The Dolphins’ QB spot is revamped this offseason primarily with the addition of QB Malik Willis. Wills looked spectacular in limited action for the Packers over the past few seasons and will now have the chance to establish himself as a franchise level QB. Former legendary Texas high school QB Quinn Ewers will be in line to emerge as one of the premier QB2s in the sport. The Dolphins also have two multiple time FCS champion QBs in Cam Miller and Mark Gronkowski as the third and fourth string QBs on the roster as of now.
Malik Willis projects to be the next Lamar Jackson caliber QB in the NFL. The physical measurables of Willis and Jackson are neck and neck, and either could be argued as the slightly more talented player. Lamar Jackson is likely the most talented QB to ever step on an NFL field and Willis is in line to be the better version of Jackson at the QB spot. The only reason why Lamar Jackson is not on pace to be the greatest QB in the history of sport and has not won multiple Super Bowls yet is because of his consistently underwhelming postseason performances. Willis is essentially on pace to be Lamar Jackson but clutch which would be the ultimate QB in my estimation.
When comparing Jackson to Willis I will start with the physical measurables of both quarterbacks. Willis stands at 6 feet and 0.5 inches while Jackson stands at 6 feet and 2.25 inches. Willis weighs 220 pounds while Jackson reportedly weighs between 205 and 215 pounds. So, Jackson is slightly taller, but Willis is slightly bigger and stronger as he weighs more despite being shorter with both QBs likely hovering around 6-7% body fat. Neither QB ran the 40-yard dash during the NFL combine, but Willis clocked a 4.37 40-yard dash in college with Jackson clocking a 4.34 40-yard dash in college. Essentially no difference at all in terms of foot speed with the slight difference being attributed to Willis being slightly shorter. Jackson is also turning 30 years old by the end of the 2026 season, potentially nearing the end of his peak, while Willis will play next season at only 27 years old, entering his athletic peak.
In terms of their production on the NFL field there are many comparisons to be made as well. Outside of Willis’ first two seasons in the NFL where he struggled as a rookie and hardly saw the field in year 2, Willis’ on the field numbers in terms of running and throwing the football parallel that of Jackson. Willis in 89 pass attempts, about three games worth of action, over the past two seasons posted a remarkable 130+ passer rating, with the single season all-time record being 122.5. Jackson is 3rd on the all-time list in that regard once posting a 119.6 passer rating during an MVP season of his. In terms of running the football, Jackson consistently hovers at slightly above 6.0 rush yards per attempt for his career, while being perhaps the premier dual threat QB in league history. Willis has hovered around 6.5 rush yards per attempts over the past two seasons when he has accrued noticeable snaps outside of his rookie season.
The similarities between Jackson and Willis are glaring but Willis obviously needs to prove it more. Out of the 5 teams that Willis logged extended snaps against, 4 of them ranked below average in terms of points per game allowed that season. Willis has never logged more than 21 pass attempts in a game either with the average hovering at close to 35 per game. Granted he did not have a shot to throw it more being a backup QB and he does not decide who he plays against, but he still is very unproven, nonetheless.
Many point to the strong offensive circumstances of the Packers as the reason for Willis’ success. As head coach Matt Lafleur is arguably among the sharpest offensive minds in the sport and the team has strong personnel on offense. However, every all-time great QB has had a very sharp offensive mind to assist him. Tom Brady had Josh McDaniels, Joe Montana had Bill Walsh, Patrick Mahomes had Andy Reid, and so on. It is also not as if Lafleur is viewed to be in the same class as guys like Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan either as an offensive mind in the modern NFL. As of now Lafleur is likely just a very good but not a great offensive head coach. The Packers’ personnel on offense surrounding Willis was closer to average as well. They had a good but not a great offensive line and average caliber receivers with a below average wide receiver room, although the running back room led by Josh Jacobs was exceptional.
Best case scenario is that Willis ends up being Lamar Jackson but clutch which would be the ultimate QB in my estimation and on pace to be among the greatest ever. Worst case scenario is that he ends up being Jalen Hurts who is still a Super Bowl MVP QB who Willis was even compared to coming out of college.
Behind Willis on the depth chart is firstly former legendary Texas high school QB Quinn Ewers. Ewers entering college was considered by many to be the top overall prospect at any position coming out of high school and entering college. Ewers was a first-round prospect for a long period of time before falling to the seventh round. Ewers can certainly still live up to his legendary high school billing, being one of the greatest high school quarterbacks ever, and his, for an extended period, first round NFL draft hype. Ewers looked meager as a rookie posting an 85.5 passer rating in 83 rookie pass attempts but will likely improve heading into year 2 onwards. Ewers can certainly prove to be among the better if not the best overall backup QBs in the sport. Ewers reminds me a lot of both Dak Prescott and Sam Darnold, all three players standing at an ordinary 6 feet 2 inches, with all three having ordinary arm strength, along with ordinary athletic ability. But all three make their living by being deadly smart and accurate. If Ewers can prove to be a Sam Darnold or Dak Prescott level player, the Dolphins could have among the premier backup QBs in the sport.
Listed third on the Dolphins’ QB depth chart is former North Dakota State standout Cam Miller. Cam Miller, just like Carson Wentz who nearly won a league MVP and easily could have won a Super Bowl as well if it was not for an injury, won multiple FCS championships playing for North Dakota State. Behind Miller on the depth chart is Mark Gronkowski who is also in a similar situation to Wentz, winning multiple FCS championships, but this time at South Dakota State. If either player can prove to be anything close to what Wentz was in his prime and when he was healthy, the Dolphins will likely have the best QB3/Qb4 spots in the NFL. With either having the ability to push Ewers for the QB2 spot.
