Quarterback
The Dolphins fell from a 11-6 record in 2023 to a 8-9 record in 2024. The biggest reason for this by far was the decline of their offense, which went from ranking 2nd in yards per play and 5th in first down rate in 2023 to just 23rd in yards per play and 16th in first down rate in 2024. Part of the problem was quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed six games due to injury and, in his absence, a trio of quarterbacks, Tyler Huntley, Skylar Thompson, and Tim Boyle, combined to complete just 63.5% of their passes for an average of 6.09 YPA, 3 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.
However, the Dolphins offense was not the same as 2023 even in games Tua Tagovailoa started. The biggest reason for that is the Dolphins completely changed their offensive philosophy. In 2022 and 2023, when Tagovailoa combined to complete 67.4% of his passes for an average of 8.51 YPA, 54 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions in 30 starts, Tagovailoa had an average depth of target of 10.1 and 8.2 respectively. In 2024, that dropped to 6.1, while his time to throw dropped to the lowest in the league at 2.25.
In 2022, the Dolphins had 66.5% of their targets go to wide receivers, second in the NFL, which continued into 2023, when 67.8% of targets went to wide receivers, third in the NFL, but in 2024, that dropped to 50.4%, just 27th in the NFL, while 23.1% of targets went to running backs, 3rd in the NFL, and 26.6% went to tight ends, 7th in the NFL. The result was Tagovailoa set a new career high in completion percentage at 72.9%, but his yards per attempt fell to 7.19, a significant drop off from 2022-2023.
Dolphins didn’t change their offensive play caller and had mostly the same personnel in their receiving corps in 2024 as they did in 2022 and 2023, so a huge shift like that was surprising and there are a lot of factors that explain it. Part of it was simply that the Dolphins wanted to prevent Tagovailoa from taking too many hits, as he has missed time with injury in four of five seasons in the league, with 20 games missed total and a concerning history of concussions.
Keeping Tagovailoa from taking hits is a goal that was made harder by a decline in the Dolphins offensive line from 2023 to 2024, as they went from ranking 16th in PFF pass block grade and 18th in PFF run block grade in 2023 to 21st in PFF pass block grade and 28th in PFF run block grade in 2024, which I will get into more later. The decline of their offensive line is another reason why the Dolphins felt the need to get the ball out of Tagovailoa’s hands quicker and into the hands of running backs and tight ends, rather than letting plays develop downfield for wide receivers. Additionally, this offense saw a significant decline by #1 wide receiver and deep threat Tyreek Hill in 2024, which I will also get more into later. Hill’s decline further contributed to the Dolphins’ offensive philosophy shift.
None of those factors are likely to change in 2024. In fact, the Dolphins suffered more losses on the offensive line this off-season, Hill is now another year older, going into his age 31 season, and another injury plagued season by Tagovailoa is likely to further necessitate getting the ball out of his hands quicker, so this new offense is here to stay, despite the underwhelming results from a year ago. The Dolphins did at least find a new backup quarterback for Tagovailoa, signing Zach Wilson in free agency.
Wilson has potential, as a former #2 overall pick who is still only going into his age 26 season, but it remains to be seen if he’ll be much of an upgrade over what the Dolphins had at quarterback behind Tagovailoa last season. In 33 career starts, Wilson has completed just 57.0% of his passes for an average of 6.34 YPA, 23 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions, good for a QB rating of just 73.2. The Dolphins also used a 7th round pick on a developmental quarterback in Quinn Ewers, but he figures to spend his whole rookie season as the third string quarterback, unless something goes horribly wrong ahead of him on the depth chart. With Tagovailoa’s injury history and a shaky backup situation, there are definitely concerns in this quarterback room, even if Tagovailoa does have a high upside when everything is right.
