Dolphins Friday Mailbag: Hafley, Taaffe, Joly, and More

Part 1 of a Labor Day weekend Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From Mark Lever:

I know the season hasn’t started yet, but what’s your thoughts on our head coach? Do you think he could potentially be really good or are we in trouble?

Hey Mark, it’s still too early to make that kind of determination because we haven’t played a single regular season game yet, therefore we don’t know how the Dolphins game plan will stack up and we also don’t know anything about his game management (using timeouts, going for it on fourth down, challenges, etc.). The only barometers we can go by at this time are training camp practices and media sessions (though those are vastly overrated), and I’d say there’s no reason right now to think the Dolphins didn’t make a good hire with Jeff Hafley.

From rjgrosso:

Is it possible that both Taafe & Anderson have leapt over Trader for a starting safety spot while he was out injured?

Hey Richard, yes, that is entirely possible because Trader missed valuable practice time as Jeff Hafley implemented his scheme, particularly because Michael Taaffe’s scouting report emphasized his intangibles, including but not limited to his intelligence, and Anderson has familiarity with Hafley from their time together in Green Bay. I think from an athletic standpoint Trader has to be in the starting lineup, he would be my choice if I were asked (I won’t be) and he still might end up as a Week 1 starter.

FACING THE RAIDERS

From rickhernandez:

Hello, Alain. If the Dolphins can’t beat the Raiders, is there much hope of them getting a win before their bye week?

Hey Rick, any given Sunday. Let’s not forget that motto. Even if the Dolphins can’t defeat the Raiders, who’s to say they can’t defeat the 49ers (coming off a grueling trip to Australia), the Chiefs (who knows where Patrick Mahomes is physically after his December knee injury), the Vikings (Kyler Murray can be erratic) or the Bengals (they are the Bengals after all). Yes, the Dolphins will be underdogs in all of those games, but I never would dismiss the idea they could win.

From UncleBobT1;

I read Tyler Carmona’s Joly article. So, apparently Joly isn’t a good blocker. Neither was Gesicki. Seems odd that Denver would cut their 5th rounder for that reason alone. Do you have additional insight? Did Joly perhaps pull a Csonka and put an alligator in Sean Payton’s bathroom?!

Hey Bob, I very often question why teams move on from certain players and eventually always defer to them because they’re getting paid to evaluate players and I’m not. It’s why I always caution (and deal with the backlash from fans who think I’m overly negative) against expecting too much from a player that another team deemed good enough. While the Broncos waived Joly, the kept rookie seventh-round pick Dallen Bentley, so they clearly though Bentley was better. And it’s not like they suddenly realized that Joly was a receiving specialist and not a great blocker. The GM’s explanation that Joly suffered because he missed time in the offseason is a bit dubious too because you don’t risk lose a player you value for the long term because he got behind as a rookie. The best hope I can offer Dolphins fans when it comes to Joly is the Broncos are going for the Super Bowl this year and they didn’t think Joly could help them as much as Bentley in 2026. The Dolphins can afford to wait for Joly to develop because they clearly are not in win-now mode.

From SciGuy17:

Why did no team want Joe Milton on their active roster, even after he cleared waivers?

There’s clearly something at play here because the athletic traits are so obvious that any team should want to take a shot at being able to develop him and he cost next to nothing in terms of real money or cap space. So there clearly is some intangible issue, whether it’s something related to on-field performance (reading defenses maybe) or off the field (coachability perhaps). But then, if that were the case, why would the Cowboys want to bring him back? Bottom line is I’m baffled by this.

From Marvin.:

Alain, if you had to pick a rookie that needs to have the biggest impact immediately for this team to compete, who would it be and why?

Hey Marvin, I’d call it a toss-up between Chris Johnson and Jacob Rodriguez. I’m leaving out Kadyn Proctor because a guard usually isn’t as much of a make-or-break position for an offense the way an every-down linebacker or cornerback is. And I expect both Rodriguez and Johnson to be on the field basically every down on defense, so they will be key. But as the DB who Jeff Hafley wants to move from the slot to the outside and back, and the greater importance of a DB, I’ll go Chris Johnson.

WHY CUT TYREL DODSON?

From Lloyd Heilbrunn:

Hafley was quoted to say they want to win every game and are trying to do so. How does cutting Tyrel Dodson make him more likely to win the Raiders game?

Hey Lloyd, this is a very easy for me to answer. What Hafley left out in his answer was “while always keeping in mind the long term.” So the Dolphins indeed want to win every game in 2026, but never at the cost of sacrificing the plans for 2027 and beyond. And in their eyes, Dodson was somebody who didn’t fit into the plans for 2027 with his contract running out after this season. And then, as Jon-Eric Sullivan mentioned, there was a “financial component” with Dodson, the one that saved them $3 million against the cap, which they can spend somewhere else this year or simply roll over into next year.

From Jorge Francisco boyd:

Hi Alain, do you think the Dolphins will blitz less with Kirk Cousins than they would have against Fernando Mendoza; any reason Miami should win this game?

Hey Jorge, that’s a good question and point you make there, and I would suspect that Jeff Hafley indeed might be less inclined to blitz against Cousins than Mendoza, which is just one reason I think the Dolphins would have been better had the Raiders decided to start the first overall pick. As for reasons the Dolphins should win, instead of bogging this down with X’s and O’s, just remember that Week 1 always is the most unpredictable in the NFL. Also, why is it so ridiculous to think the Dolphins can win; last I checked it’s not like the Raiders are expected to be a juggernaut.

From Andy Lawson:

Austin Jackson needs to start "x" games and play well to be considered for an extension?

Hey Andy, if you’re an Austin Jackson fan, I’m afraid the answer might be 17 PLUS he has to play Pro Bowl-caliber football. As a seven-year NFL starting tackle, Jackson likely will be looking for a good-sized contract and the Dolphins aren’t going to be in a position to give him that if they have to pay Patrick Paul after paying Aaron Brewer and drafting Kadyn Proctor as a tackle for the future.

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