ESPN’s latest exercise put a blunt number on where the Miami Dolphins stand right now: not much premium talent, and a long climb ahead.
Bill Barnwell tried to answer a tricky NFL question during the league’s quiet stretch - which players on each roster would actually be worth a first-round pick in a trade. It’s the kind of ranking that forces you to separate name value from real trade value, and for Miami, the result was hard to miss.
Barnwell found only three Dolphins who fit that standard, and all three play in the trenches: offensive linemen Patrick Paul and Kadyn Proctor, plus defensive lineman Kenneth Grant. That’s the entire list.
Not De’Von Achane. Not Jordyn Brooks.
Not Chris Johnson.
The omissions make sense based on how these things work. Achane may be Miami’s best player, but running backs rarely bring back that kind of return in a trade.
Brooks runs into a different problem: age. He’ll turn 29 this season, and that matters when teams are weighing long-term value.
It’s a sharp contrast from where Miami was not long ago. A few years back, this kind of conversation might have included Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and maybe even Tua Tagovailoa. Instead, the Dolphins are now dealing with the aftermath of a 2023 roster that, outside of Waddle, was built with warning signs attached.
Barnwell’s count left Miami tied for last in the league with the Colts, 49ers, Vikings, Falcons, and Buccaneers. That puts the Dolphins behind teams like the Jets, Cardinals, Titans, and Browns in this measure, which is not exactly the company any franchise wants to keep.
Still, the bigger picture in Miami is not about squeezing one more season out of a flawed setup. General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley are trying to build from scratch, not patch over the old problems. That means clearing out cap space, accepting a lean year in 2026, and resisting the temptation to chase a short-term fix.
The payoff, if the plan goes the way Miami hopes, comes later. After the season, the Dolphins are projected to hold a top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, along with several other selections near the top of their rounds. They would also enter that offseason with more than $99 million in cap space to work with on outside free agents.
In Other News...
Dolphins Fans Have Every Reason To Question This Edge Addition
David Ojabo is headed to Miami on a one-year deal for the 2026 season, giving the Dolphins another veteran edge option after his run with Baltimore stalled out. The former Raven appeared in 14 games last year, but his role never grew much beyond spot duty, and the lack of impact was enough for Baltimore to move on rather than bring him back.
For Miami, the signing looks more like another layer of competition than a clear answer. Ojabo is expected to battle for a depth role on a defensive end group that already has several new faces, with the Dolphins trying to sort out who fits best behind the top options and who can handle meaningful snaps if injuries or inconsistency hit the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
This Dolphins Camp Could Decide Everything For A Handful Of Young Players
With Dolphins training camp set to open soon, the first real sorting of the roster is about to begin, starting with rookies reporting July 21 and veterans following a week later. For a handful of young players, this is the stretch where offseason optimism either starts to look real or gets pushed back another year. Greg Dulcich, Jason Marshall Jr., Chop Robinson, Malik Washington and Kenneth Grant all enter camp with something to prove, and each one has a different path to carving out a larger role as Miami looks ahead to the 2026 season.
Dulcich has a chance to become one of the more productive pass-catching surprises on the roster, while Marshall is getting another look on the boundary after spending most of last season in the nickel. Grant, meanwhile, is trying to steady his footing after a rough first year, and the same camp that could help him reset could also expose how much work remains. For Miami, the bigger question is not just who flashes in July, but which of these young players can turn a strong camp into a real place in the teams plans. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins Are Making A Crucial Jonah Savaiinaea Reset
Jonah Savaiinaeas first season in Miami did not go the way the Dolphins envisioned when they put him at left guard, and the numbers were brutal enough to make the reset obvious. His Pro Football Focus grade was the lowest ever recorded for a starting guard in a single season, a marker that underscored just how much the move never quite settled in for either player or team.
Now the Dolphins are trying to put him back in a spot that fits him better, with observers inside the building already sensing a different level of comfort on the right side. There has not been any contact work yet, so the real test is still ahead, but Miami clearly views this as more than a simple shuffle. It is a chance to salvage a lineman who needs a cleaner fit, and to see whether a return to his natural position can finally stabilize a spot that was far too shaky a year ago. [Read more 🡒]