Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis will be under center in 2026, but what would a successful season look like for him?
The Miami Dolphins are putting a lot of faith in quarterback Malik Willis, who has six starts under his belt in his NFL career thus far. After sweeping changes in the roster via low-cost options, the team paid a high amount to bring the former Green Bay Packers passer in.
Willis was given a three-year, $67.5 million deal to take a crack at being the long-missing franchise option in South Florida. Considering the faith placed in him in a torn-down roster, what would a successful season look like?
Let's break it down to the simplest of how a "successful" season would be categorized, which is simple: stats.
One of the biggest ways in which Willis can be called successful is by not turning the ball over. Boiling that down to how many interceptions would be acceptable, having anything in the double digits would not be a good start as a first-time starter.
There are likely to be mistakes and tipped balls that lead to costly turnovers, but errant throws that lead to anything over the 10-interception mark would not be ideal. To be fair, some of the best quarterbacks in the league had 10 or fewer, such as Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen (10), and Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford (8).
If Willis can match anything similar, the Dolphins may be in a solid spot. Conversely, former starter Tua Tagovailoa had 17, leading to him being benched and released by Miami.
Moving right on to passing yards and touchdowns, Willis can make a sizable impact if he lands somewhere in the 3,000-yard mark. That would also be impressive if he could showcase his passing skills while also being a mobile quarterback.
ESPN's fantasy football projections have the Dolphins' signal caller at 3,585 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 105 carries, 543 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdowns.
This would not be a bad stat line, but the touchdown-to-interception ratio is not ideal. Miami needs a quarterback who can protect the ball, if nothing else.
Having over 3500 passing yards and 543 rushing yards would be solid. Again, being able to sling the ball like that with a sizable number of rushing yards would be huge for Willis first year.
To put those numbers a bit more in perspective, the top rushing quarterback from 2025 was Allen, with 579. He is one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league, so Willis keeping pace with that would be a huge improvement, especially given that Tagovailoa took a step back in scrambling.
With 3,500 yards, Willis would be about 13th in the league, per stats from 2025. Again, that would not be a horrible place to be, and he would be considered a middle-ground quarterback, for intents and purposes.
What would make Willis even more successful for the Dolphins is to command the offense in a way that shows growth. Stats aside, the Miami pass catchers are mostly veterans who have now had the most success in the NFL.
If Willis can guide the offense to not only show some skills but to stay competitive in games, that will also be considered a success.
The Dolphins are entering 2026 with a lot of questions, but the measure of success could be heavily considered growth on the field. While the team is predicted to lose most games, wins and close games will show a trend in the right direction.
There are also no moral victories in the NFL, and close losses are still losses. Still, Willis has a big opportunity to show he can create some magic with a torn-down roster. If he does so while putting up decent numbers, the Miami offense could be in some good hands.
