Even with a winless record hanging over them, the Dolphins have a few real reasons to feel better heading into the bye week. Miami has already been through a brutal stretch, dealing with major injuries and a lineup of opponents that has included Kansas City, Minnesota, and Cincinnati. For a roster and coaching staff this young and inexperienced, simply surviving that run says something.
The biggest bright spot has been up front, where Aaron Brewer has been everything Miami could have hoped for after signing his three-year, $52.5 million extension. Through 292 snaps, he hasn’t allowed a sack against Malik Willis and has been flagged only three times.
Pro Football Focus has him at 68.2 overall, which ranks eighth among 34 qualified centers. His work in the run game has been even better, with a 76 run-blocking grade that ranks third in the league.
His best showing came against Minnesota, when he gave up no quarterback hits, sacks, or penalties and was charged with just one pressure on 39 snaps.
Jonah Savaiinaea has also turned things around after what many fans saw as a rough 2025 season. Moving him back to right guard has helped him settle in, and the results have been clean: no penalties and no sacks on 244 snaps.
His game against San Francisco was nearly spotless, with zero pressures and hurries across 59 snaps. Savaiinaea did suffer an ankle injury in Miami’s loss to Cincinnati, so the bye comes at a useful time.
Even so, Jarrett Kingston stepped in and matched the moment, including a pancake block on Dexter Lawrence II on his second snap.
Kadyn Proctor has quietly justified his first-round status, too. Playing left guard for the first time since his freshman year at Alabama, he has allowed only three penalties and one sack over 292 snaps. It hasn’t been flawless, but for a rookie making that kind of adjustment, the Dolphins have to like what they’ve seen.
On defense, the rookie who has grabbed the loudest attention is Jacob Rodriguez. Through Week Five, he leads the NFL with 57 tackles.
He has also added three tackles for loss, a pass deflection, and an interception, putting him in a group of 25 linebackers with a pick. Those are the kind of numbers that usually come from a first-rounder, not the 43rd overall selection, and they make a strong case for Defensive Rookie Of The Year consideration.
Chris Johnson has also settled in after a shaky start. Since Week Three, he has been much tougher to beat in man coverage, allowing seven catches, 29 receiving yards, and 4.1 yards per catch.
The bye also gives Miami time to wait on Caleb Douglas, who flashed in Week One with 94 yards on five receptions against Las Vegas before an ankle injury sidelined him the following week. He was starting to look like a much-needed answer at receiver.
Along with Chris Bell and Michael Taaffe, he has been part of a rookie group with real long-term promise, and the Dolphins still have Kyle Louis and Trey Moore stashed away as well. That haul has already helped raise expectations for what general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan can do in a possible make-or-break 2027 Draft.
The other encouraging development has been the run game. Losing De'Von Achane to an ACL injury against Kansas City could have blown it up entirely, and Miami did look shaky after that.
But the offense found its footing, and Ollie Gordon II has been the centerpiece. He leads the team with 236 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and since becoming the starter, he has averaged 5 rushing yards per attempt, good for eighth in the NFL.
He has also kept drives alive with nine first downs and seven explosive runs of 10 yards or more. He briefly visited the blue medical tent during the Cincinnati game, but he returned shortly after.
Not everything has been smooth, though. Jaylen Wright hasn’t given Miami much behind Gordon, and Willis has had to do more with his legs to cover for that. The Dolphins also missed out on Jerome Ford, who had a tryout in Miami before signing with Arizona’s practice squad.
Even so, Miami is still averaging 126.6 rushing yards per game, 11th in the NFL. Given the loss of Achane, that’s a sturdy place to be, and Gordon has done plenty of heavy lifting along the way.
In Other News...
Dolphins Defensive Tackle Move Says Plenty About This Thin Room
The Dolphins have been busy shuffling the edges of a defensive tackle room that has little room for comfort, and Mazi Smith was the latest name to come and go. The former Cowboys first-round pick had been claimed off waivers earlier in the season, then added to Miamis practice squad after being activated earlier in the month, a sequence that underscored how quickly the team has been trying to sort out depth inside.
With Smith now a free agent again, the bigger picture around the Dolphins defensive front is hard to ignore. Jeff Hafley said the bye week is being used to evaluate the players, the scheme and the coaching after the recent roster movement, which gives this week a bigger feel than just another pause in the schedule. For a thin room, every transaction says something, and this one left Smiths future in the NFL unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Face A Draft Dilemma Bigger Than Jeremiah Smith
Miamis draft conversation already feels bigger than one blue-chip receiver. Sitting third in the 2027 order, the Dolphins are in a position that could reshape the franchise, and ESPNs Football Power Index has them with a 49 percent chance to wind up with the No. 1 overall pick. That kind of draft capital invites fantasies about Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith, but it also forces a wider look at what actually changes a teams ceiling.
The history lesson matters here: teams that win it all usually do so by landing premium quarterbacks or impact players at positions with broader value, not by getting locked into one name at the top of the board. For Miami, that leaves a real decision coming into focus, one that could point toward a quarterback, a different cornerstone, or even a move down if the board and the market break the right way. Smith is the headline-grabbing option, but he may not be the most consequential one. [Read more 🡒]
Malik Willis Just Added More Tension To A Brutal Dolphins Loss
The Dolphins loss to Cincinnati already had enough frustration attached to it, and Malik Willis added another layer of noise afterward. Bengals safety Jordan Battle came away with two interceptions and seven tackles in the game, then suggested he had picked up on a clue in Willis throwing motion that helped him jump routes.
Willis pushed back on that idea, saying he does not have a tell before he throws and pointing to other reasons for Battles interceptions. For Miami, it is the kind of postgame detail that lingers because it touches on execution, scouting and confidence all at once, with the final word in the back-and-forth still hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]