The new regime in Miami, which came from Green Bay, made a beeline for Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis in free agency. Now that the Dolphins have opened their offseason program, new coach (and former Packers defensive coordinator) Jeff Hafley had a message for Willis.
“I had a great conversation with him yesterday,” Hafley told reporters on Tuesday, “he came to [the] office. I said, ‘Don’t change who you are.’ I said, ‘Don’t put any extra pressure on yourself. You’ve earned the right to be here and have this opportunity, and you’ve done that by doing all the things the right way — don’t change that. Don’t press, just be you.’
“And I want to make sure that he understands that. It doesn’t have to be perfect. There’s going to be mistakes made, but I want him to play with that confidence and I want him to play the way he’s always done it.”
Willis has played well when his number has been called over the past two seasons. Beyond that, Hafley has been able to study him in practice and elsewhere. He and G.M. Jon-Eric Sullivan (a former Packers exec) had much more to go on than the film of his games with the Packers. The fact that they moved quickly to sign him shows that they believe in him.
That makes it easier to believe that the Dolphins could be in the early stages of turning the team around — and perhaps of ending a streak of years without a playoff win that dates back to the 2000 season.
Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren appears headed to being a late first-round draft pick later this month.
McNeil-Warren has become a popular top-30 visitor.
He is currently visiting the Dolphins in Miami after recent visits with the Patriots, Browns, Cowboys and Falcons, according to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report. McNeil-Warren will head to Pittsburgh after finishing in Miami today.
McNeil-Warren earned second-team All-American honors last season when he totaled 77 tackles, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and seven passes defensed.
Dane Brugler of TheAthletic.com ranks McNeil-Warren as his 23rd-best player in the draft, third among safeties.
Having won the CFP National Championship with Indiana in January, running back Kaelon Black has a busy pre-draft schedule.
Black has several teams on his list for pre-draft, top 30 visits, including the Jets, Broncos, Panthers, Colts, Texans, Dolphins, Packers, Vikings, Patriots, and Raiders, a source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT.
He may also meet with the Bengals.
Black played under head coach Curt Cignetti at James Madison for two years before transferring to follow Cignetti to Indiana in 2024.
He rushed for 251 yards for Indiana in 2024 before becoming one of the Hoosiers’ two 1,000-yard backs in 2025, finishing the season with 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 36 yards.
The Dolphins have parted ways with both of their top wide receivers from the 2025 season, so there’s a good chance they’ll be addressing the spot during the draft later this month.
One potential addition is set for a meeting with the team next week. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Denzel Boston is due for a visit.
Boston has also spent time with the Steelers, Raiders, and Browns after catching 125 passes for 1,715 yards and 20 touchdowns at Washington over the last two seasons.
The Dolphins released Tyreek Hill and traded Jaylen Waddle to Denver for a package that included the 30th overall pick. They also own the 11th pick and have signed Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell as free agents over the last few weeks.
ESPN’s Troy Aikman has been and will be working for the Dolphins. His specific role isn’t known.
So . . . what would you say you do here?
Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley was asked on Tuesday whether he has consulted with Aikman and “how do you envision his role during the season with the team”?
“I think right now Troy has been a good sounding board,” Hafley told reporters, via a transcript provided by the team. “He’s a guy that I’ve talked to a few times. We’ve had some really good conversations, and I’ll continue to do that.”
Last week, Aikman said he’ll “continue to help in ways that are yet to be defined.”
The NFL should require the Dolphins to define Aikman’s role, so that the NFL can then decide whether and to what extent his access to the 31 other teams will be limited when he’s working weekly NFL games during the 2026 season.
Ideally, the league would close the door on these dual roles. But the league let the horse out of the barn when it allowed Tom Brady to both work for Fox and own a piece of the Raiders. Aikman, who has candidly admitted that the Dolphins have hired him because “I have information that they don’t have or can’t get,” is simply strolling across the bridge that Brady built.
Of course, if the NFL were to backtrack now, it would be admitting that it was asleep at the switch with Brady. Still, Pandora’s box has flown open. Until the league slams it shut, all teams should start making offers to any broadcaster whose primary job provides access to information that the individual teams “don’t have or can’t get.”
