How Dolphins Head Coach Jeff Hafley Addressed Three Key Problem Areas ... And Our Take On His Takes

There are several issues the Miami Dolphins are facing right now, which is to be expected for a team that’s 0-4 and in the early stages of a pretty massive rebuilding project.

Three issues in particular stand out, and that Malik Willis’ performance at quarterback, Austin Jackson’s apparent pass-protection problems, and the defense giving up sizable numbers to opposing tight ends.

Head coach Jeff Hafley was asked all three topics during his pre-practice media session Wednesday, and we decide to examine his comments and offer our take on them.

MALIK WILLIS’ PERFORMANCE

We don’t need to remind everyone that Hafley and Jon-Eric Sullivan brought Willis from Green Bay because they believed in him, but the results obviously haven’t been good for the offense so far in 2026. Willis clearly is operating with a substandard supporting cast that got that much more mediocre when De’Von Achane tore his ACL, but Willis hasn’t yet done anywhere near enough to convince folks he should be the starting quarterback beyond this season.

Willis is near the bottom among NFL quarterbacks in both passer rating and completion percentage and he’s accounted for only two touchdowns with four turnovers (two fumbles, two picks),

He has twice as many turnovers as touchdowns produced. Is that a concern? We know that Malik is a work in progress. Is that a concern?

“I would say like everything else, like what can we do better, right? We’ve got to look ahead at this point and not behind and we’ve got to improve. And that's with everything that we're doing right now in all three phases with all the coaches and all the players and that's where we're at.”

Our take: Hafley is being very careful not to throw Willis or anybody else under the bus, so he is diverting specific questions about Willis to the entire offense, which is fair in a way because the whole offense is a big-time work in progress. That said, Willis isn’t without blame and there are improvements to be made in all areas, whether it be consistency, accuracy, decision-making, foot work, etc.

DEFENDING TIGHT ENDS

The Dolphins are coming off the loss at Minnesota where T.J Hockenson had 13 catches for 119 yards, including the game-clinching third-down before the two-minute warning. Before that, George Kittle had four catches for 80 yards, with a 40-yard reception and a wide open touchdown and Travis Kelce had a 48-yard catch and another wide open touchdown. And in the opener the Dolphins avoided Raiders star Brock Bowers because of an injury, but backup Michael Mayer wound up tying for the team lead with six receptions.

So I asked Hafley on Wednesday what’s been the biggest issue in defending tight ends, and he replied that he doesn’t look at the opponent by position but rather what needs to be done to keep them from scoring and then prioritizing the top threats, to which I followed up asking if he then ever would consider the tight end the player his defense needs to prioritize.

“Absolutely, yeah. If he's the most explosive player and we need to pay attention to that guy, for sure. But just in general, when you look at a team, it's who do we have to stop that can beat us the fastest? And you kind of go down in that order. Or who do we need to protect on our side of the ball that they're going to go after, right? So I think that all kind of balances out as you go. I mean, if you want to look at this week, there's a couple guys that we're going to have to pay very close attention to. You can't pay attention to all of them. So I respect the question, and there's some plays we need to play better on tight ends in situations where we're right there and there's some where they might get a five-yard pass because in zone defense there's a no cover zone that they're dumping the ball off to and you're rallying. There's give and take. Does that make sense?”

Our take: Yes, it makes sense, and there definitely was a pick-your-poison element when facing the 49ers or Chiefs offense because in addition to a star tight end, the 49ers have one of the top running backs in the NFL with Christian McCaffrey and an elite wide receiver with Mike Evans, while Kansas City has the league’s rushing leader with Kenneth Walker and speed galore at wide receiver. Maybe we have more of an issue here with Minnesota and being overly protective of the deep ball against a wide receiver corps that was missing Justin Jefferson. Yes, Jordan Addison is a former first-round pick and Aaron Jones is a solid running back, but wouldn’t it have made more sense to try to make Kyler Murray beat the Dolphins deep. What can’t be helped by scheme are the one-on-one battles the Dolphins lost, for which Jordyn Brooks took responsibility after the game.

JACKSON AND HIS PASS PROTECTION

The nature of playing tackle in the NFL is that getting beat is impossible to hide, and there was obvious pressure coming from the left side of the defensive formation in the Minnesota game, including the Dolphins’ final third down of the game, the throw down the middle to Chris Bell where Willis was hurried.

This has been a recurring them, but Hafley was quick to point out after earlier games that Jackson was going against stars like Maxx Crosby and Nick Bosa.

The question becomes, at what point does Jackson’s apparent protection issues become a real concern.

“I'm not concerned,” Hafley said. “I think if you really study that tape and watch the tape, you'll see improvement from Austin in that last game as well as the rest of our offensive line. So I am not concerned.”

Our take: Even if Jackson wasn’t constantly beaten in this game, there’s absolutely still room for improvement and having him beat so quickly on a key play late in the game like he was is just disappointing beyond words. That Hafley is backing his veteran is understandable, and the other fact that can’t be overlooked is that it’s not like the Dolphins have great options right now because moving Kadyn Proctor from left guard to right tackle after he’s gotten off a good start doesn’t seem wise at all and there’s a vast experience drop-off to Caedan Wallace or even Chukwueduka Godrick. We understand tackles will get beat from time to time, but at some point Jackson has to pitch a shutout.

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