Grade: B+
Offensive Line
As I mentioned, the Dolphins’ offensive line got worse from 2023 to 2024 and looks likely to get even worse from 2024 to 2025. Last off-season, the Dolphins lost right guard Robert Hunt and center Connor Williams to free agency. This off-season, the Dolphins lost left tackle Terron Armstead to retirement, ahead of what would have been his age 34 season in 2025. Armstead still had a 89.4 PFF grade in 15 starts last season (821 snaps), despite his age and a concerning injury history, so his loss will be massive for this offensive line.
In his place, the Dolphins will likely turn to Patrick Paul, a 2024 2nd round pick who was drafted to be Armstead’s successor, but who struggled mightily with a 44.9 PFF grade across 338 snaps (three starts) as a rookie. He actually spent his rookie season as the Dolphins’ 4th tackle, with veteran Kendall Lamm being the swing tackle, posting a 72.7 PFF grade in seven starts. Lamm is also no longer with the team, which further hurts their offensive line. Paul still has upside and could take a big step forward in his second season in the league in 2025, but that’s not a guarantee and, even if he does, he will still be a massive downgrade from Armstead.
Paul will start opposite Austin Jackson. A first round pick in 2020, Jackson struggled to start his career, finishing below 60 on PFF in each of his first three seasons, but he has been better over the past two seasons, though his 60.0 PFF grade in 2024 was a noticeable dropoff from his 68.4 PFF grade in 2023. He also has missed time due to injury in four of five seasons in the league, with a total of 28 games missed in five seasons, including nine games missed last season, and, overall, he has not lived up to his draft slot.
Jackson is still only going into his age 26 season, so he could have further untapped upside, but most likely he will remain a decent, unspectacular starter in 2025. He will probably stay at right tackle, but it’s possible the Dolphins opt to move him to the left side and start Paul at right tackle. Meanwhile, Larry Borom will likely be the swing tackle. He’s made 27 starts in four seasons in the league and finished above 60 on PFF in each of his first two seasons in the league, but he has fallen to PFF grades of 48.0 and 53.8 over the past two seasons and, even for a swing tackle, he’s an underwhelming option.
Center Aaron Brewer was the Dolphins’ second best offensive lineman last season, with a 74.1 PFF grade across 1,139 snaps (17 starts). That was a career best year for the 2020 undrafted free agent, but it didn’t come out of nowhere, as he also had a 71.6 PFF grade in 17 starts in 2023, though he did have a 59.9 PFF grade in 17 starts in his first full season as a starter in 2022. Even being a former undrafted free agent, with the underwhelming 2022 season on his resume, he still figures to be an above average starter in 2025, off of back-to-back seasons, still only going into his age 28 season.
If there is one reason for optimism on this offensive line, it’s the addition of veteran guard James Daniels on a 3-year, 24 million dollar deal. Daniels has finished above 60 on PFF in all seven seasons in the league and was on his way to a career best year in 2024, with a 92.9 PFF grade through 209 snaps, but he tore his achilles early in week 4 and missed the rest of the season. Now coming off of a significant injury, it seems highly unlikely he will go back to the level of play he had to start last season, especially since it was such a small sample size and since his previous career best PFF grade was 71.8 in 2021. Daniels is still only in his age 28 season, so he could be a solid starter if he’s healthy, but that’s not a guarantee.
However, it wouldn’t be hard for Daniels to be an upgrade over Robert Jones, a free agent departure who had a 56.1 PFF grade across 17 starts at guard last season. The Dolphins also added Jonah Savaiinaea in the second round of the draft and he could start at the other guard spot, even as a rookie. He might struggle as a rookie, but it also wouldn’t be hard for him to be an upgrade over Liam Eichenberg, who had a 53.1 PFF grade in 14 starts last season.
Eichenberg could still be in the mix to keep his starting job if Savaiinaea isn’t ready to start week 1 and Eichenberg is also a former second round pick, but he’s finished below 60 on PFF in all four seasons in the league (52 starts) and, already going into his age 27 season, he is running out of time to make good on the upside he came into the league with and would likely continue to struggle if the Dolphins needed him to start in 2025. The additions of Daniels and Savaiinaea do help the Dolphins at guard, but they don’t offset the loss of Terron Armstead at left tackle and, overall, an already mediocre offensive line from a year ago looks likely to be even worse this season.
