Dolphins Poup-Porri: Willis, Wright, What to Watch and Other Thoughts Heading into Week 2

The Miami Dolphins will face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the latest reunion game for a Miami head coach.

As everyone knows by now, Jeff Hafley spent three seasons with the 49ers, his longest tenure as an NFL assistant before he joined the Dolphins this January.

The game at San Francisco is similar to 2022 when former 49ers assistant Mike McDaniel took the Dolphins to Levi's Stadium, leaving with a 33-17 loss.

Historically, these first reunion games haven't worked out very well for Miami. Brian Flores lost 43-0 against New England in 2019, Joe Philbin lost against Green Bay in 2014, Nick Saban lost against Cleveland in 2005, Jimmy Johnson lost against Dallas in 1996, and Don Shula lost against the Baltimore Colts in 1970.

But it should be pointed out that Shula and Flores ended up with winning records against their former team, and Dave Wannstedt did record a win against the Chicago Bears in 2002 and Adam Gase's Dolphins got a 35-9 win against the Denver Broncos in 2017.

That behind us, let's explore some key factors about the game Sunday.

MALIK WILLIS AND THE OFFENSE

-- If we're talking offense, yes, it's always going to start with Malik Willis. De'Von Achane is the team's best offensive player, but he's pretty much a known commodity. What will be really interesting to discover this season is what the Dolphins exactly have in Willis.

-- From this vantage point, there was a lot to like about Willis' Dolphins debut against the Raiders, enough to still think he could be the guy. What everyone would like to see is him dump the ball off, check down, if he can't find open receivers or simply get out of the pocket to either scramble or throw the ball out of bounds and not incur a grounding penalty.

-- It's too obvious to say the Dolphins need to get Achane more involved, but fans too often forget about game circumstances. Yes, more rushing attempts usually means a better chance to win, but usually more rushing attempts comes with playing with a lead. So there's a chicken-and-egg type of thing here. And it makes no sense to add carries for the sake of adding carries. Could the Dolphins have had a few more rushing attempts against the Raiders in the second half? Sure. Would it have made a difference probably not.

-- Here's another point to make. Just because Achane is a home-run hitter who can break a long one at any time doesn't mean he's going to invariably break a long one in every game. And this is where the way the game was going against the Raiders should have made it obvious that the likelihood of a quick strike just wasn't there.

-- All that said, it would be surprising if Achane didn't have more carries against the 49ers.

-- The player to watch on offense for the Dolphins today just might be right tackle Austin Jackson, who likely will be facing Nick Bosa on a regular basis. It's been a rough go for Jackson since the start of training camp and that wasn't a great performance against the Raiders.

BIG GAME FOR THE BIG GUYS

-- Chop Robinson was the man in the spotlight in the opener, but now that he'll be inactive for this game, that distinction goes to the interior defensive linemen, starting with Zach Sieler.

-- Sieler is the one highly paid player on the Dolphins roster for 2026 with $16.7 million in guaranteed salary (per Over The Cap) and he needs to be a factor both against the run and in getting at least some pressure on Brock Purdy.

-- Will be interesting to see Chris Johnson Jr. in his second game, especially if he winds up getting lined up against veteran wide receiver Mike Evans, who did get snaps in the slot for the 49ers in the season opener against the Rams. From this vantage point, Evans' size could be a problem, but nothing has changed our opinion that Johnson will become a good player in the NFL.

-- Wouldn't mind seeing Zeek Biggers get more snaps at defensive end in this game because the Dolphins just don't have great size there to hold up against the run and we certainly didn't see much that was very encouraging from late addition Malik Herring.

-- As you might have seen it by now, Jaylen Wright had the fourth-fastest recorded speed by a ball carrier in Week 1, that coming on his 79-yard kickoff return. That play should have served as proof he should be the main kickoff returner and Malik Washington the main punt returner. The view from here is the Dolphins maybe prefer Washington because he's more dependable and more likely to stay on his assignment, but Wright clearly is the more dynamic of the two and offers a better opportunity at the big play.

Add us as a preferred source on Google