Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Bubble, Bell, J-Rod, and More

Part 2 of a Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag ahead of the preseason game against the New York Giants:

From Adam Euster:

Who wins at the same point in the year the 2019 Dolphins or 2026 Dolphins?

Hey Adam, I’m pretty sure the 2026 Dolphins win, and I think rather decisively. Now, if we’re talking late in the season, maybe it’s a different story. But this Dolphins team looks so much better prepared to compete at the start of the regular season than the 2019 group.

From Jorge Francisco boyd:

Hi Alain, what have you seen from the safeties and the CB and who could probably have starter material among them?

Hey Jorge, what I’ve seen from the secondary is a young group that’s made some plays here and there, but also will need a lot of help from the pass rush. It’s a group that’s clearly a question mark heading into the regular season. As for players who could be starter material, you have Chris Johnson, JuJu Brents (if he can stay healthy) and maybe Dante Trader Jr. at safety. It’s definitely a group that could use some reinforcements.

From Jayco:

Longtime admirer of your work. Which undrafted free agents do you see making the 53-man roster?

First off, thanks very much. Second, the better question might be “will any undrafted free agents make the 53-man roster?” Because right now I’m just not sure I see any of them making it. It’s funny because back in May this was touted as one of the best rookie free agent classes in the entire NFL. But right now I’d say safety Louis Moore and edge Rodney McGraw have a shot, but I don’t know that it’s a very good shot.

WHAT MUST MALIK DO?

From PhinsO pins:

What’s the bar for Malik to be considered the starter for next year vs targeting a QB in the first round of next year’s draft? My thought is unless they did the unthinkable and shock the world to actually make the playoffs, then you have to target QB in round 1 next year.

I will respectfully disagree with you because I do think that the Dolphins could miss the playoffs and still not need to draft a quarterback. Making that the bar for Willis is unrealistic because this is flat out not a playoff-caliber roster and there’s only so much he can do. As I’ve said before, for me it’s not about won-loss record or stats but rather the eye test — and not my eye test, but that of Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley. They’ll know whether Willis should be their guy in 2027 or beyond regardless of stats or record.

From Ed Helinski:

Which vets are on the bubble and need to step up their game to make the season-opening 53?

Hey Ed, you can get that kind of info in my story on the roster tiers heading into the Giants preseason game, but names that immediately come to mind would include Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, Cameron Goode and maybe Willie Gay Jr.

From Thegcrew22:

Who is RB2? Is that competition something to keep an eye on?

It’s definitely a competition to watch, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it ended up that the Dolphins use Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II almost equally. For right now, I would give Wright the slightest of edges.

From Kevin Craig:

How does this Giants joint practice compare with the infamous Detroit Lions one where it was universally agreed we got bullied? It feels the Giants practice was more a case of skill level discrepancy vs. not being tough enough.

Hey Kevin, the one joint practice where the Dolphins were “bullied,” if you want to use that word, was the one at Chicago and a big part of the reason was that the Bears were ridiculously physical for a joint practice. Against Detroit, the first of two joint practices was just a matter of the Dolphins being outclassed by a better team, not necessarily bullied. And, yes, the Giants didn’t “bully” the Dolphins as much as they outperformed them (at least their defense versus the Miami offense).

KENNETH GRANT CONCERNS

From Colin Crabb:

Hi Alain, is it time to worry about Grant and our depth in the secondary? Also am I the only one worried about Bell getting time on the field early considering his ACL injury and this season not being a contender; why the rush?

Hey Colin, it’s time to worry — actually past time — to worry about depth at just about every position. Running back and linebacker might be the only two exceptions there. As for Grant, how I would say this is that he needs to show some clear improvement in his second season and there were no clear indications it was happening before he was sidelined with his current injury. Lastly, I don’t know if “worried” is the term I’d use with Bell, but rather understanding the long term is what matters here and the Dolphins need to slow-roll him as opposed to trying to get a lot out of him early in the season. If this means the Dolphins putting him on IR at the start of the season with a designation to return, so be it. Again, the Dolphins need to play the long game here.

Hopefully I’m not too late. Mr. Poupart. I got a bone to pick with you. Na jk, but I am inquisitive to your reasoning on your JRod critiques of the Giants team practice. JRod had an athletic INT with a long return, possibly a ff and some tackles at the line of scrimmage. From what I read. I was not there. I know he was targeted early and often matched up against a TE in coverage and the Giants had some success throwing in his direction. I’ll be honest, there aren’t many Linebackers in this league who are going to look good in coverage against a pass catching TE. On the Dolphins Collective, you and Omar seemed to have an overall negative review of Mr Rodriguez but from where I sit a player who averages an INT and FF per game would not only be headed to the HOF but would be considered the greatest defensive player of all time. My question is can you gives us a more detailed critique of Jrod’s practice performance to add nuance to why you weren’t thrilled with his performance?

Hey Dana, as I disclosed on both the All Dolphins Podcast and the Dolphins Collective, my focus during the joint practice was on the Dolphins offense and, if you’ve ever watched a joint practice you’d understand it’s impossble to see everything. In my written recap on this website, I wrote that Rodriguez had a pick but also his hands full trying to cover Likely, and that was based on what the folks watching the defense were saying and sharing. So I can’t provide you with many details about J-Rod’s practice performance other than to defer to Omar, and you can ask on the next Collective. I did see a video clip of his interception, and he caught it while falling down after tipping the ball up in the middle of the field, so I’d question the idea of a long return there.

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