Overreaction Monday: Dolphins Fans Should Be VERY Concerned About Malik Willis After His First Pitch

Malik Willis threw out a ceremonial first pitch over the weekend, and the ball went 20 feet to the right of the catcher.

The Dolphins quarterback claimed afterwards that he slipped. Rich was not buying.

"We all got two eyes at work," Rich said. "He's got his excuses going. I like it."

Brockman pitched it as the start of an Overreaction Monday on a Tuesday: Dolphins fans should be very concerned about Willis this season. Rich's response was a more careful unpack. Yes, the first pitch was rough. No, it does not actually tell us anything about whether Willis can throw a football, especially on a team where the offensive system, the play-caller, and the rest of the personnel are all unknowns.

Rich pulled the bigger picture on Miami. The general manager came from Green Bay, which Rich saw as evidence the front office is not going to spend a first-round pick on a wide receiver even after trading Jaylen Waddle. They did not use either of their first-round picks on a receiver. They are building a program, not a roster.

"Malik Willis is a perfect avatar for all of that for the Miami Dolphins," Rich said. "We just don't know."

The window, in his read, is also not as long as people thought when Willis signed.

"Malik Willis better come correct in the first half of this season," Rich said. "Otherwise he might not get more time in Miami."

The 2026 quarterback class, Rich added, is loaded. If Miami wins seven or eight games, the draft slot will land in the middle of the round and quarterback will not be a usable option. If they win four or five, it will be.

Rich's verdict on the actual overreaction: the framing about Willis was not unreasonable, but the first pitch is not the evidence. He pointed to Patrick Mahomes's first ceremonial pitch, which was high but at least on line with the catcher. Willis was twenty feet wide.

That, Rich said, is the wrong reason to worry. The right one is the calendar.