Judd said he had long been a Malthouse admirer and expected the three-time premiership coach to have a quick impact.
But he cautioned that rebounding from a disappointing season would take club-wide improvement.
"It's really important that we don't view (Malthouse) as a panacea that's going to fix all our problems," Judd told reporters on Thursday.
"At the end of the day, there's 44 players on that list, there's a staff of 70 or 80 people and it's not up to Mick to come in and solve all the problems at our football club.
"It's up to everyone who's there to work out how they're going to improve on what they've done before, to be accountable and be a part of the solution."
Malthouse guided West Coast to premierships in 1992 and 1994 and Collingwood to the 2010 flag.
But Judd took more from Malthouse's transformation of the Magpies from a wooden-spoon side when he took over ahead of the 2000 season to grand finalists in 2002-03.
"As much as they didn't win a premiership, I think to get to two grand finals in a row with the list he had there, that's almost the most impressive feature of his coaching career," the Blues' skipper said.
Judd is yet to meet Malthouse face-to-face since his appointment so his view of the veteran coach is based mainly on reputation.
He said that was of a coach who ruled from the top and expected players to toe the line.
"He probably doesn't go down the player empowerment model, which a lot of modern-day coaches do," Judd said.
The 29-year-old dual Brownlow Medallist is yet to announce whether he will stay as skipper and plans to consult with Malthouse at the Blues' pre-season camp in Arizona, which starts on November 9.
While coy on his plans, he understood the speculation.
"There comes a time in every player's career where it makes sense for him to move on, whether that's move on from the game or move on from a leadership role to open up opportunities for young people," Judd said.
