Do the Dolphins Really Have a Bottom-Third Roster in the NFL?

Coming off a disappointing 8-9 season that saw the team miss the playoffs for the first time under Mike McDaniel, the Miami Dolphins were expected to spend the offseason making significant improvements to their already star-studded roster.

However, the Dolphins instead spent the offseason making smaller improvements along the fringes of the roster. The team lost talented veterans in Calais Campbell and Terron Armstead, while Jalen Ramsey almost definitely won’t play for the Dolphins this season.

So, is the Dolphins roster poised to rebound following a rough 2024 campaign? Well, one national outlet certainly doesn’t think so. Pro Football Focus recently ranked all 32 rosters heading into the season and slotted the Dolphins 24th.

PFF cites issues around the Dolphins’ passing game regression and whether Patrick Paul can anchor left tackle as reasons why the roster is ranked in the NFL’s bottom third.

Let’s look at the Dolphins’ roster and see whether the team really has the NFL’s 24th-best roster.

Where Miami’s Roster Falls Short

In PFF’s defense, the Dolphins’ roster does have some pretty obvious holes.

The Dolphins’ long-term outlook at defensive tackle feels pretty good, but there are always growing pains when relying on rookies. We like Kenneth Grant and Jordan Phillips specifically, but them topping Calais Campbell’s play will be hard.

Also, on defense, the team’s safety room doesn’t look great on paper. Ifeatu Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis likely are upgrades on Jordan Poyer, but that’s hardly a high bar to clear. Jevon Holland struggled last season, but had previously been an above-average player.

Melifonwu is an oft-injured player, and Davis hasn’t been a significant factor on defense during the past couple of seasons. It’s easy to see why that group doesn’t inspire confidence.

Then, there’s the most obvious hole on the team: cornerback. Ironically enough, it seems like PFF is grading the Dolphins with Ramsey taking up a starting spot, even though we know that won’t happen this season.

Regardless, Kader Kohou is the only other player in that room who has played above-average football at any point. That said, he’s been inconsistent while bouncing between outside and the slot.

Other national analysts have made this point already, but a group of Kohou, Storm Duck, Ethan Bonner, Artie Burns and B.J. Adams might be the worst cornerback room in the league. The Dolphins could sign a veteran, but how much would an aging player really change that?

The other area where PFF takes issue is left tackle. They are pretty low on Patrick Paul, who is taking over for Terron Armstead. There’s no doubt that Paul isn’t as good as Armstead, especially in pass protection.

However, Paul has a higher ceiling as a run blocker, and one of the team’s most significant issues down the stretch last season was a failure to generate a capable running game. Paul is a downgrade on Armstead, but we’re a bit higher on his potential than PFF.

Miami’s Strengths

One of the reasons this ranking is somewhat surprising is that the Dolphins are still returning a decent bit of high-caliber talent this season.

On offense, Tua Tagovailoa is much better than the 24th-best quarterback in the league, and he’s still throwing to one of the league’s best wide receiver duos in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Both players had a down year in 2024, but they didn’t lose any of their speed or route-running prowess. Both were the victims of a passing game that was hamstrung by poor backup quarterback play for a chunk of the season.

The team added Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as a WR3, and he’s arguably the best player they’ve had in that role during the Mike McDaniel era.

Although left tackle could be an issue, right tackle Austin Jackson is fully healthy already, and the Dolphins upgraded both guard spots by signing James Daniels and drafting Jonah Savaiinaea.

The defense hasn’t seen many upgrades in the way of new players, but getting Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb back healthy gives the Dolphins two stars at one of the game’s most critical positions.

In fact, the Dolphins’ pass rush should be a significant strength this season. Phillips and Chubb will join Chop Robinson, who had an excellent end to his rookie season, and Zach Sieler is still a force on the interior.

The team also made minor upgrades to its linebacker depth. Jordyn Brooks returns as a high-caliber starter, and some combination of Tyrel Dodson, K.J. Britt and Willie Gay Jr. should be better than David Long Jr., who was cut in the middle of last season.

Ultimately, the Dolphins still have elite playmakers on offense, a solid quarterback, and a ton of juice in the pass rush. Those are three of the most important spots to get locked down.

Are The Dolphins Really This Bad?

Ultimately, the Dolphins have too much star power to be ranked outside of the NFL’s top-20 rosters. PFF has unproven teams, such as the Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts, ranked ahead of Miami.

While we would slot the Dolphins higher than 24th, the real problem is that trying to justify the Dolphins’ roster as one worthy of placement in the top half of the league is quite difficult.

Besides the glaring hole at cornerback and downgrades at positions like left tackle and safety, Miami’s roster is perhaps the NFL roster most reliant on injury luck. Every team is to a certain extent, but here’s a list of starters coming off a season-ending injury or offseason surgery:

Tua Tagovailoa, QB
Tyreek Hill, WR
Austin Jackson, OT
James Daniels, OG
Bradley Chubb, Edge
Jaelan Phillips, Edge
Ifeatu Melifonwu, S

Daniels and Hill are the only players listed who haven’t suffered significant injuries in the past, but the Dolphins are putting a lot of faith in players who struggle to stay on the field.

The other issue is the team’s depth. If Phillips and Chubb can’t stay healthy or aren’t the same player post-injury, Robinson doesn’t have a reliable running mate off the edge. Melifonwu’s backup is likely to be one of Elijah Campbell, Dante Trader Jr. or Patrick McMorris.

We’ve written at length about the team’s underwhelming attempt to fix backup quarterback, but most teams will struggle without their starting passer.

It’s hard to rank the Dolphins’ roster higher, not because it’s “bad,” but because it’s so fragile.

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