Mike McDaniel’s departure has opened the door for a handful of Dolphins players who spent last season waiting for a real shot. With Jeff Hafley now running the show, and only 24 players from the 2025 roster still on the active roster, Miami suddenly has some new faces - and some familiar ones - in position to matter more.
Malik Washington looks like the clearest beneficiary. Over his first two seasons in Miami, he was targeted 101 times and came down with 72 catches, while starting just nine games and scoring three touchdowns.
He played 45% of the offensive snaps as a rookie and 57% in year two, but he was stuck behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle for much of that stretch. Even after Hill went down in Week 4, Washington never saw a major bump in targets.
That could change now. As the longest-tenured wideout on the roster, he should have a much bigger lane under Bobby Slowik, and this is a chance he simply didn’t get in his first two seasons.
Jason Marshall, Jr. is in a similar spot on defense. He played only 32% of Miami’s defensive snaps last season, and a five-game absence didn’t help.
But when he was available, he showed enough to hint at more. The problem was that Anthony Weaver kept leaning on the veterans instead of giving the younger players a longer leash.
That’s been the Dolphins’ pattern for years, but the new regime brings a fresh opening. Miami needs Marshall this season, and he’s going to get the reps to prove he belongs in a bigger role.
Then there’s Jonah Savaiinaea, whose rookie year was rough enough to look almost unrecoverable. The fit wasn’t right, the coaching wasn’t right, and the play designs didn’t play to his strengths.
It was the kind of season where nearly everything went sideways. But through camp and preseason, Savaiinaea has looked like a different player.
Better coaching and a scheme that suits him have changed the picture, and while he’ll be under the microscope for a while, the early signs of 2026 are encouraging.
In Other News...
Hall Of Fame Change Just Made This Tougher For Deserving Dolphins
The Pro Football Hall of Fames latest election changes have added another layer of difficulty for former Dolphins who have spent years waiting for real traction. By trimming the selection committee from 50 voters to 28, removing the split between modern-era and senior candidates, and shrinking the finalist pool, the process now leaves less room for the kind of long-overlooked names Miami fans have been pushing for.
For a franchise with several worthy players still searching for Canton recognition, the timing stings. Bob Kuechenberg and Mark Clayton have both been part of that conversation for years, and the new setup appears to make the path even narrower for seniors and other deserving candidates who already needed momentum from a crowded field to break through. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Rookies Are Already Forcing A Big Preseason Roster Debate
The Dolphins head into their season opener with an unusually young edge to the roster, carrying 13 rookies on the 53-man group, including 11 draft picks, one undrafted free agent and one waiver claim. That kind of influx always changes the feel of a team in September, but in Miami it also creates a real personnel conversation because several of those first-year players are not just making the team, they are expected to matter right away.
Trey Moore is out of the active mix for now because of injury, and Max Llewellyn is currently on the practice squad, but the broader rookie class has already pushed its way into the conversation. Some of these players are slated for meaningful snaps and a few could even wind up starting, which is why Miamis early-season outlook is tied so closely to how quickly this group settles in and how much trust the staff is willing to place in them. [Read more 🡒]
Jordyn Brooks Is Pushing A Dolphins Identity Fans Have Wanted
Jordyn Brooks is already talking like a player who knows exactly what kind of tone Miami wants to set this fall. The Dolphins linebacker said he is embracing an underdog mindset heading into the season, the kind of posture that fits a team trying to reshape how it is perceived and how it plays. For a group that has spent plenty of time being measured against its ceiling, Brooks is pushing for something simpler and more stubborn.
Physicality, in his view, is not some abstract trait that shows up only when the matchup demands it. It is a choice, and Brooks wants that choice to become a habit for the Dolphins rather than a one-off spark. For a roster that has long searched for a more consistent edge, his message lands as both a challenge and a reminder that identity usually starts with the details players are willing to repeat. [Read more 🡒]