The Miami Dolphins chose Malik Willis to be the conceptual answer.
The question: How do you build at the most important position in sports in the post-Tua Tagovailoa era?
There’s nothing more important than a quarterback, and the Dolphins signed Willis to be their QB in 2026 — and they hope for longer.
Willis had been a relative bust with the Tennessee Titans, but two years as a Green Bay Packers backup helped turn his career around. Whenever he got a chance to fill-in for Jordan Love there, Willis impressed.
He looked to have improved his grasp of the passing game and of broader offensive concepts, which could couple with his already strong and speedy legs to make him a solid dual-threat QB.
This, though, would be a new challenge. Willis was being counted on in a way he never had before in his NFL career. And he’s doing it in Miami with the least-experienced wide receiver group in the entire NFL.
His debut was Sunday, against the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Dolphins lost 27-13. There was plenty of negative for Willis.
It’s a long season, though, so there’s time for growth.
Malik Willis Stats
The high point on Sunday for Willis was probably his 14-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter that pulled the Dolphins within 17-13. But they wouldn’t score again.
Willis finished the game 15-for-27 passing for 220 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown, and he was intercepted once.
He also took five sacks for a total of 35 lost yards.
Willis ran the ball six times for 39 yards and a touchdown, with that 14-yard carry being his longest.
He picked out rookie WR Caleb Douglas the most, with five completions for 94 yards there. He also had three for 53 to Malik Washington and four for 30 to De’Von Achane.
What This Means
Willis isn’t in danger of being benched or anything like that. The Dolphins will ride with him this season whether he sinks or swims.
They’ll just be hoping to see growth in a few areas going forward.
“Willis was steady, albeit unspectacular in the first half, as Miami’s receivers struggled to get open downfield,” ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques wrote on Monday morning. “Willis appeared to press a bit in the second half, highlighted by a head-scratching interception that looked more like an arm punt on second down from deep in his own territory. Willis showed a willingness to make plays with his legs, but this was a relatively uninspiring performance against what could end up being one of the Dolphins’ easier matchups this season.”
The toughest part for Willis is probably that the Dolphins get to play the San Francisco 49ers next — and they were just dominant defensively against the much higher-powered Los Angeles Rams.
Willis is going to have to prove himself as a game-changing QB at some point. Without some upside at the quarterback position, this Miami team would probably end up struggling all season long.
What We Learned From Malik Willis’ Dolphins Debut