The Miami Dolphins are leaning hard on youth in 2026, and nowhere is that more obvious than at cornerback. Jason Marshall Jr. has gone from a rookie role player to a full-time piece of the defense, and through six games, he’s already been asked to handle a much bigger load.
Marshall, Miami’s fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft out of Florida, played 32% of the team’s defensive snaps as a rookie. This season, that number has jumped to 80%. He has already blown past last year’s snap total, and the workload has come with plenty of production - and plenty of growing pains.
Through six games, Marshall has 21 tackles. Opponents have completed 78.3% of their passes when targeting him, resulting in 250 yards and two touchdowns, according to Pro Football Reference. Those numbers don’t flatter him, but Dolphins defensive coordinator Sean Duggan said the story is bigger than the stat line.
"I think corner, one, is a hard position to play, right? I think everyone knows when the ball is caught, right?
You kind of point to that guy and be like, 'Oh, OK, he got a ball caught on him.' But when the passes aren't coming his way, it's, 'OK, why aren't they?
J.Marsh, he's done a lot of really good things," Duggan told reporters this week. "There are certain plays I'm sure he wishes he had back.
There are certain plays I know we wish we coached better, whether it's scheme, whether it's technique, whether it's we could have put him in a little bit better spot, so it goes both ways there. But I think for the most part, he's done a nice job.
"Again, corner's a hard position to play. You got to have thick skin.
You got to be ready to bounce back if something happens. You got to be willing to go out there on an island and have everyone know you're out there on an island.
I give him a lot of credit for the plays he's had this year. But just like any position, there's going to be plays he wants back.
From our perspective as coaches, there's going to be plays that we want back for ourselves that we felt that we could have coached things better, too."
The challenge for Marshall gets even sharper when you look around the room. The other two starting corners are JuJu Brents and Chris Johnson. Brents has appeared in just 24 games over four NFL seasons, while Johnson is a rookie.
That leaves Marshall in a spot where experience is in short supply, and the Dolphins are asking him to learn fast. For Miami, the hope is that the early reps - the good and the bad - will help him settle in and become a better player as the season and his career move forward.
In Other News...
Dolphins Catch A Break As Patriots Lose Two Key Weapons
The Patriots trip to Hard Rock Stadium just got a little more manageable for Miami, with New England heading into Week 8 short-handed on offense. A.J. Brown and TreVeyon Henderson will not be available, leaving the Dolphins to prepare for a Patriots attack that has to adjust on the fly and lean more heavily on its depth.
Brown has been limited to only three games this season, while Henderson had become a meaningful part of New Englands rushing and passing game. With those two out, the Patriots will need more from backs like Rhamondre Stevenson and Corey Kiner, and Miami suddenly has a cleaner path to controlling the matchup in front of its home crowd. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Uche Just Sent A Strong Message About Miamis New Culture
Josh Uche has only had a short window to take in Miamis new setup, but the linebacker is already making it clear he notices a difference. With the Dolphins reshaping the roster and leaning into young talent under head coach Jeff Hafley, Uche pointed to the energy around the building as a sign the team is moving in the right direction. He described the atmosphere as disciplined and connected, the kind of environment that can matter as much as any depth chart move this time of year.
For a team trying to reset its identity, those comments carry some weight. Uches praise suggested the Dolphins are not just talking about a culture change, they are trying to live it every day, and players are responding to the tone Hafley has set. In a season where roster turnover can easily create uncertainty, Miami appears to have at least one veteran who sees enough in the direction of the program to want to be part of what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Malik Willis Gets His Best Chance Yet To Silence Old Doubts
Malik Willis has spent much of his career fighting the same old questions, and his most recent outing offered a cleaner answer than he had been giving earlier in the season. The Dolphins quarterback looked more decisive with the ball and benefited from better protection around him, a combination that helped him settle in and show the kind of command Miami has been looking for.
The timing makes the next test even more interesting, because the Patriots are up next and Mike Vrabel is on the other sideline. Vrabel has been among the voices most associated with Willis lingering doubts, so this matchup gives the quarterback a chance to keep building on his recent progress and prove that the sharper version of his game can hold up when the pressure rises again. [Read more 🡒]