Miami Dolphins notebook: Malik Willis' fit, Chop Robinson's role
Top takeaways from what the Dolphins said in Arizona, including Willis' fit and plans for Chop Robinson.
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PHOENIX -- Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has been busy over the past month.
He began the process of reshaping the Dolphins roster last month when he released prominent veterans Bradley Chubb (DE), Tua Tagovailoa (QB), Tyreek Hill (WR) and Alec Ingold (FB), and traded wideout Jaylen Waddle and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
But he made it clear that this was not a total tear down. In fact, he identified running back De'Von Achane, center Aaron Brewer and linebacker Jordyn Brooks as the team's foundation for the future, and said extending those three "pillars" was a priority for Miami this offseason.
"Those are going to be the three kind of pillars that we build around. Achane, Brew, Brooks," he said at the NFL's annual meeting in Phoenix this week. "They understand where they are, what we're trying to get done. There's an order that we're going to handle the business in, but they know where they are and how important they are to us."
Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley are in their first offseason in their roles with the Dolphins, and their vision for the team is beginning to take shape. Loaded with 11 picks in this year's draft, including seven in the first three rounds, the Dolphins have set themselves up to rebuild after missing the playoffs the past two seasons.
Here are a few takeaways from what the Dolphins said in Arizona this past week:
What should Dolphins fans expect from new quarterback Malik Willis? Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images Dolphins want to build around Malik Willis For about a week after the Dolphins signed Willis to a three-year, $67.5 million contract on the first day of free agency, fans opined on what a Willis, Waddle and Achane-led offense may look like.
Those conversations ended abruptly when the team traded Waddle to the Denver Broncos on March 17. They were replaced by conversations about whether Willis knew this trade was on the horizon when he signed.
Sullivan explained in Arizona that the trade materialized after Willis had signed, but his presence on the roster was a factor in finalizing the trade. Miami needed to get younger and cheaper, and the trade gave them more rookie contracts to build around its new quarterback.
"You always bite your lip when you watch good players walk out the door for whatever reason they leave. I was not actively shopping (Waddle)," Sullivan said. "(Broncos general manager) George (Paton) called. We had a lot of conversations... And what became clear to me is this was the right thing to do for the Miami Dolphins. Waddle is 27 years old. We're in an era where the market for receivers is through the roof. And eventually that's going to come, the chickens are going to come to roost with that.
"And so when we hit our stride, I'm not sure that it all meshed the way that we need it to mesh. We're in a position with our roster where we need to get younger and cheaper... If I do my job right, if we do our job right as a personnel staff, they'll be on rookie contracts that we can grow with Malik. That's why we got him on a three-year deal so we can put guys around him over the course of numerous draft classes."
Sullivan said he had a conversation with Willis to make sure he didn't feel "tricked," but kept the details of that conversation private.
While Sullivan said quarterback Quinn Ewers "ain't going quietly" and will keep competing for the starting role, he made it clear that "Malik is our guy" and that he doesn't feel the same pressure as he did a month ago, when the team was still making a decision on Tagovailoa.
"I think Malik's an ascending player," Sullivan said. "One, it was important for us to get him on a three-year deal because we want to build around him. Two, this is not a band-aid. I don't look at this as a band-aid. Now he's got to go play and he knows this. But with any young quarterback... (there needs to be) daily improvement, getting fluid with his reads, taking care of the football.
"He's got, as you guys watched the tape last year, all the traits in the world. He's got an elite arm. He's a very, very good athlete. He's a big, strong, powerful body. He can take the punishment, make plays with his legs, attack all levels of the field."
Willis was ESPN's top-ranked free agent quarterback in this year's cycle -- ahead of former Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray -- and spent the past two seasons with Hafley and Sullivan with the Green Bay Packers.
Off the field, the Dolphins are confident in Willis as their "guy" because of the character he displayed with his teammates and people around the Packers' organization.
"When you start to be around him, you'll see it," Hafley said. "He's humble, he's got this way about him where he connects with his teammates. It's the way he treats people. It's the way he works, which to me is probably more important than anything. I think the more you guys are around him and the more he's around his teammates, everybody will start to see it, and I'm going to be excited for you guys all to experience that."
Big year for Chop Robinson
The Dolphins released Chubb, one of their top edge players, earlier this offseason, leaving Robinson, their first-round pick in 2024, as by far the most experienced pass rusher in their locker room. They signed ends Joshua Uche and David Ojabo in free agency but there's little question as to who the leader in the room is.
Sullivan said Robinson has a "responsibility" this offseason to make sure he's set up for the best year of his career.
"He's got to be intentional about his business every day. Come in with a mindset to get better," Sullivan said. "Hard to say at this point because they haven't been in the building yet... but I have a lot of confidence in half his staff and their ability to teach and develop young players. Chop has a lot of natural talent; everybody knows that. I think we have really good coaches in the building. I think that'll be a good marriage. We'll get the most out of Chop."
Robinson's production declined slightly in his second season. He recorded four sacks in 2025 compared to six as a rookie, while his pressure rate and pass rush win rate each dropped by 4%.
Hafley said there's a lot to like about Robinson on tape, but his staff is still in the process of getting to know him as a person and figuring out how to best coach him moving forward.
"If you build a pass-rush tape of Chop, he does things that you're like, 'I can't wait to get my hands on this guy,'" Hafley said. "But I think we need to get to know him, right? I want to see him live. I want to see what he looks like in his stance. I want to see what we can do to help him out of his stance, out of his first step. What's his go to move? Is he going to win with speed? What's his counter? Can we coach him up on that? Can we help him take the step? What's his mindset like?
"I just talked to him on the phone a bunch. I can't wait to coach him. But he certainly has that. His first few steps, his get off, he can roll. Now it's our job to coach him up and develop him and help him get better."
Three jobs open on the offensive line?
Miami considers Brewer one of the "pillars" it wants to build on, while left tackle Patrick Paul is on the cusp of joining that group.
The other three jobs on the line aren't quite as secure.
Second-year left guard Jonah Savaiinaea ranked 64th out of 65 qualified offensive guards last season in pass block win rate, and allowed the second-most sacks among guards. The Dolphins signed Jamaree Salyer in free agency to presumably take the vacant right guard job, but neither players' starting spot is promised.
Savaiinaea played on the right side in college, but Hafley said they'll know more about each player's best fit once they begin on-field practices this spring.
"I just think once we get these guys and figure out what they can do -- whether he's better on the right, whether he's better on the left -- I think after OTAs, as we get into training camp, we'll figure all that out," he said. "But for me to give you any answer right now, truthfully I'd just be making it up."
Veteran Austin Jackson also returns as Miami's starting right tackle, but he's struggled to stay on the field. Over the past four seasons, he's played fewer than 10 games three times, and played in just 16 combined games in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
The team is "excited" to get Jackson back, who is a leader on its offensive line. But he is in a contract year, and his ability to stay healthy may be the deciding factor in whether he returns to Miami in 2027.
"Savaiinaea can be the first one to tell you, he's got to be more consistent," Sullivan said. "And on the right side, we have some questions that we've got to get answered. Austin is coming back. We're excited to get him back. He's got to stay healthy. And then we're going to have a competition at the right guard spot.
"But I like a lot of pieces on the offensive line, the left tackle and the center especially. I think there's going to be competition elsewhere."
