Dolphins Sunday Mailbag: Examining What Would Be a Good 2026 for Willis

Third and final part of the free agency opening Miami Dolphins On SI weekend mailbag:

From Alex:

What do you think about Kadyn Proctor at #11?

Hey Alex, there’s a lot to like about Proctor, the big offensive tackle from Alabama, though his 2025 season wasn’t quite as good as predicted. I don’t know if I love him at number 11, though. Seems a little high for him.

From James:

Announcing you’re doing an onside kick took away the surprise advantage; do you think it should stay that way, go back to the old way, or scrap it and do 4th-and-12th like UFL?

Hey James, I understand the NFL’s rationale for having teams announce an onside kick, but it’s basically killed the play and I don’t like that one bit from a fan standpoint. If the NFL doesn’t want to go back to the old way, then, yeah, give teams the opportunity to retain possession by converting a fourth-and-15 (which has been the rule suggestion, not fourth-and-12).

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

How good would Willis have to be in 2026 for the Dolphins not to draft a quarterback in the first round if they have a top 10 selection in the 2027 draft? First, let us define terms so we do don’t get off on the road to ambiguity. Please if you would be so kind to place him in these categories: All-Pro, Pro Bowl, top 10 or mid-level starter. If you’re feeling generous, please describe what you would have to see from him to believe it’s worth forgoing the journey of drafting and developing a young talented quarterback.

Hey Dana, this is a very good question and I’d hate to fall back to the old “you’ll know it when you see it” cliché, but I think that’s more accurate than saying he has to make the Pro Bowl, be an All-Pro or be top 10. I would say that if he’s only a mid-level starter, then the Dolphins absolutely shouldn’t eliminate the idea of a quarterback in Round 1 in 2027. Willis has to be more than that in 2026, regardless of statistics. Specifically, I want Willis to show good decision-making and making plays with his running without producing the feeling that he’s going to get hurt on any play. Hope that was specific enough.

From Bluefin02:

Wishlist for WR?

Hmm, another interesting question. Given the Dolphins’ cap situation, you can forget about a free agent here, so if there’s an upgrade coming it’ll have to be in the draft and I don’t necessarily like the value of going wide receiver at 11 and there’s only so much impact you can expect right away in the second or third round.

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain! Not super thrilled with the Willis signing because I preferred a bigger QB but he's mobile & has a decent arm (you sir have converted me to a Arm Queen, lol). Surprised with flurry here in Free Agency but mostly depth pieces. If Miami concentrates mainly on Defense on Ronds 1-3, maybe find a WR2 in 4th, can Miami at least be competitive in '26? Way too many holes to fill this year, so not talking about a Patriots turnaround. They had a veteran coach (no disrespect to Hafley) & a lot more cap space. Just not the embarrassing 2019 squad. Always enjoy both All Dolphins and Dolphins Collective podcasts plus all the great written content on Miami Dolphins on Si.Com.

Thanks as always Dave, and the answer is, yes, the Dolphins could end up being competitive in 2026, if your definition of “competitive” is being a tough out every week. As for making a run at the playoffs, I think that’s probably asking too much given the holes on the roster. Of course, a lot depends on what kind of performance Willis produces.

From Lance Ulrich:

Greetings Alain. Given the path Miami seems to be taking in free agency, it appears they will be looking to add high OL draft picks. Does it look like the Phins will start to be more concerned about the O-line than you guys?

Oh Lance, really? The Dolphins’ offensive line, while not elite by any means last season, was not the big issue with this team. Can we stop it with that? Yes, it needs to be better, particularly at guard, and I do think the Dolphins will spend early draft capital on the O-line.

From CC_Hall13:

Hi Alain ... do you think GM Sully will be a bit more savvy during the draft as far as being able to trade down to gain more picks? Our old GM never seemed to get many good trade-down deals done and many of his trade-up deals didn’t pan out like we would have liked.

Yeah, it’s fair to criticize Chris Grier’s trade-up moves, particularly those with Liam Eichenberg and Jonah Savaiinaea (though it’s too early to give up on him), but to be fair he did trade up in the second round in 2016 to get Xavien Howard and that worked out pretty well.

From dolphman99:

Now that the Dolphins signed Willis, if there is to be a QB competition, can it be among Willis, Ewers and Miller only? No need to draft a QB in this draft. Miami has needs at other positions like WR, CB, Edge and OL. Would like this team to play competitive this year as I know our new HC and GM would as well.

Regardless of what the Dolphins will be saying for the next few months, there’s a 99.9 percent chance that Malik Willis is your starting quarterback and any pretense of a competition is just a waste of time. And that’s exactly how it should be after you guarantee a quarterback $45 million for the next two years. And I’m with you in not wanting an early draft pick on a quarterback. There’s nobody who “needs” to get drafted who is considerably better than whatever prospects might be there in a year or two if it turns out that Willis isn’t the answer.

From Don’t call me Bob:

We have a huge list of signed/re-signed FAs. Can you rank them in order, by how much impact each will have on the 2026 season? Impact can be defined by you.

Hey not Bob, I did a ranking of all the Dolphins’ free agency moves Saturday, and that would be a good starting point for my answer here. In order, that would be Malik Willis, Greg Dulcich, Riley Patterson, Jamaree Salyer, Willie Gay Jr., Tutu Atwell, Josh Uche, Ben Sims and Jalen Tolbert at the top. You can check out the rest in the story.

From Mario:

Now that Tua signed in Atlanta, his contract (minimal as it is) lowers our cap space for that amount but if he were to re-sign a longer contract during the season (or soon after), does any of that count in our favor? Or is it just this first contract?

Hey Mario, you are correct with your second answer. The offset comes into play only for the contract signed right after a player’s release.

From Clarence Collins:

Alain, do you think Tuu Atwell makes the team and contributes?

Hey Clarence, yes, I do think Atwell will make the 53-man roster and contribute. And it wouldn’t surprise me if he became a big contributor. I think there’s a much bigger chance of that than of him not making the roster.

From Greenview Construction:

Seems like we loaded up on a bunch of big and fast cornerbacks. Would that lead you to believe we’re gonna be doing a lot of bump-and-run?

Based on what Jeff Hafley did in Green Bay when he was the defensive coordinator, yes, you can expect the Dolphins to feature a good dose of press coverage and bump-and-run.

From Jesse DeLong:

Do you think Christian Wilkins will get signed this summer? And do you have any insight into why no team seems to be interested so far?

Hey Jesse, we addressed the topic of Wilkins in an earlier part of the mailbag, and logic says either his legal entanglement with the Raiders over them withholding his bonus money has to be an issue, on top of the fact he hasn’t played since October 2024 because of that foot injury. I still have to believe that some team will sign him at some point, but he might have to be willing to take considerably less than he got from the Raiders when he left Miami.