Malik Willis is a fascinating player to assess in fantasy football terms. In 2026, Willis is entering his 5th year in the NFL, and for the first time in his career, he is the undisputed starter for his team. Starting his career as a disappointing backup in Tennessee, Willis emerged as one of the best backups in the league after landing in Green Bay. Albeit with a small sample size, there are still things we can glean from Willis’ NFL journey so far.
Figuring Out Malik Willis and This Dolphins Offense
Explaining His NFL Journey
Starting with a fall to the third round in the 2022 NFL draft, Willis never really got it going in Tennessee. In his first year, he saw the field in eight games and had a dismal 42.8 QB ranking. Fantasy scoring isn’t directly related to QBR, but let’s just say that data point is enough to tell the whole story for his fantasy year. The next year with the Titans, Willis didn’t get much of an opportunity at all to prove himself. Where his story gets interesting is his time spent with the Packers.
Over his 11 appearances for the Green Bay the last two years (starting three of them), Willis put up the following respectable stat lines:
- Passing: 70/89 (78.65%) for 972 Yards, 6 TDs, and 0 INTs
- Rushing: 42 attempts for 261 yards and three TDs.
In fact, Willis looked so good in his appearances that the Miami Dolphins decided to give him a 3-year, $67.5 million contract to head up their offense. Now, it’s not a huge stretch to say that the Packers had a better roster than the Titans and now his new team, the Dolphins. Will Willis have success in Miami? Let’s take a deeper look!
What Do We Make of the 2026 Miami Dolphins?
To call the Dolphins’ roster “bleak” might be putting it nicely. We all know and love De’Von Achane, but the talent around him and Willis is light at best. As of right now, the projected top-3 wide receivers Willis will be throwing to are Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert, and Tutu Atwell. Willis’ top tight end project is Greg Dulcich. This isn’t exactly Murderers’ Row for talent, so where does this leave Willis from a fantasy football perspective?
Willis is being ranked as the QB21 this year. This is a lower-half starting QB2 in Superflex leagues and a bench stash in your more standard single QB format. This is more than fair for a player on a roster such as the Dolphins’, especially one who is as unproven as Willis. I am here to say that Willis is worth taking the risk at this price point and could end up leading you into fantasy football success everywhere you have him.
Be sure to check our fantasy football preview of Malik Wills and the 2026 Dolphins!
Why I’m Optimistic for 2026
The same reason that many are fading Willis as a fantasy asset is the reason why I like him so much: his lack of receivers. The Dolphins’ offense is going to be centered around Achane and Willis making plays with their legs. While this doesn’t bode well for Willis’ passing stats, his rushing will more than make up for it from a fantasy perspective. He will be scrambling a ton, yielding nice rewards for your fantasy team.
Next, take the price point to get in on Willis’ lottery ticket. He’s going off the board as QB21. This is hardly any capital. The players going around him, C.J. Stroud and Sam Darnold, for example, don’t have the same type of rushing upside. The players going in this range all have their perceived ceilings and roadblocks to success….it’s why they are going in the 20s. What we are looking for is upside/someone who can outscore their ADP. I’ll take the QB that will be playing from behind a bunch with a proven track record of rushing success!
I’m Convinced! Where Should I Be Drafting Malik Willis In Fantasy Football?
The nice thing about Willis is that you don’t have to reach for him. It’s all about expectation setting! Regardless of format, you should already have your weekly starter locked up long before you’d consider Willis. In your standard leagues, I project Willis has a solid QB2 with weekly QB1 upside when the bye weeks start rolling in. Best ball leagues are really where Willis will flourish. Grab him as your QB2 or even QB3 and reap those rewards when he randomly goes off throughout the year.
What is life without a little gambling, right? Malik Willis is the definition of a boom-or-bust fantasy football pick. But for the low-low price of QB21, Willis is one lottery ticket I’m excited to buy come draft time.
Looking for your favorite team? This link will take you to the rest of our 2026 Look Inside team previews.
A Look Inside the Miami Dolphins
Editor’s Note: While this article focused on Malik Willis in fantasy football, we don’t want to leave you hanging on the rest of the team. Here is a quick look at the other fantasy-relevant Dolphins from Ryan Weisse.
De’Von Achane
Last season was the best of Achane’s career, as he totaled 1838 total yards and 12 TDs, finishing as the RB5 in fantasy. He should be high on all draft boards heading into 2026. But then you look at the Dolphins. This is a bad team with an RB as its best player. Not exactly a recipe for fantasy success. Normally, I would be scared off, but as Matt pointed out above, the Dolphins will have no choice but to lean on Willis and Achane this season. The star running back can run, he can catch, and he can score from anywhere on the field, which will likely be important this year, on a stalled offense. Achane is still my RB5 for 2026.
Jaylen Wright / Ollie Gordon
If I knew which of these guys was going to be the primary backup, there could be some value here. Miami will need to use Achane all over the field, and that will include splitting him out at WR. That means one of these two will be in the backfield. Last year, they literally finished dead even, 70 carries, nine targets. Gordon did find the endzone four times, against just twice from Wright, but Wright saw his volume in just 10 games, while Gordon played all 17. And with a new coaching staff, none of those stats probably even matter. This is a battle to watch, and it sounds like Gordon might have an early leg up.
Jalen Tolbert
Look, someone has to lead this group, and I am betting on Tolbert. Mainly, because he is the only veteran over six feet tall. Yes, I am sometimes a heightist. Tolbert had been good in Dallas, and that was as a WR3 filling in during injuries. In 2024, he scored seven TDs on 79 targets. I am not sure how much value anyone in this receiving corps will have, but late in best ball drafts, Tolbert feels like a good flyer.
Malik Washington / Tutu Atwell
Washington and Atwell are both diminutive, but until one of the Dolphins’ rookies establishes themselves, they will likely both play in three-receiver sets. Atwell seems likely to win the slot role, which could lead to more targets, so if I am burning a pick in the last round of my Best Ball draft, and I missed out on Tolbert, it would be Atwell. Look, I am only listing these guys because we have no idea what is going on in Miami.
Chris Bell
If Bell were healthy, I would have written about him and no other player. Based on his time at Louisville, he is the most talented WR on Miami’s roster. But he tore his knee up late in 2025, and Miami is likely to ease him back to prep for a better 2027 season. He is a physical specimen, running a 4.3-forty at 6-foot-2, 220 lbs, but we may have to wait a year to see if his game translates to the NFL.
Greg Dulcich
Dulcich might be a true sleeper here. Every offense Malik Willis has been in has utilized the TE well, and the same can be said for Slowik. Dulcich has been a disappointment for four years, with just 103 total targets and only three career TDs, but on a team lacking talent at WR, maybe a fifth-year breakout is in the cards.
Be sure you’re following Matt on X/Twitter! You can also find more great fantasy football content from Club Fantasy here!
You can also see where Malik Willis and the rest of the Dolphins fall in our 2026 Fantasy Rankings here!
Discover more from CLUB FANTASY FFL
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.