quarterback story was always silly to me.
However, this I can sort of buy. The one thing New England lacks is dynamic speed. Cunningham ran a 4.53 at the combine this year. In an offense that carries Mac Jones, maybe there is a package that Cunningham can thrive in. Even the receivers in New England are dirt slow. You’re counting on JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker. Maybe having Cunningham run some gadget plays every so often isn’t the worst idea in the world.
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