Updated Dolphins Roster Tiers: From the Locks to the Long Shots

Examining the roster projection from a different angle as the Miami Dolphins wind down their 2026 training camp

Miami Dolphins players team huddle at minicamp at the Baptist Health Training Complex. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Miami Dolphins are getting close to wrapping up their 2026 training camp, a week away from their preseason finale and nine days from finalizing their initial 53-man roster.

What that 53-man roster will look like could have been projected at many positions before the start of training camp, but what has transpired at the Baptist Health Training Complex over the past three-plus weeks also will end up having an impact.

Before the start of training camp, we handicapped the Dolphins battle for roster spots by dividing every player on the roster into six tiers ranging from locks to long shots and there has been some movement in our eyes based on what we've observed.

By our estimation, we moved 27 players up or down the roster tiers as questions arose or were emphatically answered.

The list of players who moved up in tiers consists of: LB Trey Moore, G Jonah Savaiinaea, CB Jason Marshall Jr., RB Jaylen Wright, S Zayne Anderson, EDGE Josh Uche, K Riley Patterson, LB Ronnie Harrison Jr., WR Jalen Reagor, DT Matthew Butler, QB Cam Miller, DT Alex Huntley, FB D.J. Herman, TE Cole Turner, DT Keith Cooper Jr., WR Kevin Coleman Jr., G/T Josh Priebe, EDGE Rodney McGraw and WR A.J. Henning.

Conversely, those players whose tier has dropped include QB Quinn Ewers, G D.J. Campbell, WR Tutu Atwell, EDGE David Ojabo, CB Storm Duck, CB Darrell Baker Jr., TE Seydou Traore and WR Jalen Tolbert.

While we offered our latest 53-man roster projection last week, this is a different, more detailed, way of looking at the roster battles.

Here then is our Dolphins roster tiers 2.0:

THE DOLPHINS TIERS RELATIVE TO THE 53-MAN ROSTER

THE LOCKS (28)

C Aaron Brewer
CB Chris Johnson
CB Jason Marshall Jr.
DT Zeek Biggers
DT Kenneth Grant
DT Jordan Phillips
DT Zach Sieler
EDGE Chop Robinson
EDGE Josh Uche
G Kadyn Proctor
G Jonah Savaiinaea
LB Jordyn Brooks
LB Jacob Rodriguez
LB Trey Moore
K Riley Patterson
LS Tucker Addington
P Bradley Pinion
QB Malik Willis
RB De'Von Achane
S Zayne Anderson
S Dante Trader Jr.
T Austin Jackson
T Patrick Paul
TE Greg Dulcich
TE Will Kacmarek
WR Kevin Coleman Jr.
WR Caleb Douglas
WR Malik Washington

The new names on this list include Moore, Savaiinaea, Coleman, Marshall and Patterson, who all answered whatever questions might have existed before the start of camp. In the case of Patterson, his only competition for the kicker job disappeared when veteran Zane Gonzalez was placed on IR and then released with an injury settlement.

THE BORDERLINE LOCKS (8)

CB JuJu Brents
LB Tyrel Dodson
LB Kyle Louis
RB Jaylen Wright
RB Ollie Gordon II
G/T Caedan Wallace
S Michael Taaffe
WR Chris Bell

The name that jumps out here remains that of Chris Bell, and the only reason he's not an actual lock is the possibility the Dolphins put him on IR for the start of the regular season. The other seven players here more than likely will make the roster, but each has a question mark that the top tier doesn't have.

THE STRONG CANDIDATES (13)

QB Quinn Ewers
OL Andrew Meyer
EDGE Clelin Ferrell
EDGE David Ojabo
CB Ethan Bonner
LB Willie Gay Jr.
LB Ronnie Harrison Jr.
G DJ Campbell
DT Matthew Butler
S Lonnie Johnson Jr.
T Charlie Heck
TE Ben Sims
WR Jalen Tolbert

One of the biggest droppers in terms of tiers is Ewers, who's had a bad combination of performance and now groin injury during training camp. While we still think he'll end up as the No. 2 quarterback behind Malik Willis, it's not longer as much of a sure thing as it once was. Of the players on this list, Harrison and Butler are the two that really have played their way up the tier, while Tolbert has had an opposite training camp. Charlie Heck was headed for a tumble in tiers early in camp, but his play has gotten much better over the past week or so.

THE 50-50 PLAYERS (14)

FB D.J. Herman
QB Cam Miller
WR Tutu Atwell
WR Jalen Reagor
WR A.J. Henning
TE Seydou Traore
TE Cole Turner
DT Fatorma Mulbah
CB A.J. Green III
CB Marco Wilson
EDGE Robert Beal Jr.
EDGE Cameron Goode
EDGE Max Llewellyn
LB Jackson Woodard

You'll notice the presence of two rookie draft picks here with Traore and Llewellyn, and it says here that Llewellyn's stock has been on the rise lately, whereas Traore has yet to make much of an impact. Beal looked like he was in line for a higher tier, but he was sidelined this week by an untimely injury. And keep an eye on newcomer Mulbah, who has looked the part of a promising young interior defensive lineman, though on a team that already has a few of those.

WORK TO DO (14)

CB Miles Battle
CB Alex Austin
RB Donovan Edwards
RB Carlos Washington Jr.
G/T Josh Priebe
DT Keith Cooper Jr.
DT Alex Huntley
EDGE Rodney McGraw
S Major Burns
S Louis Moore
CB Nick McCloud
WR Theo Wease Jr.
WR Terrace Marshall Jr.
WR Tahj Washington

The return to practice of Trader and Louis getting a lot of work at safety this week was not good news for either Burns or Moore, though the safety position still is lacking proven talent. Cooper and McGraw are two young players who have flashed, probably enough to lock in a spot on the practice squad if they get waived and clear waivers.

THE LONG SHOTS (14)

C Jim Bonifas
EDGE Seth Coleman-Lyles
G James Ester
QB Mark Gronowski
TE Jeremiah Franklin
T Gottlieb Ayedze
T Kevin Cline
T Marquis Cox
DT Cam Rice
LB Cam Riley
WR Donaven McCulley
CB Ahmari Harvey
CB Darrell Baker Jr.
CB Storm Duck

Baker and Duck are on this list because it looks like it's almost a done deal they'll start the season on PUP. It's really difficult to envision any of the players on this list making the 53, particularly Gronowski and Coleman-Lyles, who both were waived before being re-signed in light of injuries at their position. There are practice squad candidates here, though, most notably Ayedze, Rice and McCulley.