Dolphins Sunday Mailbag: Sieler, Brooks, Proctor, and More

Third and final part of the Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag for the first weekend of training camp:

From Mark@Merrymeeting:

Why is it so difficult to assess how well star college players will perform in the pros?

Hey Mark, that’s a very good question and it’s clearly a problem because there are so many misses around the league every year. I would think the biggest cause there is the massive jump in competition level where it’s difficult to evaluate where what makes a player successful in college can translate to the NFL. Not a great answer, but it’s the best I can do.

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain! I have some questions about the current team & one you may have to step back into the Wayback Machine (bonus points if you remember where that one came from). Hafley stated that everyone passed their conditioning test, so according to your eye test how does Kadyn Proctor look weight wise? Big (no pun intended) offseason topic. While almost impossible to gauge without pads, I've heard nothing bad about Jonah Savaiinaea. Kinda rooting for the young man for a sophomore jump. Now for the Wayback Machine: You've said, and for what it's worth I agree, that some QBs need everything good around them for success. Wasn't Marino surrounded with a fantastic O-line, The Marks Brothers & good pass catching FBs? Now he definitely could put a game on his back no matter what. Always appreciate the unbiased content on MiamiDolphinsonSI.Com & the two best Podcasts out there , All Dolphins and Dolphins Collective.

Hey Dave, thanks as always and like the Mr. Peabody and Sherman reference. As I wrote yesterday in a story about the state of camp so far, Proctor’s weight indeed has become a non-issue, which obviously is great news. With Jonah, it’s been no news, which means it’s good news. As for Marino, I don’t know that I would call his offensive line “fantastic,” though he had great players on it at times with Dwight Stephenson, Bob Kuechenberg, Richmond Webb and Keith Sims, to name four. While the Marks Brothers were very good receivers, I’d say they benefited more from playing with Marino than the other way around. So, no, I’m not with this idea that Marino was somebody who needed or had everything around him ideal.

WHAT ROOKIES HAVE STOOD OUT?

From Mason:

Alain, thank you so much for your outstanding Dolphins coverage. It is much appreciated. We know the top three players drafted this year are running with the first team. I know it’s early, but have any other rookies stood out in practice?

Hey Mason, do we know that Kadyn Proctor, Chris Johnson and Jacob Rodriguez have been running with the first team? Based on the nature of your question, the rookies that have made plays so far in camp have been safety Michael Taaffe, and wide receivers Caleb Douglas and Kevin Coleman Jr.

From Carlos Ramirez:

Hey Alain, hope you are well. Has Hafley spoken to how much we can expect the “starters” to play in the preseason. Being that this is a very young team that needs to get as many reps together as possible, can we expect them to play in two preseason games?

Hey Carlos, since the first preseason game isn’t until August 14, the topic of starters and playing time hasn’t come up yet. My best guess is the front-line players will appear in two preseason games and get extended time in one of them.

From LutekeHightower:

Who’s starting at safety and corner? I guess just predict the starting secondary. I’m thinking JuJu and Johnson; Trader and Anderson/Moore.

Can’t speak about who’s lining up with what unit per Dolphins reporting rules, but I can say that I say from the start I expect JuJu Brents and Chris Johnson to start outside with Jason Marshall Jr. coming in when Johnson lines up in the slot, with the safety spots going to Dante Trader Jr. and either Zayne Anderson or Lonnie Johnson Jr. Louis Moore has some work to do if he hopes to make the 53-man roster, let alone land a starting job.

WHAT PLAYERS COULD BENEFIT FROM COACHING CHANGE?

From Sal:

Who is a player you can see directly impacted by coaching? I would say we saw that with Tua/Flores vs. Tua/McDaniel because that has to be some of the hope Dolfans have regarding this season. That coaching + scheme and desperation help a player like Chop Robinson.

Hey Sal, yes, I absolutely could see the scheme benefiting Chop Robinson big time, just like maybe coaching and a move back to the right side could do the same for Jonah Savaiinaea. Those are the two obvious players who come to mind here.

From Adam:

It's early in camp, but are there any rookies that look like NFL starters?

