Dolphins First Minicamp Practice Observations: Defense Gets Handsy

The Miami Dolphins opened their mandatory minicamp with officials on hand and some running plays

The Miami Dolphins stretch before their first minicamp practice of 2026 | Alain Poupart - Miami Dolphins On S

The Miami Dolphins' first minicamp practice under new head coach Jeff Hafley featured officials for the first time this spring (at least in front of the media) and something he would appreciate as a former DB coach, a good number of pass breakups.

While four players were not spotted at all during this practice, all the prominent players were on hand, including Aaron Brewer and Jordyn Brooks, the team's two All-Pros from 2025 who are seeking contract extensions. Brewer was absent from the open OTA last week, but Hafley said Tuesday that the reason was "family obligations."

The three-day minicamp, which continues Wednesday and wraps up Thursday, makes up the next-to-last week of the offseason program for the Dolphins, who will go on hiatus after the final OTA on June 11.

There were no long completions on this day, which as we need to mention again isn't unusual for this time of year, and one interception for the defense. That came up on the very first play of offense vs. defense, a 7-on-7 session where Malik Willis overthrew Malik Washington and cornerback JuJu Brents went down to catch the ball before it hit the ground.

The officials being on hand was an interesting touch because they're not always present during the offseason. There were a handful of flags throws pre-snap, though not after a play began.

The four players who were not spotted at all Tuesday were tackle Carter Warren, cornerback Storm Duck, cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. and safety/linebackr Jordan Colbert.

While it's unknown what issues Warren, Baker and Colbert might be dealing with, Hafley said last week that Duck still was working his way back from the knee injury that cut short his 2025 season.

Among those who were present but didn't practice were RB De'Von Achane, DT Zach Sieler, T Austin Jackson and WR Tahj Washington.

The practice, as did the first two open OTAs, featured a very long opening stretching period followed by a very long special teams session.

FIRST MINICAMP PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

-- We again preface everything here by saying that Dolphins reporting rules prevent us from disclosing certain things we observe, such as position changes or who plays with what unit.

-- As usual we'll start with quarterback Malik Willis, who Hafley said had a very good practice Friday after a rough outing in the open OTA last week. Aside from the interception, Willis had a pretty solid day. He again had connections with Malik Washington, though his best throw of the day was a touch pass over the middle that Jalen Tolbert failed to secure immediately before rookie first-round pick Chris Johnson knocked the ball away.

-- Safety Zayne Anderson had a similar play where he knocked a ball loose after tight end Greg Dulcich failed to make a clean catch. This was not a great day for Dulcich, who also had a drop.

-- Wide receiver A.J. Henning, who's a long shot to make the roster, was one of the most active receivers on this day. Henning had a nice snag of a high pass from QB Cam Miller.

-- While this happened in a position drill, rookie Kyle Louis showed off tremendous hands when he caught a high pass thrown behind him. It was the type of catch that would have made any wide receiver proud. He continues to show signs here and there that he'll make an impact pretty quickly for the defense.

-- On the very first running play the media saw this spring, Jordan Phillips quickly got into the backfield to meet Jaylen Wright. He had another run stop later on a play where Chop Robinson set the edge and Wright cut the play inside, which is a bigger deal than normal for this time of year because run defense is the area where Robinson needs to improve.

-- WR Terrace Marshall Jr. had nice contested catch on a high throw from Quinn Ewers over Ethan Bonner, but he dropped a pass later when he absorbed contact from A.J. Green III as the ball arrived.

-- Marco Wilson had great coverage on an outside pass from Ewers to Tutu Atwell.

-- Veteran Ronnie Harrison got himself noticed on a couple of runs, once with quick penetration and the other when he put a shoulder into running back Donovan Edwards at the end of the play.

-- Looking at the other Dolphins draft picks, Kadyn Proctor didn't stand out one way or the other, and the same goes for linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Third-round pick Caleb Douglas didn't catch a pass in offense-vs.-defense work and wasn't targeted.