Dolphins 2025 Interior Defensive Line Report Card: How Bright is Group's Future?

The Miami Dolphins’ season did not go as planned, largely because their roster didn’t meet expectations.

Now that the team is turning the page with GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and HC Jeff Hafley, we’re taking one last look back at the 2025 roster and mostly grading players who played meaningful snaps.

We’re going position by position to grade every player based on the film study we did during the season and their expectations. We’ve already done the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends, and the offensive line, so it’s time to do the interior defensive line.

Zach Sieler

Like pretty much the entire Dolphins defense, Sieler’s season got off to a rough start. He got a three-year, $67.5 million extension right before the season started, and it looked like that contract was a mistake at first.

However, Sieler played much better down the stretch of the season as the rest of Miami’s defense rounded into form. He recorded 20 of his 32 pressures this season after Week 9, including two games with four pressures.

Sieler’s sack numbers dipped from 10 in 2023 and 2024 to just five this season, but again, all five of his sacks came after Week 9.

On tape, Sieler was a little more inconsistent against the run this season, too. That’s a bit more concerning than anything going on in the pass-rush department. Hopefully, he can bounce back under new head coach Jeff Hafley.

Grade: C+

Kenneth Grant

Grant was the Dolphins' biggest investment in the 2025 draft (and arguably the entire offseason as a whole), and his rookie season didn’t start off great.

He struggled to maintain his pad level as a run defender and make an impact in the pass rush. Things slowly but surely got better for Grant, though. He raised the floor on his run defense a good bit and started to flash pass-rush skills.

We’re still optimistic that the athletic game wrecker the Dolphins saw at Michigan can still translate to the NFL field. If not, Grant is trending toward being a positive run defender, which gives him an acceptable floor.

Let’s see if Hafley’s more aggressive scheme can unlock some of Grant’s more high-ceiling traits, though.

Grade: C

Jordan Phillips

Jordan Phillips was Miami’s best rookie this season, which probably isn’t great for the Dolphins’ rookie class, but that’s not Phillips’ problem.

Phillips was drafted in the fifth round to play nose tackle, and that’s exactly what he did this season. Some games were better than others for sure, but Phillips did his job well and consistently through the year.

He’s a solid run stuffer and should be the team’s future at nose tackle. That’s a pretty big win for a player selected in the middle of Day 3.

The real question now is whether Phillips fits in Hafley’s scheme. The Maryland product is a two-gapping nose tackle, which isn’t something traditionally used in Hafley’s defense.

Every team needs a player like that to some extent, but it wouldn’t be shocking if Phillips saw less usage this season. Hafley did say the scheme would match his players, and Phillips is the team’s most consistent run defender, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Grade: B+

Benito Jones

Jones is a snap eater at this point in his career. He’s someone who will play between 250-350 snaps and just try to provide average play on the interior.

It should also be noted that Jones spent some of the season battling injuries and playing through a lot, so that will be weighted into his grade.

However, Jones’ tape just wasn’t good this past season. He’s a non-factor in the passing game, and he didn’t have much of an impact against the run. He got moved off his spot way too often and didn’t do a great job keeping linebackers clean.

Jones was a minor figure in Miami’s struggles against the run, but the team should look to upgrade his spot this offseason.

Grade: C-

Zeek Biggers

The last of Miami’s three rookie defensive tackles, Zeek Biggers, played in only nine games after starting the year on the inactive list.

Biggers proved he belonged at the NFL level, which is a win. He’s got a lot of energy and size as a pass rusher, allowing him to push pockets and make effort plays.

His run defense needs major work, and he won’t be anything more than a fringe rotational player without a jump in that area. Still, that’s not a bad outcome for a seventh-round pick.

Grade: B

Matthew Butler

Lastly, we’ve got Butler, who played 203 snaps this season, which is just enough to qualify for this article. Butler was a rotational contributor until he was made inactive in favor of Zeek Biggers starting in Week 10.

Butler got back onto the field for the final two weeks of the season, but he hardly made an impact in either stint. He was signed in the summer to bring a little bit of speed to the defensive line room, but his poor run defense greatly outweighed any pass-rush help he could offer.

Butler wasn’t offering much in that category anyway. He had zero sacks and just seven pressures this past season. This just never seemed like a good fit for Butler, but Hafley’s new scheme seems like it would suit him more.

We still think Miami can and should upgrade this spot, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see the new staff like Butler more than his tape would indicate.

Grade: D

More Miami Dolphins Coverage