Malik Washington didn’t rack up impressive stats in his four seasons at Northwestern. The wide receiver never had a 100-yard game and caught three touchdowns in four years.
But after transferring to Virginia, he put up the type of big numbers that earned him a spot in the 2024 NFL draft with the Miami Dolphins taking him in the sixth round.
Washington led the nation in receptions with 110 and was fourth in receiving yards with 1,426. Two of three who finished with more yardage in 2023 — Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze — were top 10 draft picks Thursday.
“The part of Malik that we like the most is there are some professional football players in that room that he’s going to have to compete against to get opportunities,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Saturday. “We identified him as a person and an athlete that would be up for the challenge and that’s a tall task. So you know that when you’re looking at these guys and that’s one of the reasons we felt he was a fit to be here.”
A look at his highlight tape from the 2023 season can give Dolphins fans confidence too that Washington is up for that challenge: