The Miami Dolphins came out of their bye week staring at a problem that’s bigger than any one snap, but built from plenty of them: they’re 0-5, they’ve never led, and the season won’t turn unless a handful of players start giving them something closer to their best.
That begins with Willis, because that’s the job description when you’re the quarterback. Miami can clean up some of the mess around him - the blown assignments, the missed chances, the little errors that keep piling up - but Willis still has to carry his part of the load.
He’s flashed at times through five games, yet the full package hasn’t shown up nearly often enough. The hope is that the Week 5 loss to Cincinnati ends up being the floor for him and that things move in the right direction from here.
Douglas is another player the Dolphins need back in the mix. This isn’t about saying he’s been disappointing; it’s about the simple fact that he missed the past three games, and the passing game has looked especially thin without him. In the opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, Douglas showed exactly the kind of difference-maker he can be for Willis and the offense, and the drop-off since then has been hard to miss.
Robinson falls into a different bucket. The numbers may suggest he’s been fine when he’s been on the field, including the pass rush win rate metrics, but the tape tells a tougher story.
In the Week 5 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Pro Football Focus credited him with four pressures - two hits and two hurries - but those came after the ball was already gone, so they didn’t really change the play. One example came on the Samaje Perine touchdown in the second quarter, when Robinson got to Joe Burrow from the side after the throw.
That’s not the kind of disruption the Dolphins need. A real pressure is what happened to Willis on his first interception, when his arm was hit as he threw.
That’s the level Robinson has to reach more consistently. He has looked better this year, especially against Minnesota, but that can’t be the standard.
The standard has to be impact.
Jackson is in a similar spot, though the reasons for needing more from him are a little different. Better play from him would obviously help Willis and the offense, but it would also help his value if the Dolphins decide to trade him before the NFL trade deadline.
His run blocking has been solid. Pass protection has been the issue.
If that doesn’t improve, the Dolphins may eventually have to consider taking him out of the lineup.
And then there’s Patterson, who has made life too shaky for a team already in no position to absorb avoidable mistakes. A missed field goal, a missed extra point, or a kickoff that fails to reach the landing zone and gives the opponent the ball at the 40-yard line - those kinds of errors can’t keep happening.
He got a break against Cincinnati when a roughness penalty on the Bengals wiped out one of those short kickoffs, but Miami can’t keep leaning on good fortune. Patterson was reliable for the Dolphins last year, and that version of him has to return.
In Other News...
Dolphins Waddle Decision Is Already Fueling Hope For Miamis Future
Jaylen Waddles move to Denver was always going to reshape how Dolphins fans viewed the roster-building process in Miami, and early returns are giving the franchise reason to feel good about the deal. The Dolphins turned Waddle and a 2026 fourth-round pick into multiple draft selections, then used that extra capital to add Chris Johnson, Chris Bell, Trey Moore and Kyle Louis, a package that gave Miami more swings at building depth and replenishing the roster around its younger core.
What has made the trade look even better from Miamis side is how the first chapter has played out on both ends. Waddles production in Denver has been quiet, while Johnson has already flashed enough as a rookie to suggest the Dolphins may have landed a useful piece for the future. Bell is still working back from a knee injury, and Moore and Louis are on injured reserve, so the full verdict will take time, but the framework of the deal is already giving Miami hope it made the right call. [Read more 🡒]
Troy Aikman's Dolphins Role Just Took An Important Turn
When the Dolphins turned to Troy Aikman for help in their search for a new general manager and head coach, it was part of a broader effort to get the next run of football leadership right. That process has already produced Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM and Jeff Hafley as head coach, giving Miami the kind of reset it wanted after bringing in an outside voice to help evaluate the field.
Aikmans role now has shifted into something far less defined. He is not operating under a formal agreement with Miami anymore, though the door remains open if the Dolphins want to call on him again. And with recent media speculation noting his possible availability for other NFL opportunities, his next move is worth watching even as Miami moves ahead with its new football leadership. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Rebuild Just Put The Focus On One Crucial Draft Plan
Miamis rough start has only sharpened the conversation around what comes next, and the longer view is beginning to take shape. With the Dolphins sitting at 0-5, the focus in this rebuild is drifting toward the 2027 NFL Draft, where the front office is being framed as a team that needs to attack the roster from the ground up and prioritize the kind of core pieces that can stabilize everything else.
The latest PFF 2027 mock draft simulator leans into that approach by pushing Miami toward help in multiple areas, with names like Anthony Boswell, Bray Hubbard, Evan Stewart and Zeke Barry showing up as potential fits. The common thread is obvious: build through the trenches, shore up key positions and keep adding talent over the next few years, even if the full payoff is still a long way off. [Read more 🡒]