Dolphins Week 1 Friday Mailbag: Tua, Achane, Iffy, and More

What could be early signs of success? What will NWI's role be early in the season? Tackling those and other Miami Dolphins issues

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) handoffs the football to running back De'Von Achane (28) during mandatory minicamp at Hard Rock Stadium this June. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Part 1 of the Miami Dolphins On SI Week 1 mailbag:

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain! First & foremost, I have to really thank you for being one of the few journalists that take time to answer questions from us ordinary fans. As someone who has been a fan since Fins lost to Cowboys in the Super Bowl, chain smoked a whole pack of cigarettes thru many a game I still enter a season with some hope & expectation. Any part of the initial depth chart surprise you? Also, I never see Tua or anyone really go up & down the bench to either rally or chew out the offense/defense. Would that not define leadership or am I just an old grumpy guy? Thoroughly enjoy both All Dolphins & The Collective podcasts. 

Hey Dave, as always, thanks for the kind words regarding the two podcasts (All Dolphins Podcast and the Dolphins Collective). Let’s start with the depth chart and the unwritten rules that always favor veterans over rookies and players not being displaced because of injuries (unless they’re off the roster, of course) and, no, nothing surprised me about the depth chart. Maybe the one thing that stands out was Phillips, Chubb and Robinson all being listed as first-team players when I question how many times they’ll all be on the field together. As for players getting vocal on the sidelines, I’ve seen it on occasion and, sure, it's part of leadership, but only a small part. And even if you’re a grumpy old guy, that works for me because I’ve been called that myself at times.

From Reza Hariri:

Confusing why Miami continues to sign these players that are nowhere ready to play ball — OBJ last year Waller this year — to have 0 backup plan. We could have gone after Fant.

Hey Reza, you make a valid point there and I’m not sure I can explain it very well. In this particular case, maybe it was the matter of timing, maybe the Dolphins just got enamored with the idea of Waller once they were told he’d be interested in playing for them. But it’s difficult to argue against your point.

From Ed Helinski:

What kinds of vibes are you getting from the Dolphins for this season-opening game?

Hey Ed, the vibe that’s coming from Dolphins camp is a quiet confidence and almost enjoying being dismissed as contenders by most of the national media. Their motto has been “They talk, we do” and that’s exactly the vibe they’re giving off.

RUNNING GAME RAMBLINGS

From Jayco:       

Do you anticipate a 50/50 split of the carries between Achane and Gordon on Sunday?

Miami Dolphins 2025 sixth-round pick Ollie Gordon II | Alain Poupart - Miami Dolphins On SI

Hey Jayco, the only way that’s going to happen is if Achane is having issues with his calf. If the calf isn’t a problem, I’d imagine Achane will get the vast majority of the work.

From Bladeaux:

Will the Dolphins convert a 3 or 4th down with less than 3 yards to go running the ball?

Hmm, I’m going to go ahead and predict yes because I think Mike McDaniel is going to want to establish that ability very early in the season.

From Jason Kirkland:

Alain, the offense is better with explosive plays to Hill and Waddle, agreed. I also think the offense looks like last year and losing Jonnu will hurt. Malik doesn't separate, so he's limited. De’Von needs less work than last season. NWI, does what do you think in this case?

Hey Jason, first off, I’d say Malik Washington doesn’t have the speed to easily separate, that’s true, but he’s a very good route runner and the Dolphins can scheme ways to get him open. I don’t think the loss of Jonnu is overly significant, even though I’m probably in the minority here because the offense was much better in 2022 and 2023 when the top tight end didn’t reach 40 catches. I’m not sure if I’m expecting a big role from NWI at the start of the season in the passing game, though I do think he’ll be a factor as a blocker.

From Stephen Ryan:

Clearly watching this game the QB makes plays with the legs. We don’t have that. Yet Brady did not as well, except the sneak. Well, Tua seems too-one dimensional.

You don’t necessarily have to have a QB who consistently makes plays with his legs, but it does make a difference to have somebody who can get himself out of trouble with his mobility and then pick up some first downs with his scrambling. Tua has done that in the past, though it’s clearly not his forte.

From SciGuy17:

Since you've seen Melifonwu in practice more than fans, what kind of expectations do you have for him? I follow several beat reporters, and it's pretty much crickets on him.

Remember that Ifeatu Melifonwu missed the start of training camp because of a hamstring injury and his reps were limited when he first got back, so there wasn’t a ton of exposure for his work in the summer. Having said that, he showed flashes of somebody who could be effective in coverage, though I’m not sure yet about his run defense.

From ferinden:

Long time reader, first time questioner. Beyond just winning (convincingly), what is the one thing the Fins could do/show you vs Indy that would make you think "yeh, these guys really could do something this year"? For me it would be commit to the run and succeed at it.

For me, more specifically it would be unveiling something new in third-and-short and fourth-and-short situations and having a great day converting those. Another would be the pass rush blowing up and affecting Daniel Jones all game.

From Mark Malbeck:

What do you think about our defense? Defensive end/rushers look good and should be able to rush the QB and help the secondary. However, I remember that Chiefs game where we played 3-4 guys that were on the street the week before. I worry about injuries. Do we have better depth?

Hey Mark, the Dolphins have durability concerns with Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, and that’s just a fact given their history, but I don’t know how much better they could have protected themselves after signing Matthew Judon to a group that already included Chop Robinson. If you remember that 2023 season, the Dolphins were left in desperation mode because Chubb and Phillips got hurt and then Andrew Van Ginkel got hurt also. You just have to hope that kind of brutal luck doesn’t happen again.

From Eric Brinkmann:

How is it the X Howard is ready to go after just two weeks of practice after a year off and Waller can’t even sniff a complete practice after clearing Aug 20 for practice? Yikes!

Hey Eric, it’s a riddle wrapped around an enigma under a conundrum … or something like that. Waller not practicing this week makes given Mike McDaniel’s revelation he sustained a hip strain Wednesday, but that doesn’t explain why he didn’t get activated from PUP until the last week of camp.