The biggest question hanging over the Miami Dolphins this season is simple: what does this offense even look like now?
That’s not a small tweak, either. The Dolphins moved on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill, then traded Jaylen Waddle to the Denver Broncos.
Those were the headliners of Mike McDaniel’s offense, and McDaniel himself was relieved of head coaching duties after the season. So when the Dolphins line up in 2026, they’ll be doing it with a very different cast and a very different voice calling the shots.
That voice belongs to Bobby Slowik.
Slowik is now running the offense after spending 2025 with the Dolphins coaching staff. He previously had success with the Houston Texans when C.J.
Stroud entered the league, though a rough 2024 season led to him being relieved of his duties there. Jeff Hafley still made it a priority to keep Slowik around as offensive coordinator, and now the real test begins: how much of this unit changes with a new play caller, a new quarterback in Malik Willis, and several new pieces around him?
At first glance, the answer seems to be that there are a lot of moving parts and not many certainties. The offense is entering its first season under Slowik, and it sits somewhere between familiar names, partial familiarity and straight-up unknowns.
The wide receiver room is the clearest place to start asking questions. With Hill and Waddle both gone, who takes the next step as a pass-catcher for Miami?
That uncertainty is part of a broader set of storylines as training camp approaches. The South Florida Sun Sentinel highlighted the top 10 things to watch before camp opens on Wednesday, and the Dolphins’ offense sits right near the center of the conversation.
There’s also plenty of turnover on the defensive side, especially up front. On the edge, the theme is change. Chop Robinson and Cameron Goode are the two incumbents still standing, but Miami also signed four veteran free agents, used a seventh-round pick on Iowa’s Max Llewellyn in the 2026 NFL Draft, and added a pair of undrafted free agents.
Inside linebacker looks much more settled on paper. Jordyn Brooks leads that group as an All-Pro, and the room also includes a mix of proven veterans and highly drafted rookies. Miami used a second-round pick on Heisman finalist Jacob Rodriguez and followed that with fourth-round selections of Trey Moore and Kyle Louis.
The new Dolphins regime is also drawing positive notice for the way it’s handling the roster. Chris Perkins noted that the most encouraging thing about the group led by general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley is that “they walk the walk.”
As camp gets underway, the Dolphins are bringing a lot of fresh faces and fresh questions with them. The offseason changes have been massive, and the offense may be the place where that overhaul shows up first.
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Dolphins Training Camp Could Wipe Out Chris Griers Draft Legacy
Austin Jackson is the last Miami draft pick from 2020 still standing as training camp opens, and even his place has come with some offseason reshuffling. The Dolphins reworked his contract to create cap room, and while health and durability have been part of the conversation, Jackson is still expected to be part of the plan as the team sorts through a roster that looks very different from the one Chris Grier kept building over the past several years.
What makes this camp so telling is how many of those earlier draft classes are already hanging by a thread. Miamis 2021 group is gone, the 2022 class could be wiped out if Cameron Goode loses his linebacker battle, and even younger names like Malik and Tahj Washington, plus Jaylen Wright, are not locked in despite their pedigree. The 2025 class appears safer for now, but the bigger question is whether this summer becomes the point where Griers draft history is trimmed down to almost nothing before the final roster is even set. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Fans Just Got A Brutal Reality Check On This Rebuild
The early read on Miamis rebuild is not as bleak as some fans might fear, even if the ceiling still looks limited. With a revamped coaching staff and roster in transition, the Dolphins are being sized up against a schedule that will ask plenty of them right away, and the betting market is already hinting that this team may still scrape together enough to avoid the bottom of the league.
There is at least some cautious optimism baked into the projection, from young offensive pieces to a few structural reasons the offense could be steadier than expected. Still, the bigger question is whether that is enough in a division and matchup slate that leaves little margin for error, and whether Miami can turn a reset year into something more than a long grind toward respectability. [Read more 🡒]