Ranking the Most Important Dolphins, No. 7: What Can Brooks Do for an Encore?

The Miami Dolphins will head into training camp at the end of July with a totally different roster than the one that ended the 2025 season after an offseason overhaul that saw the departure of several significant veterans and the arrival of newcomers young and old.

The Dolphins have 91 players on their roster with the exemption they have for England-born rookie tight end Seydou Traore, a participant of the International Player Pathway Program.

As life goes in the NFL, not every player on the roster is equal, so we decided to rank all of them in terms of their importance to the Dolphins' success in the 2026 season. The list was determined on the basis of not just ability but also expected role and significance to the overall progress of the organization as it continues the rebuilding project that began with the hiring of Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM and Jeff Hafley as head coach.

This is part of a series that will run in the lead-up to start of training camp.

NUMBER 7: LB JORDYN BROOKS

How he joined the Dolphins

The Dolphins signed Brooks as an unrestricted free agent from the Seattle Seahawks during the 2024 offseason.

Contract status

Brooks is entering the final year of his three-year, $26.25 million contract that included a $16 million signing bonus, per Over The Cap. Brooks is scheduled to make $8.3 million in base salary and roster bonus in 2026, though none of the salary is guaranteed. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason and a potential contract extension is perhaps the biggest storyline heading into training camp.

His 2025 season

In his second year with the Dolphins, Brooks turned in the best linebacker performance the team has gotten since the days of Zach Thomas while earning first-team AP All-Pro recognition. Brooks led the NFL with 183 tackles, including 13 for loss, with 3.5 sacks, three passes defensed, one fumble forced and one fumble recovery. He reached double digits in tackles in 10 games, including a season-high 20 in the overtime victory against the Washington Commanders in Spain.

His projected role

The Dolphins will be using a different scheme under new head coach Jeff Hafley, and it will feature more use of off-the-ball linebackers. It shouldn't change Brooks' role very much, particularly in terms of usage because he figures to be on the field more than any other linebacker, assuming his contract situation gets worked out and he gets an extension. While Hafley said in the offseason he wants his defensive players to be somewhat interchangeable, Brooks likely will spend a lot of his time at the weakside position and the question is whether he can come close to matching his performance of 2025. The reason Brooks is only number 7 in our countdown has to do with significant to the team success and it not a reflection on player quality.

THE PREVIOUS PLAYERS ON THE COUNTDOWN

90. G James Ester
89. T Kevin Cline
88. QB Mark Gronowski
87. DT Keith Cooper Jr.
86. EDGE Seth Coleman
85. RB Anthony Hankerson
84. WR Donaven McCulley
83. FB D.J. Herman
82. C Jim Bonitas
81. LS Tucker Addington
80. DT Alex Huntley
79. T Marques Cox
78. EDGE Rodney McGraw
77. TE Cole Turner
76. DT Khalil Saunders
75. CB Miles Battle
74. S Major Burns
73. RB Carlos Washington Jr.
72. EDGE Robert Beal Jr.
71. WR A.J. Henning
70. RB Donovan Edwards
69. DB Omar Brown
68. EDGE Cameron Goode
67. WR Jalen Reagor
66. EDGE Max Llewellyn
65. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.
64. CB Ethan Robinson
63. G/T Josh Priebe
62. DT Rene Konga
61. WR Tahj Washington
60. QB Cam Miller
59. CB A.J. Green III
58. EDGE Mason Reiger
57. CB Alex Austin
56. P Bradley Pinion
55. LB Jackson Woodard
54. K Zane Gonzalez
53. S Louis Moore
52. DT Matthew Butler
51. CB Marco Wilson
50. CB Darrell Baker Jr.
49. LB Ronnie Harrison Jr.
48. T Charlie Heck
47. WR Chris Bell
46. CB Storm Duck
45. WR Theo Wease Jr.
44. TE Seydou Traore
43. G DJ Campbell
42. G/C Andrew Meyer
41. K Riley Patterson
40. S Michael Taaffe
39. CB Ethan Bonner
38. TE Ben Sims
37. EDGE David Ojabo
36. S Lonnie Johnson Jr.
35. Zayne Anderson
34. EDGE Josh Uche
33. WR Jalen Tolbert
32. EDGE/LB Trey Moore
31. LB Willie Gay Jr.
30. RB Jaylen Wright
29. WR Kevin Coleman Jr.
28. G Jonah Savaiinaea
27. DT Zeek Biggers
26. LB Kyle Louis
25. RB Ollie Gordon II
24. WR Tutu Atwell
23. G/T Jamaree Salyer
22. WR Malik Washington
21. DT Jordan Phillips
20. WR Caleb Douglas
19. LB Jacob Rodriguez
18. CB Jason Marshall Jr.
17. S Dante Trader Jr.
16. TE Will Kacmarek
15. QB Quinn Ewers
14. LB Tyrel Dodson
13. T Austin Jackson
12. CB JuJu Brents
11. TE Greg Dulcich
10. DT Zach Sieler
9. T Patrick Paul
8. DT Kenneth Grant

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