Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis received a strong assessment from head coach Jeff Hafley, following minicamp and OTAs.
The Miami Dolphins are betting big on quarterback Malik Willis, as the seldom starter secured a three-year, $67.5 million deal. With six starts in the NFL, there are many questions regarding his ability to be the franchise answer for the organization, and now he has gone through his first OTAs and minicamp.
Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley spoke about Willis plenty in the offseason, but delivered some final words on his growth through spring football, offering a strong assessment of what he has seen.
"Progress, they're more comfortable within the scheme. They've taken more command of the huddle, they've taken more command when they're out there with the wideouts. Confidence. I've seen the confidence grow. Even the conversation I had with Malik today, walking down the hallway, you can just see that he's more comfortable. He understands the answers that are being provided to him on each play. I think he looks good as he's looked since I've known him," Hafley said.
Hafley was speaking about both Willis and Quinn Ewers, who figures to be the team's backup option.
"I would say the same about Quinn. I think Quinn's gotten better. And I just think Bobby, Bush, and KP have done a really good job in that room," Hafley said.
Willis has garnered plenty of praise thus far, and Hafley indicated he is more excited to see how he operates when they "ramp him up" in training camp.
The praise did not stop there, as Hafley also indicated that Willis has been of the leaders for the team and the young players coming in thus far.
"Malik has done a really nice job, having guys over at his house," Hafley said.
Willis was also one of the players who showed up to the rookie minicamp to greet the draft picks, and he was also getting in additional work with TuTu Atwell and Jalen Tolbert, attempting to build up that chemistry for the offense.
All in all, it does appear that Willis has the right kind of leadership qualities that the Dolphins need in a quarterback. It will now just be how he moves forward as the leader of the team when training camp starts in late July.
There are still a lot of questions regarding how the offense can operate with many unproven veteran and rookie plays, especially at the wideout position. The Dolphins also signed former first-round pick Jalen Reagor to strengthen the group even more.
Willis will need to find a way to get the group to meld in a big way, and that will begin when training camp kicks off. Through OTAs and minicamp, there was some good, such as the redzone day, which saw Willis and Ewers throw multiple touchdown passes.
There was also some struggles, where the offense coughed up three interceptions.
Nothing matters as much right now as the pads are not on. That is something that Hafley also spoke about when giving his honest thoughts on his first time as an NFL head coach.
"I think we gotta evaluate all these guys when the pads come on. You can see who can process, you can see who can take from the field out to the grass, you can see who can see things and react ... I don't want to slight OTAs, but it's Part 1, but Part 2 is gonna be really important, when we actually play real football," Hafley said.
