Malik Willis hasn’t just turned heads with the throws he’s uncorked in Dolphins camp. He’s already making noise in the quieter places too, and that may matter just as much as anything he’s done on the field.
That side of the story got a boost from former Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer, whose comments carried a little extra weight because he isn’t attached to an NFL roster right now. Poyer spent the 2024 season with Miami and still has ties to some former teammates, including linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who also played with him in Buffalo. So when Poyer says Dodson told him about Willis in private, that lands differently than the usual camp praise teams hand out in front of cameras.
Speaking on NFL On CBS, Poyer said he liked "the energy" around the Dolphins and said the change is easy to feel.
"I have a conversation with a couple guys, Tyrel Dodson, you feel the difference, you feel the sense of urgency, you feel the standard, and I think Malik Willis is a huge part the way he sets the standard every single day when he shows up into the building and the other guys follow that. You see the younger guys following that and that that's what I think makes a great team is when your older guys, when your leaders on the team are setting the standard and showing up to that standard day in and day out because it brings along all the younger guys too.
It says, 'Hey, Malik Willis is here at 6:30 in the morning. I need to be here at 6:30 in the morning.
You know, he's here getting his lift in before meetings. I need to be here getting my lift in before meetings, and that trickles down.'
It's a trickle effect, and I I sense that, and I see that, and the conversations that I have with a lot of those guys, they sense that."
He added, "You can feel the energy, you can feel the difference... I'm excited about this team."
Poyer also made clear he has a personal connection to new Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley. Early in Poyer’s career, Hafley was his DB coach with the Cleveland Browns, and Poyer said he has plenty of respect for the path Hafley has taken.
"A lot of respect for him and his career and what he's been able to do," Poyer said. "And so it's so cool to see him go from defensive back coach to defensive coordinator in Green Bay to head coach for the Miami Dolphins and get the guys committed to the standard that I know that he set. And so it's really cool to see from afar."
Willis stepping into a leadership role isn’t exactly a shock. He’s getting his first real chance to be the guy at quarterback, and that alone demands a different level of urgency. On top of that, Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan already know him well from their time together in Green Bay over the last two years, and both praised his work ethic after Miami signed him to a three-year contract in March.
That was always part of the logic behind bringing him in. Beyond the obvious football upside, Willis was supposed to help set the tone for what Hafley and Sullivan want this team to become. Based on the early signs from camp, that part is already taking shape.
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