Dolphins 2026 Camp TE Preview: New Group Untested But Intriguing

Breaking down the Miami Dolphins by position as head into training camp

Miami Dolphins tight end Greg Dulcich makes a catch against the New York Jets during the first half at MetLife Stadium in the 2025 season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Miami Dolphins are inching ever closer to the start of another training camp, one that's filled with mystery and intrigue as the result of the most complete overhaul the franchise has seen in many years.

The Dolphins will head into this training camp with a new general manager (Jon-Eric Sullivan), new head coach (Jeff Hafley) and new quarterback (Malik Willis) since 2008 — though we could put an asterisk on 2019 when the Dolphins had Brian Flores as a first-year head coach, Ryan Fitzpatrick as a new quarterback and Chris Grier returning as GM but with more authority after the departure of Executive Vice President of Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum.

Regardless, it's a brand new day for the Miami Dolphins, and after the first steps of the offseason comes the real leadup to the 2026 regular season with training camp.

With a roster overloaded with young or unproven players, this should be one of the more interesting training camps in a while and we'll be previewing it with a series of position previews.

We continue with the tight ends

Tight End Position Breakdown

On the roster: Greg Dulcich, Ben Sims, Will Kacmarek, Seydou Traore, Cole Turner

2025 stats:
Dulcich: 10 games, 3 starts, 26 catches for 335 yards (12.9 average), 1 TD
Sims (with Minnesota): 8 games, 2 starts, 3 catches for 30 yards (10.0 average)
Turner (with Tennessee): 1 game, 0 starts
Kacmarek (at Ohio State): 14 games, 15 catches for 168 yards (11.2 average), 2 TD
Traore (at Mississippi State): 13 games, 35 catches for 369 yards (10.5 average), 5 TD

Projected depth chart: Greg Dulcich, Will Kacmarek, Ben Sims

Offseason moves: Signed Cole Turner to a future contract ... signed Zack Kuntz to a future contract ... signed Greg Dulcich to a one-year extension ... declined to extend restricted free agent Julian Hill a qualifying offer ... signed Ben Sims as an unrestricted free agent ... selected Will Kacmarek and Seydou Traore in the third and fifth rounds of the 2026 NFL draft ... waived Zack Kuntz ... waived Jalin Conyers

Training camp QBs one year ago: Julian Hill, Darren Waller, Tanner Conner, Pharaoh Brown, Hayden Rucci, Jalin Conyers

Position better or worse than at the end of the 2025 season: The Dolphins' decision to not re-sign Waller as an unrestricted free agent this offseason or even tender Julian Hill can be justified when looking at the big picture and the status of the franchise at this time, but replacing them with unproven commodities like the two draft picks (Dulcich was on the roster at the end of last season) obviously has to be viewed as a downgraded.

THE THREE BIGGEST QUESTIONS AT WIDE RECEIVER

1. Is Dulcich ready to step up?

National media outlets have been pushing Dulcich as a breakout candidate on a pretty regular basis this offseason, no doubt fueled by Jon-Eric Sullivan's comments in an interview with ESPN's Kevin Clark that he was the one player he really was looking forward to seeing make a move. We did see potential flashes late last season and he did have 33 catches as a rookie third-round pick with the Denver Broncos in 2022, so there's reason to be optimistic. There also are no guarantees that Dulcich indeed will break out.

2. How much of a difference could Kacmarek make for the run game?

Make no mistake, there's a pretty clear reason the Dolphins selected Kacmarek — to the surprise of most draft analysts — in the third round, and that's his blocking ability. The Dolphins enjoyed a good measure of success last year offensively when they used six offensive linemen, and that's almost how Kacmarek projects as an NFL player, with the added bonus of good hands for the passing game. It will take more than Kacmarek's blocking to make the run game potent, but he could go a long way toward helping Miami attain consistent production out of De'Von Achane and the other backs.

3. Will the Dolphins regret letting Waller walk?

There's zero question that Waller didn't fit in a big-picture view, but given the large number of players on one-year contracts he certainly could have helped the offense in 2026. While injuries were an issue for him, as they've been pretty much every year of his NFL career, he absolutely was a difference-maker when he was in the lineup. The Dolphins absolutely will miss his presence on third down and in the red zone.