Entering his fifth professional season, Malik Willis, the 86th overall pick in 2022 by the Titan, is finally getting the chance to start. Looking at his limited career action, he’s tossed 6 touchdowns on his 155 attempts with an impressive 8.5 yards per attempt. While it is tempting to extend those efficiency numbers out for a full 17-game season, doing so is obviously a dangerous math exercise that ignores the context of a small sample size.
Should You Draft Malik Willis in Fantasy Football?
Willis is going from the Green Bay Packers backup quarterback to the Miami Dolphins starting quarterback this year.
His current ADP in PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator is 167.8. You’re looking at around the 17th, maybe the 18th round, depending on how many people are in your league. PFN’s fantasy experts Kyle Soppe and Jason Katz are a little bit higher on him than the consensus at 152 overall. That comes out to their QB19 overall with a projected points per game of 14.65.
The big allure with Willis as a fantasy option is his rushing ability. In the two games in which he saw decent playing time, against the Bears and the Ravens in December, Willis was really productive in the run game. He had 10 carries for 44 yards against the Bears, as opposed to 11 passing attempts, and he completed 9 of them. In that game against the Ravens, he had 9 carries for 60 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, along with his 288 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.
Granted, he doesn’t have as good an offensive play caller in Miami. He doesn’t have as good weapons in Miami as he did in Green Bay. He doesn’t have as proven a head coach as he had in Green Bay. The surroundings are definitely going to be different, but Willis has a unique upside that very few in the league can match, in that he’s one of the best athletes at the quarterback position today.
I don’t know how many passing yards he’s going to throw for on a consistent, week-by-week basis. But I do know that he has significant rushing upside. As we know in fantasy football, a rushing quarterback can be a cheat code. You see guys like Justin Fields and Anthony Richardson, who aren’t starting-caliber quarterbacks but put up really good numbers in fantasy because they have that dynamic dual-threat capability.
Willis fits into a similar realm. Even Daniel Jones in his tenure with the Giants was never a great passer, but he had that running ability that made him rosterable in fantasy. Willis, I think, fits that mold.
As the QB19 overall, he’s a low-end QB2. Honestly, I’d take a flier on him. I have him in a dynasty league as QB3 on my board. It’s a little bit of a deeper bench than the average league, but Willis, I think, is absolutely worth keeping on your roster, not with the anticipation that he’s going to start, but because he has that athleticism, that rushing capability.
I think there’s a chance he could absolutely be a steal in fantasy, and you can use that as a trade piece. Maybe you have two other quarterbacks who are a little bit safer, and then you go with a wild card like Willis with one of your last picks, and you can flip him for a decent receiver, running back, tight end, what have you. Or worst-case scenario, some of your other starters get hurt, but Willis can contribute because of what he can do with his legs.
With Willis at his current ADP of 167.8, I am saying yes to taking a shot on him late in your fantasy drafts this season.
FANTASY RANKINGS: PFN’s FREE Fantasy PPR, Half-PPR, and Non-PPR Rankings
Malik Willis’ Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
This is going to be a work in progress, but one that I think is worth watching.
The Dolphins have little around Willis, and that means we are looking at some ugly drives and poor decisions.
But also … the Dolphins have little around Willis, and that means we are looking at some hero plays that pile up the fantasy points.
He has just 6 career starts, and he does have a pair of 25+ point games on his resume. Unfortunately, he also has 4 under 13 and 2 under 8.
Across those games, 55.1% of his production came with his legs. I expect Miami to structure this offense more around what he can do with his arm, whereas Green Bay was more forcing a round Willis peg into a square Jordan Love offense, and that should help his stock in our world.
This is a nice data point to grab from a distance.
I don’t have Willis ranked as a starter and am not tempted to click him in DFS, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be watching. The Raiders ranked 25th in blitz rate a season ago, and I suspect we see a similar design for this game: why force Willis to use his legs, his most dangerous weapon?
Will he show us something as a passer? If he does, we could be looking at a player with a handful of top-10 finishes at the position this season (how does a home game against the Bears in Week 14 sound as an impact spot?).
START PREPARING: PFN’s FREE Fantasy Draft Simulator
Where Willis Ranks Among 2026 Quarterbacks
- Jordan Love | GB
- Matthew Stafford | LAR
- Kyler Murray | MIN
- Jared Goff | DET
- Tyler Shough | NO
- Malik Willis | MIA
- Baker Mayfield | TB
- Daniel Jones | IND
- C.J. Stroud | HOU
- Sam Darnold | SEA
- Cam Ward | TEN
See PFN’s 2026 PPR Quarterback Rankings for more.
