Ten Things We Learned During Dolphins Minicamp

The Miami Dolphins' 2026 minicamp is in the books, and it was successful in the sense that there are no indications any player sustained a significant injury and progress continued to be made for a young roster under a new and first-time NFL head coach.

Given the nature of practice in the spring, with no shoulder pads and no tackling, it was a lot easier to evaluate the work of those involved in the passing game, from quarterback to receivers on offense to linebackers and DBs on defense.

It also was a time to learn more about the way head coach Jeff Hafley likes to run things and maybe what to expect come training camp and then the regular season.

That out of the way, let's take a quick look at the 10 biggest things we learned about the Dolphins during the just-complete minicamp.

THE 10 THINGS THAT STOOD OUT AT MINICAMP

1. QUINN COMFORTABLE, BUT WILLIS STILL THE GUY

Being that Quinn Ewers is familiar with the offense after his rookie season with the Dolphins, maybe it figured all along that he would be ahead of the game in the spring and he probably would get the nod as the most consistent quarterback over the three days of minicamp. But this is where we point out the difference wasn't significant and there should be zero question that Malik Willis will be the starting quarterback for the Dolphins in 2026. Zero. None. And for all the good work that Ewers did, there's a clear difference in athletic ability, most notably zip, arm strength and mobility when it comes to the two quarterbacks.

2. DIFFERENT VIBE

Maybe it's because there's a new coach and maybe it's because the Dolphins no longer have prima donnas on their roster (or a combination of both), but there definitely was a different feel at the minicamp practices, one where this is way more of a team than it was in recent years — and by team we mean a group working together for a common goal. We already discussed some of the changes at practice, but one factor we should add is players coming together for a huddle at the end of stretching with fist bumps, flying chest bumps and other forms of greetings, and that's not something we saw the past several years.

3. GOOD REVIEW FOR A ROOKIE

By now everyone knows the Dolphins have taken care of signing all 13 of their 2026 draft picks, which basically is a formality these days, and maybe the most impressive of those 13 players early on has been first-round pick Chris Johnson. And the reason has been not only his play — good coverage with some tipped passes — but his ability to handle a lot being thrown at him as he works on the outside and in the slot.

4. WASHINGTON LEADS THE WAY

As with Ewers, the fact that Malik Washington was in this offensive scheme (minus some Bobby Slowik tweaks) gave him an advantage over all the newcomers at wide receiver, but he clearly stood out at the position. Now, whether it remains that way once we get closer to the start of the regular season is debatable, but at this time the others have some catching up to do.

5. THE REHABBING PLAYERS

The most talented wide receiver on the roster now that Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are gone very well might be rookie third-round pick Chris Bell, but his minicamp was spent continuing to rehab from the torn ACL he sustained last November 22. The question remains with Bell whether he'll be ready for the start of training camp. And from the looks of it, it appears he might have a better chance than cornerback Storm Duck, whose absence from the minicamp was a bit troubling. Hafley indicated his absence was related to his ACL injury from a year ago, but he wasn't spotted doing rehab work during the minicamp, even though his injury occurred a month earlier than that of Bell.

6. TRADER TRENDING UP

The Dolphins will be relying on a lot of young players in 2026, and it appears that second-year safety Dante Trader Jr. could be ready to take a big step forward. He was especially impressive in practice Thursday, and it was really good to see him spend a second talking to Chris Johnson about a certain technique during a break.

7. THE UNSUNG VETERAN NEWCOMER

Among the team's large number of veteran free agent acquisitions, safety-turned-linebacker Ronnie Harrison Jr. flew under the radar for a variety of reasons, one of which is he plays a position where the Dolphins didn't have a major need unlike many others. But he was very noticeable in coverage during minicamp with his ability to get his hands on the ball.

8. RUNNING BACK REPORT

With newly extended De'Von Achane kept out of team drills as he recovers from shoulder surgery, this was an opportunity for Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II to make a push for an early jump on the No. 2 running back spot, and we'll just say it went a lot better for Gordon than it did for Wright, who had his issues catching the ball. This is a battle that should go on throughout training camp.

9. PROCTOR LOOKS THE PART

Again, no conclusions should be reached after minicamp, and certainly not when it comes to the offensive or defensive line, but we'll say the first impression of first-round pick Kadyn Proctor at left guard was a very positive one.

10. CHOP, GRANT AND JONAH

We'll close with the three recent first- and second-round picks that the Dolphins really need to see take a big step forward in 2026, and that's Chop Robinson, Kenneth Grant and Jonah Savaiinaea. Of the three, Robinson was by far the most noticeable in the minicamp and it wasn't only his get-off in pass rushing but also his work in setting the edge on a couple of running plays. As for the other two, they really didn't stand out much one way or another, though Savaiinaea's teammates and coaches all were unanimous in saying he looks much more comfortable on the right side after switching sides — though we wouldn't expect them to say anything otherwise.

Add us as a preferred source on Google