Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Proctor, Chop, Brewer, and More

Part 1 of a Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag for the final weekend before the 2026 training camp gets under way:

From Not Really Jerry Mathers:

A question for your crystal ball: Will the Dolphins eventually regret passing on Rueben Bain in favor of Kadyn Proctor?

Oh, you’ve gotta know how much I just love making predictions. Love it, I tell you. Like not at all. But since you ask, no, I don’t believe the Dolphins will regret that decision because the only way they would is if Proctor flops and Bain shines, and I don’t believe both of those scenarios will play out. And I flat out would expect Proctor to have a better NFL career than Bain.

From Ed Helinski:

How badly hamstrung are the Dolphins for the next 3-4 seasons with dead cap money? What are those amounts?

Hey Ed, the Dolphins will have $56.7 million of dead cap space in 2027 because of Tua Tagovailoa and Bradley Chubb, but that’s all there is for now. And considering they currently have almost $100 million of cap space with 51 players under contract for 2027, they will not be hamstrung.

CAN CHOP, JONAH AND GRANT DELIVER?

From Dan P:

I see 4 pivotal young players in the trenches for the Dolphins. What’s your outlook for: Chop, Grant, Jonah & Proctor. What are the odds that all 4 are viable starters (quality players) this season?

Hey Dan, another prediction question. For me, I’d say the Dolphins have to have Proctor at the very least show he’ll become an impact NFL player, but I think it might be too much to ask for all four to be quality players in 2026. I’d gladly settled for three at this point, with Proctor and Kenneth Grant being the two most important.

From Jason Kirkland:

Hi Alain, I think it's going to be difficult to judge the coaches this season. Although good coaching is necessary, they have to have talent, which the Dolphins don't have much of. Like the old saying, can't make chicken salad out of chicken (bleep). Thoughts?

Hey Jason, I agree with you, but only to a certain degree because I do think good coaches can squeeze out more out of certain players than others. That’s what the Dolphins need to do this year. There’s only so far they’ll go as a team because of all the youth and roster deficiencies, but it’s up to Jeff Hafley and his staff to maximize what they have. I’ll give you as an example Brian Flores, and there is nobody who will convince otherwise when I say he was a master at maximizing the skill sets of certain defenders. I can look at AVG, Emmanuel Ogbah and Jerome Baker as three players who never played as well as they did under Flores.

From Jayco:

Who can we expect to be the top target in the red zone this season? Bonus question. Do the Heat land LeBron?

Editor’s note: This question was submitted before LeBron James declared he was joining the Philadelphia 76ers, though I will say I was baffled all along as to why some media members decided that Miami was a no-brainer and he’d borderline be stupid to choose any other destination. As for your Dolphins question, this is the area where Darren Waller was so effective last season. With him gone, I’m hard-pressed to find a clear top target, though a tight end always is a good place to start. So Greg Dulcich or Will Kacmarek maybe. Among the wide receivers, this is an area where Chris Bell really could be effective because of his big body, but who knows when he’ll be ready to contribute.

WHAT'S THE OUTLOOK FOR JEFF HAFLEY?

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain ! I am a realist & really don't expect many wins this season & the only hope is a change is a team that's going to fight until clock hits zero. The Dolphins have been thru a couple hundred Head Coaches (sarcasm alert) since Don Shula “retired.” Two moderately successful since then with Jimmy Johnson & Dave Wannstedt, the latter being the only one to win ONE playoff game. I'll grant a little credit to Sparano's one & Gase's for one playoff appearance & McDaniel's two which three of four were basically blowout losses. Too early to tell but is there any hope that Hafley can do any better than the previous hundred? Bring some respect back to a once-proud team? As always appreciate all the great written content on Miami Dolphins on SI.Com. and both All Dolphins and Dolphins Collective podcasts. Great stuff!

Thanks as always, Dave, and I wish I could answer your question, but there is absolutely no way of knowing what kind of head coach Jeff Hafley will become in the NFL because he’s never done it. What I will say is Dolphins fans should give him the benefit of the doubt until it’s time not to anymore. What he did as head coach at Boston College or DC of the Green Bay Packers simply isn’t the same as being an NFL head coach, so we don’t have any sort of gauge for him. So I say let’s be optimistic that the Dolphins got it right.

From Carlos Ramirez:

Hey Alain, I understand that Brewer was 2nd team all pro last year and that he is one of the leaders of the team. But do you also share the concern that he might not be the right fit for a team that wants to focus on power and dominance and not elusiveness?

Hey Carlos, I wouldn’t overblow this idea of “power and dominance” beyond playing hard on every snap and being very aggressive. The offensive scheme will remain similar, and it’s a scheme that relies more on finesse and deception than physicality, and Brewer is a perfect scheme fit. My point is I would caution against overanalyzing that one, while also understanding your concern if the Dolphins suddenly wanted to play smash-mouth football.

From Lloyd Heilbrunn:

Why do we have to put up with a bad season due to their incompetence, and listen to pundits and beat writers preach patience and development? Are they no longer charging for games or paying my cable bill so I can watch them for free? The only thing that counts is wins...

Hey Lloyd, I get your frustration and us pundits and beat writers are preaching patience and development because we’re trying to be honest and not b.s. anyone into thinking the Dolphins are going to be contenders this year. Because they’re not. The Dolphins made a decision as an organization that they had gone as far as they could with the previous nucleus and it made more sense to blow up the whole thing and start over than continue down the same path, and I don’t know how anyone could disagree with that decision. The down side, though, is there are going to be some growing pains, but hopefully the team can reach a point it couldn’t the previous way of doing things.

From Mark:

Any rumblings about if they are considering a small package with Proctor in the backfield like he did at Alabama? Refrigerator Proctor? They even threw the ball to him & he looked pretty good doing it.

Hey Mark, I love the “Refrigerator Proctor” tag, but I haven’t heard any rumblings whatsoever of any plans to use Proctor that way. And let me take it a step further and say that would be a big no for me. I’ve never been a fan of using a key O-lineman as a rusher or receiver. Just let him do what he does best.

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