Dolphins setting Malik Willis up to fail

Dolphins setting Malik Willis up to fail originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Miami Dolphins shelled out some serious cash for a new starting quarterback.

The problem is that the new guy, Malik Willis, has nobody to throw to.

Of course, that’s not literally true. The Dolphins will put five eligible receivers onto the field on every player.

But will any of them be good enough to get open? Outside of RB De’Von Achane, it’s not a sure thing.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano posed this question as part of a new article on Tuesday: “To whom, exactly, is Malik Willis going to throw the ball?”

The answer contains a heck of a lot of question marks.

“Malik Washington is the most prominent holdover in the group,” Graziano writes. “The Dolphins added Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell, who were tertiary options at best on their previous teams. Then they drafted Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell in the third round, but Bell is coming off a major injury and could be more of a long-term play.”

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The Dolphins are going with that often-risky approach of hoping that someone emerges who hasn’t yet contributed before.

“The Dolphins’ hope is that one or two strong options emerge for Willis, or else the answer to this question could continue being running back De’Von Achane,” Graziano writes.

Willis can make up for some shortcomings with his legs. The mobility dimension at QB is helpful in spots like this.

That won’t do it all, though, especially if defenses can key on Willis because they aren’t worried about the perimeter players.

Willis was great as Green Bay’s backup, and he earned his starter-level contract this offseason. For him to really live up to it, though, he’s going to have to overcome adversity thrown at him right from the start in the form of a brutally underwhelming WR depth chart.

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