Ranking Dolphins Top 25 Players: An Impact Rookie Starter Upfront

Jonah Savaiinaea was drafted to solve the Miami Dolphins' long-term issue at guard.

Arizona Wildcats offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea (71) blocks in the second quarter against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. | Tim Heitman-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. 

No. 21: Jonah Savaiinaea, Offensive Guard

The Dolphins made a significant investment in Jonah Savaiinaea, trading up in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft to select the Arizona product, but we think that’ll mostly pay off. 

Obviously, Savaiinaea hasn’t played a single snap yet, so this ranking is based purely on projection and what his college tape showed. 

The Dolphins struggled to run the ball last season for a multitude of reasons, but Savaiinaea brings an edge that the offensive line was definitely missing. 

He is an enforcer on the interior who loves to play bully ball. He’s got ample lower- and upper-body strength to create displacement up front. He’s also excellent at washing down the line of scrimmage to create easy outside rushing lanes.

Offensive linemen like this tend to get typecast as unathletic plodders who don’t offer much in space. While there’s some truth to that in Savaiinaea's pass-blocking profile, he’s wildly athletic when moving forward. 

Watch him pull out into space and punish this USC defender on the second level. This play is called “crack toss,” a staple of the Dolphins’ playbook.

While Savaiinaea is a good fit for the Dolphins’ offense and fills a huge need, he’s still a rookie. Transitioning to the NFL as an offensive lineman is quite hard, and Savaiinaea’s tape at Arizona wasn’t perfect. 

Many of Savaiinaea’s pass-blocking struggles in college were the product of him playing tackle, but he’ll be at guard in Miami. That should keep him from having to operate in open space against above-average athletes too much. 

Many college tackles are moved to guard because of a lack of length, but that’s not the case for Savaiinaea. He has a 61st percentile arm length and a 73rd percentile wingspan for an offensive tackle.

Guard was one of the weaker spots on Miami’s roster last season, and Savaiinaea should be an upgrade even if he’s not quite proven yet. 

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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