Dolphins Announce 2025 Team Awards, but We Added Some Unofficial Ones

The Miami Dolphins’ 2025 season hasn’t been an overly positive experience, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of opportunities for players on and off the field to make an impact.

To that end, the team announced its 2025 team awards Wednesday morning. These awards include on-field honors such as team MVP — voted on by the South Florida media — and off-field recognition for community service.

Here’s a breakdown of the team’s awards, and then we added a few of our own because just one on-field award doesn’t seem quite right.

Miami Dolphins Official 2025 Team Award Winners

Starting with the Dan Marino Most Valuable Player Award, it should be no surprise that running back De’Von Achane took home the award. Achane has been one of the league’s best backs this season, earning him a Pro Bowl spot in a crowded AFC backfield.

Heading into Week 18, He’s rushed for 1,350 yards and eight touchdowns, while averaging 5.7 yards per rush. Achane has also added 67 catches, 488 receiving yards, and four touchdown catches.

He’s a complete back who has easily been the team’s most valuable player this season.

Next up is the Don Shula Leadership Award, which was brought home by linebacker Jordyn Brooks. The team captain was consistently praised for his leadership all season, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

He’s become such a dynamic presence in the locker room that head coach Mike McDaniel is giving him a huge say in whether he plays through a hamstring injury in Week 18, so he can lead the NFL in tackles this season.

The second-to-last achievement is the Ed Block Courage Award, presented to linebacker Cameron Goode. The Dolphins’ athletic training staff selects it and “symbolizes professionalism, courage, and inspiration, while also serving as a role model in the South Florida community.”

Goode has played in every game so far this season after spending the majority of the 2024 season on PUP as he worked his way back from the severe knee injury he sustained in the season finale against the Buffalo Bills the previous January.

Last, but certainly not least, tight end Julian Hill won the Nat Moore Community Service Award for providing “resources to youth mentorship, development, and foster care advocacy.”

Miami Dolphins On SI Team Awards

Our MVP and leadership picks also would be Achane and Brooks, so we’ll hand out some different awards instead. These players also would win any offensive and defensive player of the year awards, so we’ll skip those.

Achane and Brooks are the best players on their unit; enough said.

Protector of the Year

This is the NFL’s new award given to the best offensive linemen each season, so it feels fitting to have a Dolphins-specific version. Our choice is center Aaron Brewer, who has played at all All-Pro level this season.

He’s allowed just 12 pressures all season — never more than two in a single game — and zero sacks. His athletic ability in the running game is one of the reasons Achane was productive enough to win team MVP.

Brewer’s speed and movement skills in space open up so many unique play calls for the offense, and he’s improved in the down-to-down functions of playing center.

The Dolphins have a budding star on their hands.

Most Underrated Player

There are a few candidates for this, but we’re going with Rasul Douglas. He’s properly rated by South Florida media, but his excellent season has flown under the radar nationally.

He’s posted 59 tackles, two interceptions, 12 passes defended, one sack, and one forced fumble. Douglas’ coverage metrics are also great, and the film shows a savvy vet who is an ideal scheme fit for Anthony Weaver’s defense.

Just go back and watch how well Douglas played against Mike Evans in Week 17. Evans had to battle for so many tight catches because Douglas was right in his hip pocket all game.

We’ll see if the Dolphins bring him back next season, but they got above-average play from the veteran this season.

Most Improved Player

Left tackle Patrick Paul is the easy answer here. He played sparingly during the 2024 season, but his tape was quite the roller-coaster ride. Paul showed plenty of potential, but it was far from a given that he could handle a full-time starting role.

Well, he’s handled it incredibly well in 2025. Paul has gone from a shaky pass protector to one of the more consistent presences in the league.

His full-year stats are skewed from an incredibly poor performance vs. the Steelers (charged with six pressures in that game), but if you turn on the tape, it’s easy to see how consistent he’s been.

Paul has proven he can anchor the left tackle spot for years to come — if that’s not improvement, then I don’t know what is.

Rookie of the Year

Miami has given a boatload of snaps to rookies this season, so it only seems fitting that we should give one of them some hardware.

Of all the awards on this list, this was the most challenging. What do you value? Consistency? Upside? There’s no right answer, but we’re handing this award out to the player who has played the best this season, regardless of future projections.

For our money, that’s nose tackle Jordan Phillips. He hasn’t had some of the peak games that players like Kenneth Grant, Dante Trader Jr., and Jason Marshall Jr. have, but he’s incredibly consistent all year.

Phillips has a thankless job, as he just stacks blocks in the middle and helps the rest of the defense make plays. However, he’s quite good at that, and all of that dirty work has helped Miami improve against the run after a dreadful start.

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