Is Malik Willis The Late-Round Sleeper QB To Target?
Fantasy

Is Malik Willis The Late-Round Sleeper QB To Target?

Ian Hartitz examines Malik Willis' new situation with the Miami Dolphins and whether he can be a QB to target in fantasy football drafts.

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Malik Willis is an example in not giving up—both by the player and the NFL community. When he barely completed half his passes in eight games as a Titans rookie and looked pretty lost running the offense, many wrote him off before his 24th birthday. Then came his reemergence with the Packers, where he remade himself into a bona fide NFL QB. Can he be the quarterback of the present and future after signing with the Miami Dolphins? Ian Hartitz lays it all out as part of his Miami Dolphins Team Preview.

Is Malik Willis what late-round QB dreams are made of?

Yes, we are dealing with a small sample size with Willis. Originally drafted by the Titans in the third round, Willis has just six career starts and 155 career pass attempts to his name.

Also yes, Willis was absolute nails with his opportunities in Green Bay. Obviously, Matt LaFleur and the offense's plethora of playmakers deserve a lot of credit, but either way: We're looking at a guy who has literally functioned as the NFL's most-efficient passer during the last two seasons. Overall, Willis leads all QBs in yards per attempt, adjusted yards per attempt, yards per completion, completion rate, passer rating and explosive pass play rate since 2024.

And yet, it's his performance in two additional stats—EPA per dropback and completion percentage over expected—that are most impressive. That's him all the way up in the top-right-hand corner in the chart below. Not too shabby!

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Get this: Willis hasn't appeared in a drive that resulted in a punt since 2024! 17 drives, 17 outcomes other than a punt last season! Madness!

Even more impressive was the manner in which he picked up yards in 2025. His 2024 film was definitely a bit gadgety (7.5 average target depth) and featured the Packers HEAVILY lean on their run game, but we saw a legit increase in aDOT in 2025 (9.7 yards!), which reflected the reality that he was hardly being schemed to success. There are downfield DIMES all over the film, and that's before even considering the massive plus that Willis brings to the run game thanks to his explosive rushing ability.

  • While he didn't run at the combine, Willis reportedly ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash at Liberty's Pro Day
  • Willis has averaged the position's fourth-most yards per scramble (8.9) over the past two seasons
  • Nobody has averaged more yards per rush (10.6) on read options

This latter tool is particularly important when projecting Willis' fantasy impact in Miami. Consider: Since 2014, there have been 34 QBs with 100+ rush attempts in a season, and 31 of them (91%) finished as a top-12 fantasy QB in fantasy points per game. It'd be pretty shocking if Willis doesn't get the opportunity to start every game next season with the blessing of the injury gods—don't be surprised when he's your favorite fantasy nerd's favorite late-round QB dart ahead of 2026 drafts.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Malik Willis
    MalikWillis
    QBMIAMIA
    PPG
    12.3
    Proj
    256.9

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