Hey Adam, yeah, we could go here with Kadyn Proctor, Chris Johnson, Jacob Rodriguez, Caleb Douglas, Will Kacmarek and Trey Moore as possible or probable 2026 starters, which would make it a solid draft haul.

From Lloyd Heilbrunn:

When we get a report that a particular player is showing well, how much is it because of the lack of talent that he's going up against?

Hey Lloyd, that can be the case in certain instances, but it’s not fair to suggest that no player can have success against equal or better competition. For example, Terrace Marshall Jr. had a nice catch near the sideline the other day despite good coverage by Chris Johnson. He got the better of him on that play, but that doesn’t make him a better player.

From JackCanada:

Biggest surprise for you speed wise? Who has wheels you didn't expect?

Hey Jack, there have been only three practices so far and I’d be lying if I said that anybody has caught my attention with unexpected speed. That would be a better question for maybe a couple of weeks down the road.

From Jason Kirkland:

Hi Alain, how's the GOAT of Dolphins coverage? I'm of the opinion that we won't really know who the Dolphins are until joint practices. Right now, even if they do well, they're doing well against mainly an average roster, at best. Your thoughts, great one?

LOL, Jason. Your point is well taken and that first joint practice with/against the Washington Commanders absolutely might tell us more than any normal practice ever could. That said, I wouldn’t entirely dismiss some of the good things we’re seeing right now.

From Mark Malbeck:

Hi Alain, I’m interested in how the secondary is looking? I have not heard anything about them being roasted on a daily basis but that may be because of our lack of quality receivers. I still believe secondary is our weakest link for the defense.

Hey Mark, the secondary has gotten off to a good start to camp indeed, though there could be something to what you’re saying about facing what everyone seems to agree is a pretty lackluster wide receiver group. We’ll get more answers, though, as training camp goes along.

SIELER, JACKSON AND THE 2027 SEASON

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

Zach Sieler and Austin Jackson are in all likelihood gone after the season because of their age and contract situations. Can you give me some scenarios in which either returns in 2027?

Hey Dana, they’re both facing different scenarios because Jackson has an expiring contract, while Sieler’s problem will be his combination of cap number and age heading into 2027. Obviously any scenario where either returns starts with a great season in 2026. With Jackson, that also would entail the Dolphins deciding either to keep Kadyn Proctor at guard beyond his rookie season or deciding that Patrick Paul would become too expensive at left tackle and moving Proctor there. With Sieler, it could depend on his willingness to take a pay cut because his base salary for the next three years is $12 million or more but none of it is guaranteed. It’s just difficult to see the Dolphins keeping Sieler at a cap number exceeding $20 million starting next year.

From Tony Sasso:

From the little you have seen so far, do you believe Malik to be an upgrade over Tua, or not and why?

Hey Tony, because of his running ability alone, I do believe Willis will be an upgrade over the Tua of the past two seasons because he wasn’t nearly as good as he was in 2022 and 2023.

From Jeff Horst:

Alain, I assume Proctor is not overweight since it hasn’t been mentioned by anyone? After 3 practices do you like how this staff is conducting business at practice? Thanks for all you do.

Hey Jeff, I most definitely like what I’ve seen from the coaching staff so far and I also like the way Proctor looks. All good on both points.

From Brian Shoe:

Did the extended stretching period carry over to training camp?

Hey Brian, it certainly has.

From Joe Schad:

Did Jordyn Brooks get a 3-year extension or a new 4-year contract?

This is an interesting question from an esteemed fellow Dolphins reporter and tackles an issue that maybe shouldn’t be an issue but still has produced a lot of conversation. That’s why I’m including it here. Let’s start with the Dolphins themselves announcing the deal with Brooks as an “extension.” And the reality is it’s a new deal that extend the remaining length of the contract from one to four years. What isn’t included in the press releases for such deals is that the financial details of the remaining year on the contract get revised, with base salary reduced and signing bonus added in a prorated fashion. Brooks’ contract called for a $10.9 million cap number in 2026, but it’s now down to $6.2 million after the extension. Finally, we should point out that initial reports for Brooks said his extension was for three years and $51.5 million and we should point out that while that’s the new money involved, the $51.5 million represents the full value over three years if there are not other adjustments.

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