Zayne Anderson has landed in Miami with something that can matter just as much as raw talent in a new defense: he already knows the system, the coach, and one of the most important voices in the building.
That familiarity could be the edge that helps him push for a starting job with the Dolphins in 2026. Anderson arrived from Green Bay after spending two seasons there as a special teams mainstay, the kind of player who filled a clear role and made the most of his chances when injuries opened the door on defense. Now he’s trying to be more than that.
The move south followed former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who now has Anderson in a different spot and a different conversation. Instead of being viewed mainly as a special teams ace, Anderson is trying to prove he can be a dependable presence on the back end.
“Yeah, I think there's a lot of similarities in what we did in the two years in Green Bay and here now,” Hafley said Friday. “There's a lot of new stuff, too, but he's got a grasp on really how I kind of think and how I see things in the back end and he's hearing me give him a lot of the same coaching points, because I'm in that room a lot, and I was in that room a lot.
So he's hearing a lot of the same things from year three now. I think there's a comfort level that he trusts me and I trust him.
At the same time, there's really good competition in that room right now and I will say, Zayne has done a nice job. Again, he needs to be consistent and the Washington week, it will be exciting to see him go up against another team and play in these preseason games.
But he's become a dependable guy back there.”
That word - dependable - keeps coming up, and it’s no accident. Miami is a new setting, but Anderson’s comfort level with Hafley gives him a head start, especially on the mental side of things.
“It's huge,” Anderson said after practice Friday. “I think having some years of experience just building on it and then relearning it, I think it's always good to relearn it.
This is supposed to be my third or fourth time relearning it. We installed in the spring, installed in the fall.
And so it's nice, I love it. I feel like I'm able to take steps ahead of just knowing the basics of the defense.”
Anderson’s path to Miami wasn’t built on Hafley alone. There are other familiar faces in the building from the Green Bay side, including coaches and front office members who made the same move. But Anderson also has a connection that stands out from the rest: Malik Willis.
Willis, Miami’s starting quarterback, was someone Anderson saw plenty of during training camp in Green Bay last year, when Willis was working with the second-team offense. That daily work has carried over, and Anderson says Willis’ arm talent made him better.
“Malik, we would go against each other in practice, and he would always he would throw some of these balls and he puts so much spin on the ball, throws it so hard,” Anderson said. “There were some of them I missed.
And so we were honestly, every day after practice like, dang, bro, you got me on that one. It's the same thing now.
We sit together right next to each other in team meeting. He's like, you got me yesterday, but we're going back and forth.
We're competing every day, and that's what I love about him. I want him to be the most confident, the best quarterback because I believe he's that dude.
And he obviously sees the same in me. And so being able to go back and forth, he has a good day.
He might get something on me. I might get something on him.
It's been cool.”
That competition has also turned into a useful back-and-forth for the defense. Anderson said the two talk often about what looks are giving away, and whether the disguise is actually holding up.
“It's huge, being able to talk looks,” Anderson said. “We talk a lot about disguise and I'm able to ask Malik, what do you see on this one?
Was it a true disguise? Did we really sell what we're trying to sell or did you see it how it unfolded?
And so he's very transparent about that, and he'll tell us straight. He's like, yeah, that wasn't a good look, or you guys need to do this better.
I think it's great being able to have that communication with one another.”
That kind of trust can help Anderson’s case when Miami sorts out its secondary. Hafley has made it clear that consistency matters, and the safety’s familiarity with the defense gives him a real shot to earn that trust early.
Miami’s defensive backfield also doesn’t have a long list of proven veterans, which only increases the value of a player who knows what Hafley wants. In Green Bay, Hafley was able to rotate safeties because Xavier McKinney gave him a steady anchor. That stability allowed Bullard and Evan Williams to move in and out during Hafley’s first season there.
Anderson isn’t expected to duplicate McKinney’s First Team All-Pro season from 2024. But he may not need that kind of ceiling. If he keeps showing the kind of command and reliability Miami wants, Hafley could have enough confidence to mix and match pieces around him.
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