Dolphins Week 17 Rookie Stock Report: The Best Week Yet?

The Miami Dolphins’ win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 17 had the fingerprints of the team’s rookie class all over it.

Multiple rookies made standout plays throughout all three phases of the game, and even the ones who didn’t make big-time flash plays had some nice moments throughout the game.

As we do every week, we’ll review each rookie’s tape and give them a stock up or stock down report. The only rookie draft pick who didn’t qualify for this list this week was Ollie Gordon II, who only played eight snaps Sunday.

Kenneth Grant

Week 16: Slight Stock Up

Week 17: Stock Up

This was probably one of Kenneth Grant’s most well-rounded games of the season. He continued to give the Dolphins solid run defense, recording another run stop in this game and mostly holding his ground.

However, he also had a career-high four pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Grant was a lot more active with his hands as a pass rusher in this one, as he tried to hit a few different pass-rush moves throughout the game.

He’s still at his best just pushing the pocket and working stunts, but it’s nice to see this part of his game develop.

Jonah Savaiinaea

Week 16: Slight Stock Up

Week 17: No Movement

We’re at a bit of a standstill with Jonah Savaiinaea’s development. He’s gotten incrementally better this season when compared to how he looked at the start of the season.

However, his play is still probably among the worst in the league at his position. He’s still an inconsistent run blocker, and his pass protection technique is still a mess. Savaiinaea is good for blowing up a couple of plays every week, which just isn’t sustainable.

His performance against the Buccaneers was in line with that. There were reps where you see some of the strides he’s taken, but he still has too many lowlights to feel overly confident about his development.

An underrated point is that he and Patrick Paul are still having communication issues. No two players on the line have played more snaps next to each other, and they still have plays where they’re not working in tandem.

Jordan Phillips

Week 16: Slight Stock Down

Week 17: No Movement

Jordan Phillips’ stock hasn’t seen much movement in recent weeks. He isn’t playing poorly by any means, but it feels as though we’ve reached his ceiling for rookie-season development.

Phillips remains a strong presence in the middle, and he still plays with good effort and energy. Nothing has changed our opinion that he should be Miami’s long-term nose tackle.

Still, he’s had so many “just misses” in recent weeks that it’s gone from an “area to improve” to a somewhat troubling trend. He stacks and sheds so well, but just needs to get a hair quicker and become a better tackle.

Unfortunately, we might have to wait for next season to see that jump.

Dante Trader Jr.

Week 16: Stock Up

Week 17: No Movement

Dante Trader Jr. played only 19 snaps in this game, and I don’t think he affected things one way or the other. He snuffed out a screen to Tez Johnson early in the game, but he also had a missed tackle for a first down.

Trader buzzed down into the box quite a bit in this one, as Miami dropped players like Jason Marshall Jr. and Ashtyn Davis into deep zones. That’s the role I want Trader to occupy next season.

The closer he is to the line of scrimmage, the more impactful he can be with the physical tools that he possesses.

Jason Marshall Jr.

Week 16: Slight Stock Down

Week 17: Stock Up

pic.twitter.com/3e74Ca83UQ
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) December 29, 2025

Jason Marshall Jr. stuffed the stat sheet for what was the best game of his career. Marshall played a career-high 53 snaps (all in the slot) Sunday. He posted an interception, two PBUs, and one tackle for loss.

We detailed why his interception is a better play than you probably think in our weekly film review, but his most impressive rep of the day was his PBU against Mike Evans.

The Dolphins gave Marshall a ton of responsibility in this game as far as rotating him post-snap, and he mostly held up well.

I will say that the down-to-down consistency in coverage still isn’t perfect, but Marshall did way more good things than bad this week. I still don’t like his long-term fit in the slot, but he was Miami’s worst-performing rookie this season, so he needed this.

Zeek Biggers

Week 16: Slight Stock Down

Week 17: Stock Up

Zeek Biggers blocking a field goal in this game is enough to boost his stock. Those three points were critical in this game, and it’s an area where Biggers should be valuable as long as he’s on the team.

His defensive tape is more of the same. He’s got a lot of length and energy as a pass rusher, but lacks reliable technique and a pass-rush plan. His run defense tape is also pretty inconsistent.

Relative to expectations, though, the Dolphins should feel good about Biggers’ development.

Quinn Ewers

Week 16: No Movement

Week 17: Stock Up

All-22 on Quinn Ewers’ touchdown passes from yesterday is pretty fun. The end zone view of the second one is great stuff. pic.twitter.com/j1HPyzNx8v
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) December 29, 2025

Quinn Ewers’ second start showed tangible growth that is worth praising. He took better care of the football in this game and was a lot less frazzled in the pocket.

Ewers’ two touchdown passes are in the tweet above, and they show his two best traits: eye manipulation and anticipation. He moved the cornerback with his eyes on his pass to Theo Wease Jr., and he threw a beautiful anticipation pass to Greg Dulcich for the second touchdown.

The Dolphins are still using a watered-down version of the offense to support Ewers (absurd play-action numbers), and it was clear they went into a shell on offense when the game got close.

Both of those are the right decisions to win football games right now, but it makes it hard to evaluate Ewers. He’s clearly limited, but he’s played well in both his starts this season, which is an absolute win.

Ewers looks like a solid backup and someone who should factor into next year’s QB competition.

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