Ranking Dolphins Top 25 Players: A Mauler in the Running Game

When Austin Jackson went down with a knee injury last season, the Miami Dolphins running game suffered quite a bit. Can he return to full strength this season?

Miami Dolphins guard Austin Jackson (73) enters the field to take on the New York Jets at Hard Rock Stadium. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins are entering a critical season in 2025. After missing the playoffs last season and not making any blockbuster moves this offseason, the team is under a lot of pressure to finally get over the hump in the playoffs. 

With that in mind, it seems like an excellent time to rank the Dolphins’ top 25 players heading into the 2025 season. This list was voted on by site publisher Alain Poupart (@PoupartNFL), deputy editor Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) and contributor Jake Mendel (@JMendel94).

The rankings were compiled separately based on a points system. That system awarded 25 points to the first player in each writer’s top 25, 24 to the second player, 23 to the third player, and so on. 

14. Austin Jackson, Offensive Tackle

It’s been a long road for Austin Jackson since he was selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft. Ironically, the Dolphins acquired that pick in exchange for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is now back with the team. 

Getting back to Jackson, after a bumpy start to his career, he’s settled into the team’s starting right tackle spot. Jackson has made a name for himself as one of the team’s more powerful run blockers. 

He has good size and power in his lower half, allowing him to drive defenders off the line of scrimmage effectively. He’s also an impressive athlete, which the Dolphins use to their advantage in the screen and running game. 

He wasn’t the sole reason for that drop, but it doesn’t take a genius to look at the Dolphins’ rushing yards per game average with Jackson (133.9) and that number without Jackson (80.4) to see his impact.

Jackson is a solid starter, but there are a few areas he could improve this coming season. The first is with his pass protection. He allowed 15 quarterback pressures, nine hurries, and three sacks last season despite playing in just eight games.

That brings us to the other concern with Jackson — staying on the field. Like many Dolphins players, he’s coming off an injury that forced him to miss a big chunk of the season. 

Jackson’s knee injury in Week 9 against the Buffalo Bills coincided with a marked drop in the Dolphins’ running game. He also missed practically the entire 2022 season with an ankle injury. 

If Jackson can stay healthy and improve his consistency as a pass protector, the Dolphins should feel OK about him as a long-term starter. 

Full Rankings

No. 25:Malik Washington| No. 24:Willie Gay Jr.| No.23:Benito Jones| No. 22:Patrick Paul| No. 21:Jonah Savaiinaea| No. 20:Nick Westbrook-Ikhine| No. 19:Ifeatu Melifonwu| No. 18:Tyrel Dodson| No. 17Kenneth Grant| No. 16: Alec Ingold| No. 15:Kader Kohou| No. 14:Austin Jackson | No. 13:Jason Sanders| No. 12:Chop Robinson| No. 11:Aaron Brewer | No. 10:James Daniels | No. 9:Bradley Chubb| No. 8:Jaelan Phillips| No. 7:Jordyn Brooks| No. 6:De'Von Achane| No. 5:Jaylen Waddle | No. 4:Tua Tagovailoa| No. 3:Minkah Fitzpatrick| No. 2:Zach Sieler| No. 1:Tyreek Hill

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