SEASON PREDICTION  

If not already evident by the huge list of names in the section above, the Dolphins blew up their roster completely this offseason. The decision was a wise one as the promising start that Mike McDaniel began in 2022 had stagnated and run its course. The Dolphins are set to have 180 million in dead cap the most in NFL history, making up almost 60% of their available cap space for this upcoming season. This season is a fresh start with a new regime and low expectations. Miami got rid of most of their top contributors from last year including the likes of Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Bradley Chubb. They brought in a new QB from Green Bay who has shown promising flashes. They also completely rehauled their front office bringing in a new OC, HC, and GM which amusingly has a lot of Packers connections with the HC, GM, and QB all coming from Green Bay this past season.  

Due to Miami not being a contender this year, they are not concerned with how many wins they can muster. Rather they'll be focused on evaluating the talent they have on the roster and figuring out who is worth the long-term commitment for their future plans. This gives the rookies they drafted an excellent opportunity to prove themselves especially third round draft pick Chris Bell. He has a very real opportunity to seize the WR1 spot for this very weak core. The opportunities will be aplenty for Bell to prove to the staff that he is worthy of being part of Miami's future plans. Another rookie who is going to be given plenty of opportunity to shine is Jacob Rodriguez. Strictly NFL fans may not know this, but Jacob was the best linebacker in college football last year despite what his draft position may indicate. With Miami tanking this year, he's going to have plenty of opportunities to showcase why he should have been picked in the first round and make many GMs regret passing up on him.  

The biggest question I have for the team is the situation surrounding Malik Willis. The Dolphins gave Willis a 3-year 67-million-dollar extension but did not attempt to provide him with any competent receiving weapons. His receiving core is one of the worst I've ever seen in all my years of watching the NFL, and they have set him up to have little to no success throwing the ball outside of an Achane dump off. No receiver is a deep threat, nor is anyone talented enough for defenses to consider sending a double team or playing blanket coverage. Pair this with the fact that the Dolphins are tanking and will likely have a top overall pick in this year's draft which is loaded with quarterbacks it makes me wonder why they even bothered to offer such a hefty extension to a QB who might not even be starting there next year. Achane is the only bright spot of this offense, and it will be an offense that struggles greatly which is one of the reasons why I have them going 3-14 this season and finishing with a top five draft pick. I believe that Willis will struggle mightily in the air and have to rely on his legs a lot this season. This lackluster performance may lead to Miami choosing to go with one of the top QB prospects whether it be Arch Manning or Julian Sayin for the 2027 draft. The hope is that the 2026 season provides a clear outline for Miami in helping them map out what they want their future plans to look like.