Sizing Up Sieler's 2019 Reference (And What He Left Out)

The outside expectations for the 2026 Miami Dolphins are about as low as they can be, but not surprisingly the team's last two MVPs don't really care.

Running back De'Von Achane and defensive tackle Zach Sieler are interested only in winning, and Sieler brought up an interesting point Wednesday when asked about the low expectations.

"It doesn't mean anything," Sieler after the Dolphins' second open OTA of the spring. "I mean, that's just shooting a number out there. Sure, you could say, hey, they got this guy, they got this, they lost this guy, their salary cap is this – it doesn't matter. Like you go out there and play ball, you can win with anybody.

"I’ve been part of – shoot, that Flo year, we weren’t supposed to beat anything; we won those last few games of the season, made a great stretch. That's the best part about football and why it's the greatest game on earth, I love playing this game, is any team can win with any players."

THE 2019 COMPARISON

"That Flo year," as Sieler was described, was 2019.

It was Brian Flores' first season as head coach and it looked an awful lot through the offseason like the current one, with a lot of high-profile veterans being moved to clear up space and build up draft capital.

With a depleted roster, the Dolphins were underdogs in every single game that season and, sure enough, they started 0-7. But something clicked in November and the Dolphins went 5-4 down the stretch, ending their season with a gigantic upset of the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium that deprived Tom Brady and company of a first-round bye, which led to their playoff lost against the Tennessee Titans in Brady's final game with Bill Belichick.

Also included in that final stretch run for Miami was a victory against the playoff-bound Philadelphia Eagles in a game that featured the famous "Mountaineer Shot," which later was named NFL Play of the Year.

WHAT SIELER LEFT OUT

Sieler wasn't part of the whole turnaround that season because he didn't join the Dolphins until December when he was claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens.

After being inactive against the New York Jets in his first game with Miami, Sieler saw action in the final three games, a loss against the New York Giants followed by victories against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Patriots.

The other part that Sieler didn't mention, though it is pretty undeniable, is the 2026 roster has a lot more talent than the 2019 version.

When the Dolphins secured the first win of the season in 2019 against the Jets in November, their starting lineup included seven players who would not start a single game in the NFL after that year and three more who would start only three or less — Taco Charlton, Jamal Perry and Ryan Lewis.

The regular starting lineup — even including cornerback Xavien Howard, who was done by the midway point after going on IR — has four players who came into the NFL as first- or second-round pick.

The projected 2026 offensive line alone can match that total, with Kadyn Proctor, Austin Jackson, Patrick Paul and Jonah Savaiinaea.

The defense has three first-round picks on it with Jordyn Brooks, Kenneth Grant and Chop Robinson, and there also are a half-dozen other former second-round picks with Lonnie Johnson Jr., Terrace Marshall Jr., JuJu Brents, Willie Gay Jr., David Ojabo and Josh Uche.

The bottom line is this 2026 Dolphins team looks like a better on paper than that 2019 group, and the latter found a way to go 5-4 down the stretch.

If that 2019 team could do that, current Dolphins players have every right to believe they can defy the odds themselves next season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google