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Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley answered what he has seen from quarterback Malik Willis this offseason.

The Miami Dolphins are pinning a lot of their hopes for a quick turnaround under first-year head coach Jeff Hafley on new quarterback Malik Willis.

There’s still a long way to go before the regular season. But Hafley explained to reporters this week he likes what he has seen from Willis, along with backup quarterback Quinn Ewers.

“Yeah, progress. They’re more comfortable within the scheme. They’ve taken more command of the huddle,” said Hafley on June 9. “They’ve taken more command when they’re out there with the wideouts, confidence.

“I’ve seen the confidence grow and even the conversation I had with Malik [Willis] today, walking down the hallway, you can just see he’s more comfortable, and he understands the answers that are being provided for him on each play. And I just think he looks as good as he looks since I’ve known him.”

Willis and the Dolphins concluded their offseason workouts on Thursday, June 11. The team will begin 2026 training camp at the end of July.

Malik Willis Showed Strong Progress at Dolphins Offseason Workouts

The Dolphins lost a lot of production at receiver with the departures of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The team signed Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell to replace them — not exactly comparable in talent.

Dolphins holdover wideout Malik Washington is set to be the team’s WR1 when the season begins.

That’s expected to make Willis’ job with the Dolphins very difficult. But the better grasp he has on the offense, the better he and his unit could do overall.

The Dolphins need Willis to step into a significant leadership role this fall as well. Not only because he’s the team’s starting quarterback but because of the young roster Miami possesses.

Hafley stressed that Willis has embraced being a leader this spring.

“Malik’s done a really nice job of having guys over his house, just like Sieler has done that, trying to get guys around,” added Hafley.

Barring injury, Willis will start for his third NFL team this fall. The Tennessee Titans selected the quarterback at No. 86 overall in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

He went 1-2 as a starter with the Titans. Over the past two seasons, Willis was 2-1 with the Green Bay Packers. During that time, Hafley was his team’s defensive coordinator.

In 2025, Willis completed 30 of 35 passes for 422 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, in four contests.

Dolphins QB Depth Entering 2026 NFL Training Camp

Hafley wasn’t only high on Willis. He also stated Ewers looks as good as he’s seen this spring.

“I think Quinn’s gotten better, and I just think Bobby [Slowik] and Bush [Hamdan] and KP [Kevin Patullo], I think they’ve all done a really good job in that room, and it will be exciting to really ramp them up when we get to training camp,” said Hafley.

Ewers made his NFL debut with the Dolphins last October. He started the final three games of last season for the team.

In those four contests, he completed 66.3% of his passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Ewers averaged 7.5 yards per attempt.

Ewers is set to be Willis’ backup this fall. The Dolphins also have quarterbacks Cam Miller and Mark Gronowski on the roster.