Ranking Dolphins Top 25 Players: Will Dodson Revitalize His Career?

The Miami Dolphins are hoping Tyrel Dodson's end-of-season improvement carries over into the 2025 season.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) watches as Miami Dolphins linebacker Tyrel Dodson (11) intercepts the pass during the first half at Huntington Bank Field. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins are entering a critical season in 2025. After missing the playoffs last season and not making any blockbuster moves this offseason, the team is under a lot of pressure to finally get over the hump in the playoffs. 

With that in mind, it seems like an excellent time to rank the Dolphins’ top 25 players heading into the 2025 season. This list was voted on by site publisher Alain Poupart (@PoupartNFL), deputy editor Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) and contributor Jake Mendel (@JMendel94).

The rankings were compiled separately based on a points system. That system awarded 25 points to the first player in each writer’s top 25, 24 to the second player, 23 to the third player, and so on. 

No. 18: Tyrel Dodson, Linebacker 

Tyrel Dodson didn’t start the 2024 season on the Miami Dolphins, but he made his presence known after the team signed him off waivers. 

The Seattle Seahawks cut Dodson in the middle of the 2024 season after he got off to a rough start under head coach Mike Macdonald. However, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver is from the Macdonald coaching tree, so the Dolphins scooped Dodson up to help replace David Long Jr., whom they cut in the middle of the year. 

Dodson made three starts down the stretch and played significant snaps in four games. 

His tape was a bit of a rollercoaster at times, but the highs were good enough for Miami to re-sign him to a two-year, $6.25 million contract this offseason. 

Dodson is the leader to start next to Jordyn Brooks in Week 1, but he’s got plenty of competition. The Dolphins added free agents K.J. Britt and Willie Gay Jr. this offseason, each of whom has played significant snaps in previous stops. Of course, Gay Jr. was 24th in our rankings. 

Like most of the Dolphins’ back seven last season, Dodson did struggle with his tackling. He had a 14.3 missed tackle rate in his eight weeks with Miami, which would be the highest mark of his career since his rookie season.

That’s based on a sample size, but it’s a troubling number for a player who is expected to start in Week 1. If he can push that number closer to eight or seven percent, it should lead to more consistent production.

Full Rankings

No. 25: Malik Washington | No. 24: Willie Gay Jr. | No.23: Benito Jones | No. 22: Patrick Paul | No. 21: Jonah Savaiinaea | No. 20: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine | No. 19: Ifeatu Melifonwu | No. 18: Tyrel Dodson | No. 17 Kenneth Grant | No. 16: Alec Ingold | No. 15: Kader Kohou | No. 14: Austin Jackson | No. 13: Jason Sanders | No. 12: Chop Robinson | No. 11: Aaron Brewer

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