The Miami Dolphins are heading into their early bye week with a lot to sort through. After five games in the first season under head coach Jeff Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, they’re sitting at 0-5, and now comes a chance to reset before a brutal stretch.
That reset matters because Miami still has 12 straight games left to close out the year. If the Dolphins are going to turn anything around, they need better play from a few key spots down the stretch.
At the top of the list is quarterback Malik Willis, the player Miami brought in to be the starter on a three-year, $67.5 million deal this offseason. The numbers through five weeks have been rough: Willis has completed just 56.2% of his passes for 849 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.
He has added 186 rushing yards and two scores, both career highs, but he has also put the ball on the ground five times. The bottom line is simple: the offense only goes as far as the quarterback can take it, and right now Willis has taken it to a winless start.
The problems haven’t stopped there. Right tackle Austin Jackson has also struggled, and Miami needs more from him in the final season of the three-year, $36 million extension he signed in 2023.
The team already adjusted that deal earlier this year, converting most of his salary into bonuses and adding four void years to the end. Even with that restructuring, Jackson has been a weak spot up front over the past five weeks, and protecting Willis has been part of the issue.
Miami needs him to look more like the former first-round pick he was drafted to be.
On defense, Chop Robinson is another former first-rounder who needs to pick things up. He missed one game with a concussion, and in the four games he has played, he has eight tackles, six quarterback hits and one sack. The Dolphins do not have much help rushing the passer opposite him, which makes the ask tougher, but they need more pressure from him.
Rookie cornerback Chris Johnson is in a different kind of spot. As one of Miami’s two first-round picks in this year’s draft, he has been asked to handle a lot in his first season, splitting time between slot and boundary duties.
That’s a heavy load for any rookie, and the coverage numbers have been shaky: according to Pro Football Reference’s advanced stats, he has allowed a 73.9% completion rate for 162 yards and two touchdowns, along with a 122.0 passer rating. If Storm Duck and Darrell Baker Jr. come off the PUP list soon, Johnson could end up settling into one role instead of juggling both.
In Other News...
Dolphins Rookies Are Already Answering Questions Miami Desperately Needed Solved
Five games into the season, the Dolphins are already getting early signs that their 2026 draft class may have answered some of the biggest questions hanging over the roster. Offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor has settled in quickly and looks like a real solution up front, while the early returns on the group have given general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan a boost in a draft that drew plenty of second-guessing at the time.
The encouraging start has not been limited to one spot, either. Caleb Douglas showed enough in camp and in the opener to suggest Miami had added another useful piece at receiver before an ankle injury in Week 2 stopped that momentum, and Chris Johnson has been developing into the kind of corner the Dolphins can trust in coverage. There is still a long season ahead, but the first month has made the rookie class look like a real reason for optimism. [Read more 🡒]
Tyreek Hill's Uncertain Future Keeps One Dolphins Storyline Alive
Tyreek Hills future has stayed one of the more intriguing loose ends around the Dolphins, even with the offseason moving along and plenty of other roster issues demanding attention. The unresolved contract situation has kept the conversation alive, and the latest tone from his camp suggests there is still no clean finish line in sight as teams weigh the fit and the timing.
Hills agent has described the process as fluid, with a deal still possible at any moment as everyone tries to land on the right medical and contractual terms. His knee health, the possibility of a suspension tied to the civil lawsuit, and his contract demands are all part of the holdup, which means Miami is still watching one of the leagues biggest names without real clarity on what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Malik Willis Is Forcing A Dolphins Question Nobody Wanted Answered
The Dolphins are still searching for their first win of the season, and the offense has been part of the reason the start has gone sideways. Malik Willis has been under the microscope from the opening weeks, trying to stabilize a unit that has too often looked stuck in neutral, and the numbers behind his performance have only made the conversation louder around Miami.
Through five games, Willis has completed 56.2% of his passes for 849 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, leaving him with a 68.4 passer rating that sits at the bottom of the league among quarterbacks with at least four starts. The bigger concern is where this could be headed if nothing changes soon, because the pace he is on would put him in rare and uncomfortable company for a full-season starter. [Read more 🡒]