Examining the Idea of Whether Willis Without Waddle Made Sense

We've all seen that funny meme where a guy throws a football high into the air and for a good distance and then sprints to catch it, right?

It's used pretty often to point out a team that lacks receivers or has receiver issues and, sure enough, it surfaced again Tuesday when the Miami Dolphins traded Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos for draft picks.

The guy throwing the football in this instance was supposed to be Malik Willis.

Malik Willis next season on the Dolphins pic.twitter.com/lle2emwL9V
— NFL Memes (@NFLMemes) March 17, 2026

This was one way of making light of Willis' outlook as the new starting quarterback for the Dolphins with a wide receiver corps left depleted after the departures of not only Waddle but also Tyreek Hill, not to mention three other free agents heading out the door.

Another way of looking at it has to been, this coming from some national media members, to ponder why the Dolphins would strip Willis of playmakers around him after signing him and whether the team made Willis aware of their plans ahead of time.

Still another track questioned the notion of signing Willis to a three-year contract that guarantees him $45 million over the first two years if the roster was going to be stripped.

There might be some merit to those points, but it says here signing Willis remains the right move, Waddle or no Waddle, as we shall explain.

WHY WILLIS REMAINS THE RIGHT MOVE

Waddle or no Waddle, let's start by eliminating the idea that his presence might have made the difference in the Dolphins being contenders in 2026 because they more than likely never were going to be.

Let's move next to this silly notion that the Dolphins won't be able to properly evaluate Willis next season because he just won't have enough around him.

Of course, Willis isn't as likely to put up numbers in the passing game with Waddle now in Denver and his presence also will be missed in terms of the attention he could have commanded from opposing defenses.

And, yes, the Dolphins offense right now looks to be, um, how shall we put it, talent-deficient, though there should be some rookie help coming in the form of draft picks.

But there's only so much improvement in personnel the Dolphins can make, so let's assume the talent on offense will land toward the bottom the NFL.

When it comes to Willis, so what?

New GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley don't need to see Willis put up big numbers or lead the Dolphins to a respectable record to figure out if they have a potential franchise quarterback on their roster or whether they need to revisit the position with a high draft pick in 2027.

This season will be more about what Willis shows in terms of how he handles his first full-time assignment with everything that's involved in playing quarterback. And he can do all those things — decision-making, processing, seeing the field, reading the defenses, being a leader — without having top-notch talent around him.

Even if things will be more difficult in terms of actually having success.

As for Willis, even if he wasn't told the Dolphins were planning on trading Waddle, he had to know he wasn't joining the 2023 version with Hill, Waddle, Achane, Raheem Mostert and all that talent on offense.

And the opportunity in Miami for Willis doesn't change in that he's got the chance to establish himself as a full-time starting quarterback in the NFL.

So even if the going gets rough in 2026 — and logic says it will for the Miami — this isn't about just 2026. For Willis or the Dolphins.

The logic behind the signing of Willis — taking a shot at landing a franchise quarterback at a very reasonable commitment in terms of years and money — hasn't changed.

And the opportunity for Willis hasn't changed, either.

The Waddle trade didn't help either team get better right now, but the marriage of Willis and Dolphins ideally is a long one.