Dolphins Sunday Mailbag: Examining the Reasons to Be Positive Heading into Camp

Part 2 of a Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag for the final weekend before the start of the 2026 training camp:

From Ron Dellisanti:

Hi Alain, so based on me asking if Miami should go after Xavier Legette on the Dolphins needing some WR help. This is because with all the coaches and all the players with the exception of QB will be evaluated closely based on play. All the players except QB can play poorly in 2026 as everyone except the QB can have multiple bad games. Willis won’t be told to stay down like Mickey told Rocky. He needs to rise to the occasion each and every game or he’ll be replaced. In your opinion would you look to sign a WR with NFL starting experience who could use a change or are you content on what Willis has to work with will be enough for him to be evaluated on his play fairly?

Hey Ron, I have said on a few occasions that the Dolphins absolutely can evaluate Malik Willis even if the talent at the skill positions (except for Achane, of course) is less than ideal. If your quarterback needs high-end talent around him to succeed, then maybe you don’t have the right quarterback and a case could be made that’s what the Dolphins experienced with Tua Tagovailoa. Willis needs to be able to elevate his teammates and make things work on offense even with mediocre talent, otherwise he’s not the guy moving forward.

From Bryan Thorn:

Want to have a little bit of optimism for the new season; can you give me any reasons to be positive?

Hey Bryan, I can give you several reasons to be positive. I’ll start simply by pointing out this roster is clearly better than the one from 2019 and the Dolphins were 5-4 in the final games that season. There’s legitimate hope that the offensive line could be ready to take a big step forward with the addition of Kadyn Proctor, the continued progress of Patrick Paul and maybe Jonah Savaiinaea delivers in his second season. There are a lot of exciting young prospects on defense, and maybe Jeff Hafley shows he’s the real deal as an NFL head coach. Yes, there are a lot of maybes, but crazier things have happened in the NFL than the Dolphins being competitive in 2026.

DOLPHINS DON'T NEED STEFON DIGGS OR DEEBO SAMUEL

From wayne mabis:

Do you think the Dolphins need to get a veteran WR?

Hey Waye, the Dolphins already have veteran wide receivers with Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell. If you mean an established big name like Stefon Diggs or Deebo Samuel, no, I don’t think a player like that makes sense because it would be a one-year move for a team that likely won’t contend. I’d rather the Dolphins find out what they have with Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell and Kevin Coleman Jr.

From Scott Williams:

What is the biggest domino for success or failure this year? That is, if “this” goes right/wrong it has the largest impact.

Hey Scott, that’s a very good question, and I might be inclined to say the offensive line on offense and the pass rush on defense.

From Jorge Francisco boyd:

Hi Alain, does Malik Willis need more time in the pocket than Tua to be effective?

Hey Jorge, no, it’s quite the opposite because Willis’ game and skill set aren’t based on quick throws, timing and rhythm. Willis’ athleticism allows him to buy time in the pocket to look for receivers downfield and then he’s a threat as a runner on any play. Again, total polar opposite from Tua.

REVISITIONIST HISTORY WITH TUA TAGOVAILOA

From Luis Rodriguez:

Hi Poup. Love the direction of the new regime. But it makes me think if Grier would still be here had Tua played on the fifth-year option. So in a weird way, should we be thankful Tua got the extension?

Hey Luis, I don’t think everything boils down to Tua, whose extension we absolutely must point out wasn’t solely given by Grier. What got us here also were the new deals given to Jalen Ramsey and Tyreek Hill when they didn’t need new deals. I’m not even sure the Dolphins would have started over at quarterback in 2025 if the previous season indeed had been Tua’s fifth-year option.

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

Achane, Brewer and Brooks all received contract extensions this offseason. Could you rank all three contracts 1 through 3. 1 being your favorite 3 being your least favorite? Please factor in the players’ potential, health, impact on the field, and cap friendliness. Also I thought when Sully came he would have an emphasis on idyllic size. All three of these men have less-than-prototypical size; any fear that we are going to continue down that road?

