Five Biggest Reasons for Pessimism for the Miami Dolphins Heading into 2026: Secondary Is Primary Concern

The Miami Dolphins are a week away from embarking on a new season with a new general manager, new head coach, new quarterback and whole bunch of other new things.

The outside expectations for the 2026 Dolphins are about as low as they can get, with ESPN's Adam Schefter the latest to pile on with his declaration that Miami is the team to beat for the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NFL draft.

With such a large volume of new faces and the departures of so most of the team's marquee players — Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick, to name five — it's understandable to be skeptical.

While there are reasons for optimism that the Dolphins can enjoy some measure of success this season, as we examined Saturday, there are just as many to believe the won-loss record will be one to forget.

FIVE BIGGEST REASONS FOR PESSIMISM FOR THE 2026 DOLPHINS

1. THE SUSPECT SECONDARY

There's just no two ways around it and, forgive the pun, but the secondary by far should be the primary concern.

There very well might be some good talent in the group of cornerbacks and safeties, but there also isn't one projected starter — whether it be Chris Johnson, JuJu Brents, Jason Marshall Jr., Zayne Anderson, Michael Taaffe or Dante Trader Jr. — with significant NFL experience.

One or more of those players absolutely could be the real deal, obviously starting with Johnson considering he was a first-round pick in 2026, but the reality is we're dealing with a lot of unproven. commodities with nothing guaranteed. And there could be (or should be) growing pains before the young players establish themselves.

2. THE LACK OF DEPTH

There's an argument to be made that this concern should be at the top, but we resisted the temptation because maybe the Dolphins get lucky in 2026 and don't sustain many injuries to their front-line players.

But just one look at the Dolphins transactions ledger tells you the team itself is concerned about the back end of the roster, on top of GM Jon-Eric Sullivan's comments about churning the roster.

The reality is that there might not be a position on the team where an injury to start doesn't cause major issues. That's, of course, the offshoot of having almost $180 million of dead cap space, cap space that couldn't be spent on more proven backups.

3. AN OVERRELIANCE ON ROOKIES?

We've seen the stat where the Dolphins have the youngest roster in the NFL, but maybe even more concerning is the very large number of rookies or second-year players expected to play significant roles.

This is the list: Kadyn Proctor, Chris Johnson, Jacob Rodriguez, Caleb Douglas, Chris Bell, Michael Taaffe, Kyle Louis, Will Kacmarek, DJ Herman, Zeek Bigger, Jordan Phillips, Jonah Savaiinaea, Ollie Gordon II, Dante Trader Jr. Those are all players expected to start or at least play a significant role for the Dolphins in 2026.

That is a very long list.

While having this many young front-line players bodes well for the franchise for the future if they pan out, experience counts for something in the NFL and it's tough to win with that many young players.

4. WHO'S PRESSURING THE QUARTERBACK?

We included 2024 first-round pick Chop Robinson among our reasons for optimism, and that was based largely on his training camp and the way he looked physically. But, as we mentioned, there's no guarantee he's ready to break out in his third season, and if he doesn't, then what?

And remember that we have the secondary as the biggest reason for concern. If the pass rush isn't effective in affecting the quarterback on a regular basis — and it's not just about sacks but about getting pressure, then it would make things tougher on the DBs, who need their job made easier and not the other way around.

The bottom line here is there's going to be an awful lot of pressure — no pun intended — on Robinson to really affect the quarterback this season because he's the one guy with the better-than-average likelihood of making it happen.

The Dolphins' other edge defenders — Josh Uche, Robert Beal Jr. and newcomer Malik Herring — just don't have the same kind of pass-rushing potential. The obvious other candidate to get pressure on the QB is DT Zach Sieler, provided he looks like the version we saw in the second half of 2025 than in the first half.

Of course, head coach Jeff Hafley could try to generate pressure with some blitzing, but there's always a risk-reward factor involved because the more players go after the quarterback, the fewer are there to cover receivers.

5. WILL O-LINE BE AN ISSUE AGAIN?

There is reason for hope for the offensive line after te addition to Proctor to the four returning starters, but what we saw against the New York Giants in the joint practice was pretty worrisome.

Yes, the Giants ran some blitzes in practice that day, but that doesn't account for the ridiculous amount of pressure the starting offensive line allowed that day.

The Dolphins logically should be strong on the middle to left side of the line with Patrick Paul, Proctor and All-Pro Aaron Brewer, but there's reason to be concerned about the right side with Savaiinaea and Austin Jackson.

While all the reports from coaches and teammates about Savaiinaea were encouraging this summer, the regular season is a different ballgame. And Jackson, after battling a health issue early in camp, had an uneven performance over the summer. And that's not even bringing up his unfortunate injury history or the aforementioned lack of depth.

So, yes, the offensive line could be better in 2026, but it's far from a guarantee and if the offensive line struggles, it will make life much harder for Malik Willis, De'Von Achane and company.

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