Consistent, confident and comfortable: Dolphins' Malik Willis impressing coaches in camp

David Furones, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Aug 4, 2026

Published in Football

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — New Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis will have question marks surrounding him as he nears his first regular season as a starter.

But he is earning the praise of his coaches a week into training camp.

“I’ve been really, really pleased with Malik,” offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “Just his work ethic every day, what he’s doing, just not with me, with the players, his relationships he’s building with all of them from the guys up front to the guys on defense to, obviously, the skills.”

Willis’ offseason practices throughout organized team activities and minicamp saw him go through some boom or bust sessions. He had his share of stellar plays, but also struggled at times.

Through six practices of camp, he has been steady overall. And the one bad practice he had, he rebounded.

On days when the defense has gotten the better of the offense, he has minimized his mistakes. When he has thrown interceptions, they’ve mostly come from tipped balls, sometimes off the hands of his intended receiver. Many of those could still be criticized for the ball placement, even if Willis didn’t give a defender a direct shot at the ball.

And then he’s capitalized on practices, like the first two in front of fans on Sunday and Monday, where there was an aerial display of downfield throws, allowing his big arm to flourish.

“Just more consistent, the confidence and he’s just getting more comfortable,” coach Jeff Hafley said ahead of Tuesday’s drills. “The ball’s coming out quicker. He’s throwing more on his first hitch than being late on his throws. He’s starting to have a better relationship with the guys. We’re only through a handful of practices, but he’s already grabbing guys on the side talking to him. If a guy drops the ball, he’s encouraging him.”

Slowik can attest to the conviction with his throws.

“Everyone can see when we’re out in camp when he’s confident, when he’s letting it rip,” Slowik said. “He’s thrown some really nice balls.”

The improvements come from the dedication to his craft he has shown in camp.

“He’s really putting the time in,” Slowik said. “He’s living in the facility, you know. He’s in my office probably every few days and we’re just hanging out and kicking it. So, I mean, he’s all-in on making sure mentally he’s up to snuff on where he needs to be and feels confident.”

Through OTAs and minicamp and then the first few practices of training camp, Willis hadn’t yet been seen using his running ability. That has opened up slightly in recent practices, with a few instances of designed runs for him, while the focus has still been working within the framework of the passing offense.

“That’s big time,” Slowik said. “The athleticism, the moving away from contact comes easy. The hanging in there when you have to, maybe taking a hit and letting one rip to first in the progression or second in the progression is way harder. So, they always will strain themselves to really focus on things like that in camp.

“There’s been a few in camp where we’d like him — ‘hey, man, go run, you know, like, the (opportunity) is there.’ In the run game, we’ve used him here and there, and that kind of is week to week, depending on what a defense gives us, what it presents to us, and how we can take advantage of that. But just having the ability to do that and his willingness to do that is just going to be huge for us.”

Dolphins defenders have experienced the conundrum Willis’ dual-threat ability present in small doses.

“Covering for three seconds is hard as it is, so imagine covering for six seconds with Malik being able to run and gun it,” safety Dante Trader Jr. said recently. “When you got the (quarterback) pulls and the pull reads and read schemes, you’re going to need the post safety, you’re down one, so that creates a lot of problems for the back end. What are you going to call? So if you call certain calls, run the ball. You got to stack the box and account for certain guys, and then that leaves opportunity for explosives.”

Slowik said during minicamp that Willis’ chemistry with his pass-catchers would be a work in progress, but he may have accelerated that process with offseason throwing sessions with many of his targets before camp.

Willis can only prove so much in camp. His first test with the Dolphins against an opposing defense will come at next week’s joint practice against the Washington Commanders.