The fact that Malik Willis is on his third team in five professional seasons does not bode well for his success as a player. But it doesn’t preclude him from being a productive fantasy football quarterback. We’ve seen him work in spurts. Can the new Miami Dolphins starter sustain QB1 value over the course of an entire season?
Should You Draft Malik Willis in Fantasy Football?
At one point in 2022, Willis was expected to be the No. 2 overall pick. Instead, he fell all the way to back half of the third round.
Even so, Willis still got a chance to prove he was the Titans’ answer at quarterback. Obviously, it did not work out.
After two years in Tennessee, Willis settled into a role as Jordan Love’s backup in Green Bay. The opportunities were very limited, with Love only missing three games. However, Willis made the most of his three opportunities to start.
In Willis’ two starts in 2024, he posted 13.0 and 25.4 fantasy points. In his lone 2025 start, he put up 31.5 points in Week 17 for any fantasy manager bold enough to start him. The sample size is very small, but Willis was an elite QB1 in two out of his three starts. And even the 13.0-week isn’t a total disaster.
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Willis enters the 2026 season as the unquestioned starter for the Dolphins. It’s fair to say he is not a guarantee to make it through the season. But if he plays like he did in Green Bay, he will. That guy could be quite appealing in fantasy.
We have no idea what the Dolphins’ offense will look like now that Mike McDaniel is gone, along with every key offensive weapon from the previous few seasons outside of De’Von Achane. His top three receivers are currently Jalen Tolbert, Malik Washington, and Tutu Atwell.
Miami did draft three wide receivers, but they were in the third, third, and fifth rounds. They will all have an opportunity to climb this depth chart. It shouldn’t be difficult, in theory. But wide receivers outside the top 50ish picks have a pretty low hit rate.
Regardless, the point is Willis doesn’t exactly have a great supporting cast, which could be a problem.
The theory behind drafting Willis is, of course, his rushing ability. Rushing quarterbacks continue to be a cheat code in fantasy, even if they aren’t a secret anymore.
In his three starts on the Packers, Willis averaged 58 rushing yards per game. Add in his three rushing touchdowns in those games and Willis provided 11.8 fantasy points per game on the ground. That will naturally regress with more samples across a full season, but the fact remains Willis is a prolific runner. The overall weakness of the Dolphins’ offense will also inevitably lead to more scrambles in addition to the designed run plays.
Willis will have to do a lot himself to make this offense work. And the Dolphins are not in a position to try and “protect” him similar to how the Ravens want to protect Lamar Jackson or the Eagles want to protect Jalen Hurts. Willis has a one-year audition to prove he is an NFL-caliber starting quarterback. He will do everything in his power to show that he is.
Willis’ Redraft Fantasy Football Value
In recent seasons, it’s been more viable to spent premium draft capital on a quarterback than during the 2010s. The rise of the mobile QB has resulted in the elite fantasy quarterbacks not only having higher ceilings, but being more predictable year over year.
Willis fits the description of the modern elite fantasy quarterback. He just hasn’t had a real chance to show he can do it over a full season. He will get that in 2026.
Willis has a QB21 ADP. Yes, the concerns that the Dolphins won’t be able to sustain drives given who they have at wide receiver are real. But this is a quarterback who we know has 1,000 rushing-yard upside. It really doesn’t matter how bad the offense is as long as Willis is running and scoring at least one touchdown a game. Miami is still an NFL team, and even the worst offenses typically average at least 14 points per game.
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There is a large group of QB2s that all have paths to QB1 upside. Of that group, Willis is firmly last with his QB21 ADP.
This ADP is not reflective of Willis’ actual ability. Rather, it’s a combination of the Dolphins’ poor offensive weapons and the concern that Willis may not play a full season. Fantasy managers should not concern themselves with either of those things because you can just drop him if it doesn’t work out.
Do not leave fantasy drafts with Willis as your only quarterback. Pairing him with a safer, traditional pocket passer is probably wise. But Willis is absolutely worth the dart at the cost of free.
Willis’ Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
It’s really impossible to give a clear answer as to what to do with Willis in dynasty. The only thing we know for sure is that his value at this time next year will very different than where it is now. Willis either establishes himself as one of the 32 best quarterbacks on the planet and is the Dolphins’ starter or starting somewhere else, or he flops and is a backup. In either scenario, he won’t be the QB22 in dynasty, which is where we have him ranked.
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Willis is only 27 years old. He could go from speculative QB2 to a borderline cornerstone dynasty asset. He could also go from speculative QB2 to mostly worthless. It will all depend on how he plays this season, and we simply do not have enough evidence to confidently predict which direction it will go in.
The best move with Willis is to take it week by week. See how he’s playing and how he’s producing for fantasy (the two are not necessarily the same thing) and react accordingly.
