Malik Willis has spent the first three weeks of his Miami Dolphins tenure running for his life behind an offensive line that gave up nine sacks in the first two games alone. Miami is scoring 12 points per game, 31st in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference, and hasn’t won yet.
Athlon Sports draft analyst Luke Easterling doesn’t blame the quarterback. “Malik Willis isn’t the problem in Miami,” he wrote in his updated first-round mock draft, but with the Dolphins picking fifth, he still sent them a quarterback: Miami’s Darian Mensah, who stays in town.
Why Darian Mensah fits the Dolphins
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Easterling calls Mensah the most impressive quarterback he’s seen this season, and the numbers back it up. Through four games with the Hurricanes, Mensah has completed 94 of 106 passes (88.7%) for 1,211 yards, 14 touchdown passes and no interceptions, according to StatMuse. His 94.1 grade is the highest among quarterbacks through Week 4, per PFF.
Mensah was productive before he got to Miami. He threw for 3,973 yards and 34 touchdown passes with six interceptions at Duke in 2025, leading the ACC in yards and touchdown passes, after throwing for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdown passes at Tulane the year before. That’s 70 career touchdown passes against 12 interceptions, and he earned second-team All-ACC honors along the way.
Mensah still has questions to answer. He is on his third school in three seasons, and at a listed 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, he’ll need to add weight to take NFL hits, especially behind a line that has struggled the way the Dolphins’ line has. His four starts at Miami have also come against Stanford, Florida A&M, Wake Forest and Central Michigan, so the real step up in competition is still ahead.
Willis’ contract complicates the pick. The Dolphins signed him to a three-year, $67.5 million deal in March, with $45 million fully guaranteed, including his entire $21.5 million salary for 2027. Drafting Mensah would mean paying a veteran starter while the rookie develops.
Miami may decide that’s worth it. Willis has completed 57% of his passes with one touchdown pass and two interceptions, and a 0-3 start under head coach Jeff Hafley gives Miami every reason to keep its options open. If a franchise quarterback is sitting there at No. 5, Easterling doesn’t expect Willis’ presence to stop the Dolphins from taking him, and neither should the contract.
