Dolphins camp: Malik Willis rebounds in red zone and other observations; plus stock up, stock down

MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins lined up for their third practice of training camp Friday.

The Dolphins practiced situational drills, where they had a down and distance on the scoreboard, swapping out personnel groupings whether it’s, say, a run down or a pass down.

They proceeded to get an abundance of looks in the red zone, and quarterback Malik Willis, after a rough Thursday session, had a bounce-back Friday practice, although he was intercepted once on a tipped pass.

The session also marked the first time in camp Willis got to run the football, as there has been a focus on getting him to pass within the framework of the offense.

Aside from cornerbacks Darrell Baker Jr. and Storm Duck (physically-unable-to-perform list) and wide receiver Chris Bell (non-football injury list), the Dolphins once again had all players on the active roster participating in Friday’s practice.

After the first three sessions of camp, Miami has a day off Saturday and returns to the practice field Sunday morning, the first practice with fans present.

— On a third-and-8 from the 10-yard line, Willis threw a touchdown pass to the right to TE Ben Sims. It was a rebound from dropping a snap that appeared to be on target from C Aaron Brewer on the previous play.

— Immediately after, Willis ran in a touchdown on the first designed run for Willis in three camp practices — and six OTAs and minicamp sessions that were open to the media. He had another rushing attempt later, and CB JuJu Brents was there to meet him.

— WR Caleb Douglas made a highlight one-handed catch for a 5-yard touchdown in the red-zone setting. The defense contested he was out of bounds, but the offense felt he was in. Nonetheless, it was an impressive job hauling in the pass to the corner against CB Alex Austin.

— Although there wasn’t much pass rush on the day, Zach Sieler and Kenneth Grant combined for a practice sack on the last play of the day, sending the defensive front on a high note. Rookie LG Kadyn Proctor was beat by Sieler on the play.

— Backup QB Quinn Ewers seemed indecisive with his throws. He was seen flushed out of the pocket with strong coverage on the back end and also threw off his back foot when pressure came.

— RB Ollie Gordon II ran in a touchdown in the red zone.

— DE Robert Beal Jr. appeared to get to QB Quinn Ewers for a sack. He threw a touchdown pass as the play was allowed to continue.

— CB Ethan Robinson intercepted No. 4 QB Mark Gronowski in the end zone.

— Willis was intercepted throwing over the middle by CB Alex Austin, after LB Tyrel Dodson dislodged the football from TE Will Kacmarek as the pass arrived.

— Donovan Edwards scored a red-zone touchdown on a play where WR Tahj Washington threw a nice block

— The first two passes of team drills saw Willis complete passes down the field to rookie WR Caleb Douglas, the first a contested catch against CB Jason Marshall Jr. and then getting open on the opposite sideline.

— RB Jaylen Wright burst through a hole on the left side of the line

— DE Josh Uche did a nice job setting the edge against TE Greg Dulcich and then getting to RB De’Von Achane for a run stop.

— DL Zeek Biggers was seen stuffing a run play.

— S Major Burns broke up a pass to WR Theo Wease Jr. on a short out.

— Undrafted rookie DT Rene Konga collapsed the pocket from the interior on one pass rush.

— LB Willie Gay Jr. brought the energy once again. After his loud scream to get teammates fired up coming out onto the practice field, he was seen dancing to the music at practice before an early individual period started to then lock in on the task, which was a punch-out drill for linebackers during this particular drill.

— Undrafted rookie edge rusher Mason Reiger shows high effort during individual drills, running hard and through the play when edge rushers drilled reacting to a snap and getting off the line of scrimmage.

— Baker, who is on PUP, was on a stationary bike early in practice and again was seen mimicking positional cornerback drills next to his position group. He clearly wants to get the techniques the current coaching staff is teaching down for when he’s able to return.

— Bell was seen working on regaining explosiveness in his lower body on the side of practice with a trainer as he rehabs the torn ACL from his college career.

Dolphins rookie wide receiver Caleb Douglas is proving he can make plays. He was targeted early and often when they did team drills around midfield. Then, in the red-zone setting, he hauled in an impressive one-hander. It wasn’t all good for Douglas, as he later had a drop, but it was a highly active practice for him. His size and length could be a tool for Willis.

The pass rush was not much of a factor at Friday’s session. That could happen in a red zone-heavy day, as quicker passes are thrown in closed quarters, but it’s still a major question mark for the Dolphins entering the season.