Miami Dolphins

Projected Cap Space: -$4.1 million

Draft Picks: 8

• 1st (No. 11)
• 2nd (No. 43)
• 3rd (No. 75)
• 3rd (No. 87, PHI)
• 3rd (No. 90, HOU)
• 4th (No. 111)
• 5th (No. 149)
• 7th (No. 227)

Notable Free Agents: 

• CB Rasul Douglas
• CB Jack Jones
• OL Cole Strange
• OT Larry Borom
• S Ashtyn Davis
• K Riley Patterson
• DT Matthew Butler (RFA)
• OL Daniel Brunskill
• LB Willie Gay Jr.
• CB Ifeatu Melifonwu
• TE Darren Waller
• P Jake Bailey
• CB Kader Kohou
• DT Benito Jones
• LB K.J. Britt
• QB Zach Wilson
• RB Alexander Mattison
• TE Greg Dulcich
• WR Cedrick Wilson

Top Three Needs

1 – Edge Rusher

Quarterback is the headliner need for the Dolphins, but that’s a complicated situation we’ll discuss a little further down below. The rest of the roster is riddled with holes and it’s going to take the Dolphins more than one offseason to patch those up, especially because they have to take a reset year financially in 2026. 

Another premium position the Dolphins are subpar at is edge rusher. This looked like an area of real strength for Miami just six months ago, with Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips as bookends, former first-rounder Chop Robinson coming off the bench and Matt Judon as a fourth rusher. Robinson is the only one left. Phillips was traded at the deadline, Judon was cut in December and Chubb will be a June 1 release at the start of the league year in March. 

Robinson still has to prove he can be counted on as more than a one-trick pony. His snap count actually went down from his rookie year, though injuries were partially to blame. Either way, the Dolphins need to make multiple additions at edge rusher as they rebuild their team from the ground up. Robinson is the only lock to make the team at the position. 

2 – Cornerback

For throwing together a cornerback group right before the start of the season, the Dolphins did alright as a pass defense. They weren’t good or bad, just average. The duo of Jones and Douglas, signed in July and August respectively, combined for three picks, three forced fumbles and 19 pass breakups. 

Both are now unrestricted free agents, leaving the Dolphins in an uncertain position once again. Both would be good scheme fits for new HC Jeff Hafley but it would probably take a cold market for either or both to return. There are some young players under contract like Storm Duck, JuJu Brents and Jason Marshall who will have the chance to compete for roles but expect the Dolphins to make multiple additions here and totally revamp the cornerback room.  

3 – Wide Receiver

Miami’s offensive line has been a weakness for a few years, but there are some pieces to work with up front. Starting C Aaron Brewer was a hipster candidate for the inaugural Protector of the Year award, and LT Patrick Paul held up well in his first year as the starter. Rookie G Jonah Savaiinaea was rated as the worst guard in football by Pro Football Focus last year, but the former second-round pick should hopefully improve. If the Dolphins cut RT Austin Jackson, there should be more urgency for the front five. 

However, the Dolphins have Jaylen Waddle and very little else at receiver right now. Set aside the contributions of RB De’Von Achane, who Miami funneled a lot of looks to in the passing game, and the next best pass-catcher was WR Malik Washington, who turned 46 catches into just 317 yards. The tight ends Waller and Dulcich were about as ineffective, and they’re pending free agents who probably won’t be priorities to re-sign. 

Miami elected to promote Bobby Slowik to offensive coordinator to keep some schematic familiarity. Regardless of who’s running it, whether it’s Slowik, Mike McDaniel or Kyle Shanahan, this system works best with talented receivers. Waddle is a good start but the Dolphins must continue to add weapons even with the uncertainty at quarterback. If that doesn’t happen, they could find an answer at the position and still end up missing it. 

One Big Question

Is quarterback a one-year fix or more? 

The Dolphins are worse off than the teams that don’t have a franchise quarterback on the roster for 2026. They already have a player they know isn’t the answer in QB Tua Tagovailoa and they owe him $54 million guaranteed. If the NFL were a 100-meter swim, the Dolphins wouldn’t just be behind the pack — they’d be swimming with an anchor. 

Fortunately the Dolphins aren’t over-committed to Tagovailoa the same way the Browns were to QB Deshaun Watson. That trade and contract could end up tanking half a decade for Cleveland. The Dolphins will have to pay the price for their mistakes in 2026 but any struggles beyond will result from further errors. 

The Dolphins hope to find a trade partner for Tagovailoa to salvage just a little bit of savings and perhaps a late-round pick. If that doesn’t work out, they could cut him and set the new NFL record for dead money at $99 million. A third option is just to keep him, reasoning that if they owe $54 million no matter what, they might as well get a backup quarterback out of the deal.

Regardless of which option they choose, however, the Dolphins will add at least one other quarterback to the roster with the hope of getting lucky and finding a player to be able to build around when they have more resources in 2027 and beyond. It probably won’t be in the first round but the odds are good one of their eight selections will be a quarterback. They also still have 2025 seventh-round QB Quinn Ewers who made three starts to end the season. 

In an ideal scenario, the Dolphins replicate the Broncos’ model after they moved on from QB Russell Wilson, taking a record $85 million dead cap hit. Funny enough, cutting Tagovailoa would proportionally be about the same given the NFL’s salary cap growth. Denver hit on QB Bo Nix, the sixth quarterback drafted in 2024, and experienced no dip. That will be a tougher needle for the Dolphins to thread.