AFC East Roster Rankings Show How Unproven the Dolphins Really Are

The Miami Dolphins' overhauled roster does have very intriguing possibilities, but those young players still have to prove themselves at the NFL level

Miami Dolphins guard Kadyn Proctor (74) looks on during rookie minicamp at the Baptist Health Training Complex. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

It's no great revelation that the Miami Dolphins are not expected to be playoff contenders in 2026 as they embark on the first season of their rebuild with a drastically remade roster.

And the biggest issue with the Dolphins, and the biggest reason for those low expectations, centers not as much on a lack of talent (though there's that) but rather a lack of proven talent. To paraphrase the great Bill Parcells, the Dolphins do have some potentially good players around their established veterans like Jordyn Brooks, Aaron Brewer, De'Von Achane and Zach Sieler but "potential means you haven't done anything yet."

And because seeing is believing, when it comes to assessing the Dolphins roster, Miami will not be given the benefit of the doubt.

This is how it played out when the publishers or editors of the four ON SI teams in the AFC East — Ethan Hurwitz of New England Patriots On SI, Jovan Alford of New York Jets On SI and Ralph Ventre of Buffalo Bills On SI and Alain Poupart of Miami Dolphins On SI — ranked every team by position.

Not surprisingly, it didn't go well — at least on paper — for the Dolphins.

WHERE THE DOLPHINS ROSTER RANKED IN THE AFC EAST

The four AFC East teams were ranked at 11 different positions — quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, interior defensive line, edge/outside linebacker, linebacker, cornerback, safety, and specialists including returners.

In an aggregate tally of the 11 positions, the Dolphins came in fourth place — by far. The Dolphins were ranked fourth and last at eight of the 11 positions, and at six of those they were a unanimous choice for their spot.

Those six positions were wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, edge/outside linebacker, cornerback, and safety.

But this is where we go back to the unproven issue.

At every position, the Dolphins have unknown commodities in the form of young players (usually draft picks) who could just as easily blossom into good players as soon as 2026 as they could struggle to find their way for a bit before breaking through.

For example, the Dolphins have three draft picks at wide receiver, and chances that at least one of Caleb Douglas, Kevin Coleman Jr. or Chris Bell (if he recovers quickly enough from his ACL injury) could become a good player this season.

The Dolphins also have promising players at tight end with Greg Dulcich and rookie third-round pick Will Kacmarek, at cornerback with rookie first-round pick Chris Johnson and oft-injured but talented JuJu Brents, and the edge position would look a whole better very quickly if Chop Robinson can take that big step forward in 2026.

And on the offensive line the Dolphins have reason for hope if first-round pick Kadyn Proctor proves as good as advertised and Austin Jackson stays healthy at right tackle, and that's even without counting on Jonah Savaiinaea making a big move after his move to right guard.

So, yes, things absolutely can change in a hurry.

For now, the four publishers/editors of the On SI AFC East, including the bearded guy with the Expos hat on his podcasts, saw fit to have the Dolphins out of last place only at running back, linebacker and specialists.

The Dolphins actually came in first at linebacker, with Alford and myself ranking them No. 1, and the other two putting them second.

PATRIOTS ON TOP

Perhaps surprisingly, it was New England that came out with the best overall showing in this poll, followed (of course) by the Buffalo Bills.

The Patriots were ranked first at six positions, including unanimous nods at wide receiver (after the acquisition of A.J. Brown), interior defensive line (with Milton Williams and Christian Barmore) and cornerback (Christian Gonzalez).

The other unanimous top votes went to Buffalo at quarterback (Josh Allen still rules the division) and tight end (great depth along with star Dalton Kincaid), and the Jets at edge/OLB after their selection of David Bailey with the second overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

None of the poll results really should surprise anyone, though they again illustrate why the projections are so poor for Miami.

Over the next several weeks before camps open around the NFL, we'll dive further into these rankings by examining different positions.

And we'll revisit them as well maybe halfway through the 2026 season or at the end of it to see if things played out as they currently look on paper.