How Louis Is a Key Piece to Implement Green Bay Way on Defense

When the Dolphins were on the clock for their second pick of the fourth round, they had versatility in mind. Could Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley have been looking to re-create someone who became a guy they did not want to take off the field in Green Bay?

Pittsburgh Panthers linebacker Kyle Louis in pass action against the Miami Hurricanes during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium during the 2025 season. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Versatility is the name of the game for Miami Dolphins fourth-round pick Kyle Louis.

Louis is listed as a linebacker, but has the versatility to move around and play as a slot defender and overhang defender.

With new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and new head coach Jeff Hafley coming over from the Green Bay Packers, could they have had one of their former defenders in mind as his new team targeted Louis in the fourth round?

The New Bull

At this point, the influence of the way Green Bay runs its franchise is starting to infiltrate its way into Miami.

Malik Willis, for example, was one step. Building through the draft is another step that will take hold of the franchise over time.

We touched earlier this week on the Packers’ approach to the wide receiver position, and the Dolphins following that during Sullivan’s first draft as the man in charge.

One other player appears to have caught the eye of Sullivan, reminding him of another player who became an impact player for Hafley’s defense in Green Bay.

Javon Bullard was drafted in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft with eyes on putting him at safety next to Xavier McKinney.

The key word that offseason for the Packers and General Manager Brian Gutekunst was being interchangeable.

"It really helps your defense to be multiple and flexible so teams can't get a bead on what you're doing,"  Gutekunst said at the scouting combine in 2024. "So, in a perfect world, quite frankly, between the two safeties and the nickel, those three guys almost need to be interchangeable completely."

Gutekunst discussed needing his players to be interchangeable at the two safety positions and the nickel cornerback spot just as Hafley was taking over Green Bay’s defense.

Two months later, Javon Bullard was a member of the Green Bay Packers. Bullard started his career as the starting safety next to McKinney before ultimately being bumped down to the team’s primary nickel cornerback.

In 2025, Bullard played 537 snaps as a slot corner, 130 snaps as a box defender, and 100 snaps as a free safety according to PFF.

As he progressed through 2025, Bullard became an indispensable part of Jeff Hafley’s defense due to that versatility.

““He can do both (safety and slot). He’s the type of guy I’m confident playing back at safety, playing at nickel, he can do it all, he can play in the half, he can play in the middle of the field, he can insert in the run game and he can blitz.

“There’s times we do want to get him back there (at safety) in certain situations and certain personnel groupings, or some down and distances, so we just try to rotate him in. He's a player you don’t want to take off the field.” Hafley said before the Packers played the New York Giants last November.

With Louis joining the Dolphins in the fourth round of the 2026 draft, perhaps Hafley was hoping to find another player they do not want to take off the field.

Louis was a team captain at Pittsburgh and showed the versatility to play both linebacker and in the slot while in college.

According to PFF, Louis played 319 snaps in the box, 244 at slot corner, and 105 snaps on the defensive line in 2025. He moved all over Pittsburgh’s defense, and was one if their most impactful players.

In his last two seasons in college, he had 10 sacks, 24 tackles for loss, and six interceptions.

"You put Louis at the big nickel a lot like we use Javon Bullard and in Green Bay, and then he can slide into the will backer and sub," Sullivan said this week on The Joe Rose Show. "We got a lot of really good football players that are multiple and can do different things. When you have a roster that needs a lot of different fixes, if you will, to have players that are versatile like that, it allows you to kind of patch holes, multiple holes, with one guy, if you will.”

The point Sullivan makes about patching multiple holes with one guy is important to note. Football is a violent game. Injuries are the expectation without exception. Guys are going to miss time. The goal is to be able to adapt once a player misses time, with the expectation still to perform when it’s time to play on Sunday.

Louis is someone who can help the Dolphins patch those holes, which is largely what made him an attractive piece for the Dolphins to add in the fourth round. The ability to play three different positions makes him one of the most intriguing players in this draft class. First-round pick Chris Johnson was mentioned by Sullivan as well as someone who could bump into the slot in passing situations. That is an important trait these days as well, with multiple teams having their best receivers play in the slot in big passing situations.

The versatility that Louis and Johnson could offer Hafley could make their defense dangerous in passing situations with the amount of different looks they can throw at an opposing quarterback.

The only question now is how quickly Hafley and the coaching staff can get the rookies up to speed. The more that Johnson and Louis know how to do, the faster they’ll be able to throw more complex looks at opposing offenses.