A Cautionary Tale: Malik Willis Could End Up Like Last Season’s Geno Smith…Unless?
By David Johnson
Smyrna High School
Last season, as Jordan Love was out of commission for some of the middle and final weeks, Malik Willis stepped up, albeit in a small sample size, and was solid in their wins and losses. His game had benefited from a system with a reputable coach, weapons to spread the ball out, and a defined playbook of shotgun, comfortable perimeter, and deep passes. He ended the 2025-26 season with 422 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, and a 93.1 passer rating, erupting as one of, if not the hottest, free agents for this present offseason.
The Miami Dolphins released Tua Tagovailoa and found a potentially more reliable man up center in Malik Willis, signing him to a 3-year, $67 million contract. This was a better pivot than either keeping Tua or starting Quinn Ewers, especially given Willis’s arm strength, mobility, and rapid growth over the past few seasons.
On a level of playstyle, Willis is a lot of things that Tagovailoa wasn’t for the system. He has a cannon for an arm, with double the air yards per completion of Tagovailoa (9.9 to 4.8), and Willis was more accurate, with over 91% of his throws being on-target. And Willis’ rushing numbers and rushing success rate dwarf Tagovailoa’s. He’s clearly a better fit with the speedsters on the roster, like Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane (if not traded), and more adaptable to the structure of whatever system he enters. Finally, the best ability is availability, and Willis is anything but unavailable, with no major injuries plaguing him so far in his career.
Of course, this evidence is obtained at a microscale and cannot be fully justified until he heads out to the field. And the Miami Dolphins have clearly been heading for a rebuild. The Tua and Tyreek project had its moment, but blew out almost as fast as it began to spark. Which brings me to my point: 2025 Geno Smith and Malik Willis could potentially parallel each other. Geno Smith was brought to Las Vegas last season in the hopes that he could continue his solid tenure in the league from his years in Seattle, like Willis from Green Bay; Las Vegas last year, had a lot of missing pieces, but had a reliable deep threat WR in Tre Tucker (akin to Jaylen Waddle), and a capable running back, though with alternate playstyles and paces, in Ashton Jeanty (like Achane). While Smith is not as close in terms of sheer talent to Malik Willis, certain structural aspects of Miami’s organization could be cause for concern if not addressed this season or next.
Firstly, retaining key players in the backfield and slot should be a priority. After De’Von Achane’s breakout season, in which he ran for 1,350 yards and 8 TDs on 5.7 yd-per-carry and caught 67 receptions for 4 more TDs, they would be sorry to trade him and not keep him as a pillar of their rebuild. He ended the year as the RB5 in fantasy rankings. And if Waddle is not traded as well, he would make the perfect WR1 for Willis, having posted 900 yards and 6 touchdowns this past season. His speed, quick bursts, and pivots make him a threat both vertically and horizontally.
One of Willis’ weaknesses throughout his career so far has been fumbles. He lost two fumbles in 4 games this past season and was sacked 3 times. That might seem exaggerated because of the scale, but the rates aren’t great. With a rebuilding offensive line like last year’s Vegas offense, things could get horrendous quickly. There is a reason De’Von Achane’s broken tackles tripled from the previous season (22 to 7), and he often ran toward the perimeter. Willis’s ball-handling problems, combined with a developing line, could quickly snowball like in Vegas, which means that the offensive line has to be addressed in the rebuild as soon as possible, most likely through the draft.
Thirdly, a system needs to be developed to help Willis acclimate quickly. The new head coach for the Dolphins is Jeff Hafley. Fortunately, Hafley was brought in from the Packers, is familiar with the structure and Willis’ style of play, and is expected to provide Willis with an environment that emphasizes the run first. This makes Willis’ arm strength even more of a potential asset, creates opportunities for easier completions, and takes some pressure off him as a focal point.
With Willis now in place as the presumptive starter, the work of creating a proper supporting cast begins. Losses to free agency and releases make their top needs in the secondary and edge, on the offensive line, and the wide receiver room. The dead cap will make it difficult to fully gather all pieces, but the Willis gamble could be the start of a solid, methodical rebuild for Phin City. Hopefully, he will serve as the solid foundation to a reemergence in Miami.
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