Hey Dana, excellent question and interesting point. Let me start from the back here and say we’ve got to be careful about attaching that much significance to the comments made by Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley about wanting a “physical” football team — for a couple of reasons. Let’s start with the idea you can be physical without having great size. It’s also more about a mentality. And if you look at the 2026 draft, the Dolphins’ picks on defense all were on the smallish side for their position and the emphasis there was on versatility rather than size. Offensively might be where the size factor comes into play and it becomes about having a scheme where the emphasis isn’t so heavily skewed toward speed and finesse. Having said all that, I haven’t the details of Brooks’ contract beyond the reported three extra years for a possible total of $51.5 million. My best guess is that, as with the contracts of Brewer and Achane, it contains an early out. I’ll say first I like all three because the Dolphins didn’t overpay, and Brooks and Brewer were very significant players for the early rebuilding stage as examples of what the Dolphins want in their players. With Achane, you’re talking about the team MVP and one difference-maker on offense (until we see what Willis will be as a full-time starter). He’s also young and there’s no long-term commitment to him in case of injury or sudden/unexpected drop in performance. So, again, I really like all three, but since you asked me to rank, I’ll go Achane, Brooks, Brewer.

WILL AUSTIN JACKSON BE READY FOR START OF CAMP?

From Dan Ford:

Gotta be a good sign that JuJu Brents and Austin Jackson are not on the PUP list right? Or has that shoe not yet fully dropped?

Hey Dan, can’t really answer that question yet because I don’t know if either player reported this past week and therefore has had their physical. Per CBA rules, the Dolphins were allowed to require injured players to report for camp as early as Thursday and we know they did that with Storm Duck and Darrell Baker Jr., who both wound up on PUP, but we don’t know about Jackson and Brents, though I don't see why Brents would be on PUP since we saw him all spring. The next key day is Tuesday, which is when all Dolphins veterans report for camp.

From Thomas Hudson:

“Hey Thomas, for the record, the Dolphins averaged 4.79 yards on first-and-10 runs in 2026. That ranked 11th in the NFL" Average is not the issue. Consistency is the issue. How does the 1st down running do in their worst games? The Dolphins scored fewer than 10 points three times in 2026, against the Colts, Browns, and Ravens. They averaged 4.5 yards rushing on first down. So the run game was good? No, it was not. On the second drive against the Browns, Achane had a 46-yard run on first down (his next run, also on 1st down, lost a yard and led to a FG). Take that out and Miami averaged 2.96 yards on first down in those three games. But it is even worse. First down runs included a 7-yard scramble from Tua and runs of 7 and 9 yards from Malik Washington. Those three games saw 7 drives die on the set of downs where the Dolphins ran for 1 or fewer yards on first down. In 28 runs on first down in those three games, Miami gained 1 yard or less 11 times. And they gained 2 yards twice. The team simply did not run the ball consistently enough on first down. As has been the case after many losses, the average looks nice because Achane broke some long ones, but on a down-to-down basis he gets stopped for too often for little to no gain. And if the new offense doesn't run the ball more consistently than the old one, Miami is going to lose a lot of games. So I sure hope the new coach has a better plan than the old one.

Hey Thomas, props for doing the deep dive on the rushing stats. Now let’s compare what the Dolphins did to other teams in the league before he make the blanket statement about how their running game wasn’t good enough. Can we both agree that the Dolphins’ mini-run toward the end of the season primarily was the result of the run game and the defense. But, yes, the running game wasn’t consistent enough not only last year but years past, though it’s not like it’s unusual for a team to have less success against better teams.

From Adam Spohn:

I know the Dolphins are fairly strong at DT in theory anyway. But how has Konga looked so far? He had a lot of top-tier traits and I'm wondering if he fits in a rotation.

Hey Adam, I didn’t notice Konga very much in the six practices open to the media in the spring, though I did catch some nice pass-rushing moves (though it was against newcomer James Ester, who was switched from the defensive line to guard after the Dolphins got him after he was waived by Green Bay). But his pass rushing clearly is his ticket to the 53-man roster if he has a chance to stick. Zach Sieler and the three 2025 draft picks should be locks to make the team at DT, which leaves Konga to battle it out with Matthew Butler and other young players for the fifth spot or six if the Dolphins keep that many.

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