Breaking Down the Tight Position Battles Heading Into Preseason Finale

As the Miami Dolphins head into their preseason finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night, there remain — at least from the outside looking in — several questions regarding what the 53-man roster will look like.

Beyond that, there are battles for specific roles, though we'll say it again, backup quarterback isn't one of them because Zach Wilson has been the No. 2 behind Tua Tagovailoa all summer and there's zero reason to think that's going to change before September 7 when the Dolphins open their regular season against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

But here are the position battles to monitor between now and Tuesday, the hot spot if you will:

THE WIDE RECEIVERS BEHIND THE TOP THREE

This is a multi-faceted competition, one for the final spot or spots on the roster at the position, and the other for snaps once the regular season kicks off.

The top three at the position are pretty clear with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Malik Washington, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine also figures to make the 53-man roster based on the fact the Dolphins signed him as a free agent in the offseason and gave him $3.2 million guaranteed.

Miami Dolphins WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine — Miami Dolphins wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (18) runs after catching a pass against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Soldier Field in the preseason opener. | David Banks-Imagn Images

But the reality is that Dee Eskridge outperformed NWI throughout training camp, though that's also counteracted by the fact he's a wide receiver in the same mold as the top three, whereas Westbrook-Ikhine brings much-needed size at the position.

Then there's the question of whether the Dolphins will keep a sixth wide receiver on their initial 53-man roster, in which case then we'd need to talk about the battle between Tahj Washington and Erik Ezukanma. Washington was the most consistent performer of the two in camp, but Ezukanma is another wide receiver with size and he also did a lot of work on special teams.

BACKUP TIGHT END

Calling anybody the starting tight end for the Dolphins is tricky because Julian Hill likely will start when the Dolphins want a physical presence and Darren Waller will start (we think) when they want more speed on the field.

The question is whether the Dolphins wind up keeping two tight ends behind those two on the initial 53-man roster, and if it's only one, then whether they go with the blocking specialist (Pharaoh Brown) or the receiving specialist (Tanner Conner).

One factor in the equation is the fact that Waller battled injuries in his past couple of NFL seasons before he retired last year, so maybe the Dolphins want to protect themselves at the position by keeping Conner and not take the chance of exposing him to waivers if they wanted to keep him on the practice squad.

BACKUP OFFENSIVE LINE

The Dolphins' top six up front seems pretty set once Austin Jackson returns from his foot injury, with the other five being Patrick Paul, Jonah Savaiinaea, Aaron Brewer, James Daniels and Larry Borom.

The problem now is the uncertain status of interior offensive linemen Liam Eichenberg and Andrew Meyer, who Mike McDaniel said last week wouldn't be back "anytime soon."

That sure sounds like the Dolphins will be starting the regular season without either of them, so who makes the 53 to serve as a backup.

For starters, count on a pretty good number of offensive linemen on the practice squad for the Dolphins to have options in case their top choices don't pan out.

At this point, it looks like a free-for-all inside, though Daniel Brunskill and maybe Kion Smith would have to rank as the favorites to land on the initial 53, which almost assuredly will feature only eight offensive linemen.

THE FINAL SPOT ON THE D-LINE

The Dolphins drafted Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers to provide reinforcements for Zach Sieler and Benito Jones, and all three showed potential during training camp.

But Matt Dickerson and Las Vegas waiver claim Matthew Butler also had their moments in camp and it's not going to be easy to simply discard them and hope they clear waivers.

The Dolphins can't keep seven defensive linemen, not even six. So something is going to have to give.

Because of their draft position, Grant and Phillips pretty much are locks, and Biggers also figures to get the benefit of being a draft pick (even in the seventh) over the other two players. But this is still a position to watch.

THE FINAL EDGE DEFENDERS

The Dolphins' collection of young edge defenders, starting with Grayson Murphy and Derrick McLendon, flashed enough during camp that some media members started talking about the amazing depth at that spot.

And then came Matthew Judon and even more depth.

But, as with every position on the roster, you can't keep everybody.

And given their pedigree and/or contract status, the Dolphins will keep Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Chop Robinson and most likely Judon, removing one roster spot from the equation.

The target number for edge defenders always figured to be five, which means one spot is available for Murphy, McLendon, special teams standout Cameron Goode, and Quinton Bell.

Clearly, something will have to give.

Merely choosing between Goode and Bell, who's also a factor on special teams, will be very difficult for the Dolphins.

And for anybody thinking about a trade, ask yourself what a team would be willing to give Phillips given his $13 million contract for 2025, his pending UFA status and his injury history; ask yourself the same questoin for Chubb, who also has a big contract and hasn't played a regular season game since December 2023; and don't even bring up Robinson because he's a foundational piece and the Dolphins simply can't trade him.

So, yeah, tough decisions await.

THE CORNERBACK QUESTION

There are basically nothing but questions here beyond Storm Duck pretty much being locked in as one of the starting cornerbacks.

How many will the Dolphins keep? Six?

Who starts opposite Duck? Jack Jones Jr.? Could it be he gets the job by default with Kendall Sheffield and Ethan Bonner both currently sidelined by injuries? Does Bonner have to start the season on IR because of his hamstring injury?

Miami Dolphins CB Ethan Bonner currently is nursing a hamstring injury. — Miami Dolphins cornerback Ethan Bonner (27) catches the football during mandatory minicamp at Baptist Health Training Complex. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

What happens with Cam Smith? Does he hang on to his roster spot now that he's back at practice and performing pretty solidly?

What about the slot position? Has that become Jason Marshall Jr.'s job? But what about Mike Hilton, who seemed like a sure thing when he signed early in camp but whose usage suggests he might not survive the roster cuts?

Questions everywhere here.

THE STATUS AT SAFETY

Things are a little bit clearer at safety with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ifeatu Melifonwu looking like the starters, but where does Ashtyn Davis fit in once he returns from his training camp foot/ankle injury?

And then there's the battle for the final roster spot at the position, assuming the Dolphins keep five safeties (though it could be six).

The Dolphins have two recent draft picks, Dante Trader Jr. and Patrick McMorris, who could be battling it out, with first-year player Jordan Colbert maybe the most impressive of the young safeties all camp.

Fitzpatrick, Melifonwu and Elijah Campbell are the sure things here, but it's difficult to predict how things play out beyond that.