Dolphins 2025 Week 1 Power Rankings Roundup

How the national media stacks the Miami Dolphins as they head into their regular season opener

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) will enter the 2025 season hoping for a return to the playoffs. | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins will head into the 2025 season looking for a return to the playoffs after the disappointing showing of 2024, and there clearly appears to be some skepticism nationally as to whether they'll be able to do that.

That already should have been apparent, but it's even clearer now by a simple look at the national media power rankings into the Week 1 of the 2025 season.

In our survey of nine national outlets — Sports Illustrated, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, NFL.com, The Athletic, ESPN, The Ringer, USA Today and The Sporting News — the Dolphins averaged a league ranking of 25.4, clearly outside of playoff contention.

Perhaps more striking is the fact that outside of The Athletic, which had Miami at 19, no other outlet had the Dolphins higher than 22nd and five had them 27th or lower.

Here's the breakdown of the Dolphins' nine power rankings spots heading into Week 1 of the 2025 regular season, along with the commentary associated with it:

THE DOLPHINS IN NATIONAL POWER RANKINGS

Sports Illustrated

Ranking: 28

Analysis: The Dolphins are a team I don’t have a grip on, admittedly. With injuries to Tyreek Hill and De’Von Achane, in addition to Tua Tagovailoa’s history, a lot is going to be on the shoulders of defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver to continue his end-of-season stretch last year, which saw the Dolphins as one of the top-10 defenses in the NFL. While it’s wild to be saying this about a team with Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Mike McDaniel, such is life in the NFL.  

Pro Football Talk

Ranking: 29

Analysis: Tyreek Hill is the prime candidate to be this year’s Davante Adams.

CBS Sports

Ranking: 25

Analysis: The offense should be good again, but they have some questions in the secondary that could derail their playoff chances. This is a big year for coach Mike McDaniel.

NFL.com

Ranking: 24

Analysis: I think I was a tad harsh at the beginning of August,ranking Miami 25th, so consider this a mild correction. Finishing ahead of the Patriots wouldn't be a shock, of course, and the Dolphins' passing game can still be a very capable power source. But there's just a lot of pressure on Mike McDaniel, Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill -- really, the whole offense. McDaniel boasts a pretty good record (28-23) in three years, but the operation has trended slightly in the negative direction dating back to the disappointing finish to the 2023 campaign, and Miami cast off some fairly big names this offseason. That means a roster that was built around star players suddenly has fewer such load-bearers holding the operation together. I think there will be weeks where the Dolphins look like contenders and others where they struggle to finish off games against ordinary competition. But between a favorable schedule and a healthy Tua, they have a decent chance of making me look silly.

The Ringer

Ranking: 27

Analysis: I want so badly to believe in this team because it seems like being on the Dolphins bandwagon is a fun time. Head coach Mike McDaniel has taken the Shanahan system and transformed it into an explosive play machine, surrounding an accurate quarterback with a 4x100 relay team in Raheem Mostert, De’Von Achane, Jaylen Waddle, and Tyreek Hill. Miami was also one of the NFL franchises to pluck a defensive coordinator from Mike Macdonald’s staff in Baltimore, hiring former defensive line coach Anthony Weaver. Things still feel so tenuous for this roster, though, and I don’t know how much more juice is left. Miami’s decision to draft a pair of pass rushers proved to be prescient, with Bradley Chubb starting the year on the PUP list, but it doesn’t have a way to replicate the production Christian Wilkins left behind, and there are several aging pieces in the secondary. If Miami has enough defense to win games late in the year, I’ll revisit my stance, but this is one team I won’t touch with a 10-foot pole."

USA Today

Ranking: 28

Analysis: If this summer taught us anything, there are still concerns about what's going on inside the building and on the field. Factor in several key starters nursing training camp injuries, and a problematic team that usually starts well under coach Mike McDaniel may struggle to replicate even that.

The Sporting News

Ranking: 27

Analysis: The Dolphins need a good start against the Colts and the rest of their early schedule to make sure Mike McDaniel can get off the hot seat. Some anemic offense and losing out of the gate would hasten his departure.

The Athletic

Ranking: 19

Analysis: Tyreek Hill told reporters in Miami that he didn’t understand the Dolphins offense during his first three years with the team (seasons in which he totaled 4,468 receiving yards). Who knows how good he might be now that he’s taking notes in meetings for the first time in his career? Running back De’Von Achane is expected to be ready Sunday despite a training camp calf injury. If he’s not, rookie Ollie Gordon II has looked good.

ESPN

Ranking: 22

Analysis: With Tua Tagovailoa under center, the Dolphins' offense has a ton of upside, but it also struggled to make the most of receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle last season. The offensive line is concerning. The defense is even shakier, especially with all five secondary starters from 2024 gone and little done to replace them. There's also uncertainty at edge rusher after Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips missed most of the past two seasons. This is a career-defining year for coach Mike McDaniel.

THE DOLPHINS OPPONENT RANKINGS

For the record, the Dolphins' upcoming opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, have an average ranking of 25,9, with a high of 20 and a low of 31.