Examining a Very Intriguing Take on the Issue of Willis and Scheme Fit (And Quinn Ewers)

The signing of quarterback Malik Willis easily was the most significant addition the Miami Dolphins made in the offseason, and it's one that was accompanied by a whole bunch of question marks because of his limited starting experience in the NFL.

When the Dolphins guaranteed Willis a total of $45 million over the next two years, it was safe to assume — and it still should be that way — that he was signed to be the starting quarterback with the hope he can provide the long-term answer the franchise has been seeking at that position for so long.

But the reality is that the attributes that have stood out for Willis, both in college at Liberty and during his appearances with the Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers, are his big arm, athleticism and most notably the ability to make things happen off schedule.

And in terms of player to scheme, it's not a perfect match for Willis and the Dolphins offense, which figures to remain one based on structure and timing as an offshoot of the Shanahan scheme.

It's a potential dilemma that hangs over the Dolphins, one that prompted some really interesting comments from former NFL player Ross Tucker and noted film guru Greg Cosell on Tucker's podcast.

THE CONCERN WITH WILLIS

Cosell, an analyst and senior producer for NFL Films, raised the question when talking about Willis of scheme fit along with his limited experience, consisting of six starts over four seasons.

"Well, the sample size I don't think is large enough to make a true evaluation of what he can be," Cosell said. "Don't forget they have Bobby Slowik now as the as the offensive coordinator. Now his background is mostly in a Shanahan-style offense. So I'm not going to sit here and say that Malik Willis can't do that. Obviously, what Malik Willis brings to the table is the quarterback run game by design, and also the quarterback outside of structure game, which is very problematic for defenses, as we've seen it in the league now, where more and more quarterbacks can beat you with their legs on those third-and-8, third-and-9 situations, those demoralizing kinds of plays. So Willis can give you those.

"The question is, can he run that really highly choreographed pass game that that is sort of foundational to that kind of system, and we'll see if he can do it."

Then came the really interesting part, and it began with Cosell bringing up Quinn Ewers, who joined the Dolphins as a seventh-round pick in 2025 and started the final three games after then-coach Mike McDaniel decided to bench Tua Tagovailoa.

"I thought Ewers played very, very well, and he has kind of a refined sense of timing and anticipation, which fits that system," Cosell said. "So, again, it's early, we're having this conversation in mid-to-late June, so we don't really know exactly how training camp is going to play out. We don't know what the reps are going to be in training camp, but I think that's going to be an intriguing quarterback battle."

THE IDEA OF A QB BATTLE AND PURDY

From this vantage point, we're simply not buying the idea of any sort of quarterback competition because the Dolphins didn't have to make that commitment to Willis but decided to do it after hiring GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley, who worked with Willis in Green Bay the past two years.

This suggests a high level of confidence in Willis' ability to lead the offense and that kind of endorsement suggests it will be his job — barring some sort of catastrophe, like a brutal training camp performance or obviously an injury.

But Tucker then brought up a comparison involving the 2022 San Francisco 49ers, which gets even more interesting when you factor in that Slowik was their passing game coordinator that year.

"All I'm going to say is this," Tucker said, "Bobby Slowik was in San Francisco when Brock Purdy clearly became better than Trey Lance, correct? There are similarities between everyone we just talked about, so now that might not be Slowik's call, but that is within the realm of possibility."

Like Ewers, Purdy was a seventh-round pick, but his ascent to the starting job wasn't quite as simple as beating out Lance.

As it turned out, the 49ers had Lance start their 2022 season opener, but he sustained a season-ending ankle injury in the second game of the season and veteran Jimmy Garoppolo took over. When a Jaelan Phillips hit knocked Garoppolo out of the game in early December, Purdy went in and basically grabbed the starting job and never let go.

Lance, who had struggled in his two games in 2022, found himself as the third QB when the 49ers signed Sam Darnold the next offseason and eventually was traded to Dallas.

The point there is that Purdy absolutely proved to be a better NFL quarterback than Lance, but it was Lance who got the first shot when they first were together.

Just like it figures to be Willis all the way for the Dolphins ... unless something drastic happens.

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