Grade: B-
Receiving Corps
As I mentioned, #1 receiver Tyreek Hill declined significantly in 2024, going from a 119/1710/7 slash line on 170 targets with 3.20 yards per route run in 2022 and a 119/1799/13 slash line on 171 targets with 3.82 yards per route run in 2023 to a 81/959/6 slash line on 123 targets with 1.75 yards per route run in 2024. Part of that is due to a reduced usage in the offense, but Hill also did not seem to be himself and saw his yards per target drop from 10.29 in 2022-2023 to 7.80 last season. Now going into his age 31 season, with the Dolphins’ new offensive philosophy here to stay, Hill is highly unlikely to bounce back to his 2022-2023 levels of production and could easily decline further.
Jaylen Waddle, the #2 receiver, also had a down year in 2024, going from a 75/1356/8 slash line on 117 targets with 2.59 yards per route run in 2022 and a 72/1014/4 slash line on 104 targets with 2.63 yards per route run in 2023 to a 58/744/2 slash line on 83 targets with 1.53 yards per route run in 2024. Unlike Hill, that is primarily due to the change in offensive philosophy, as Waddle is still only heading into his age 27 season and his 8.96 yards per target in 2024 is not too far off from his 10.72 yards per target average in 2022-2023. He will likely continue seeing a reduced role in 2025, but he’s still an above average #2 receiver who is in the prime of his career.
Tight end Jonnu Smith and running back De’Von Achane were the primary beneficiaries of the Dolphins’ new offensive philosophy. Smith, a free agent acquisition last off-season, set career highs in catches, yards, touchdowns, targets, and yards per route run, with a 88/884/8 slash line on 111 targets and 1.95 yards per route run, proving to be a great value on a 2-year, 8.4 million dollar deal. He was especially good in the 11 games Tagovailoa started, with a 62/626/5 slash line in those games, which extrapolates to a 96/967/8 slash line over 17 games. Unfortunately, Smith now wants a massive raise ahead of the second and final year of that deal and the Dolphins have been unwilling to give him that, leading to him holding out and wanting a trade if he and the Dolphins can’t come to an agreement.
Smith had never exceeded 50 catches or 582 receiving yards in a season prior to last season and has a career average of just 1.57 yards per route run, so it’s understandable why the Dolphins wouldn’t want to pay top dollar for a player coming off of a breakout year in his eighth season in the league, especially with Smith now going into his age 30 season. However, he’s a big part of the offense, even if he regresses somewhat in 2025, and the Dolphins have another good option at tight end, so the Dolphins will ultimately have to hope they can come to a reasonable agreement with him, or risk having to trade away a key player from an offense that already has a lot of concerns.
Achane, meanwhile, ranked 2nd in the league among running backs with 87 targets last season, taking them for a 78/592/6 slash line and 1.45 yards per route run, ranking 1st among running backs in catches, 1st in receiving yards, 1st in receiving touchdowns, and 12th in yards per route run. That was a big increase from the 2023 3rd round pick’s rookie year, but he did show promise as a receiver in his first season in the league, with a 27/197/3 slash line on 37 targets and 1.12 yards per route run, so it’s not a huge surprise that he produced at the level he did with a significantly expanded opportunity in 2024. He will likely produce at a similar level in 2025 in a similar target share, potentially an even higher target share, given the state of the Dolphins’ offensive line, Tyreek Hill continuing to age on the wrong side of 30, and Jonnu Smith holding out.
Outside of Hill, Waddle, Smith, and Achane, the Dolphins have very little else in the receiving corps. Malik Washington was fifth on the team with just 36 targets and the nominal #3 wide receiver finished with a 26/223/0 slash line and 0.86 yards per route run. Washington was only a 6th round pick in 2024, so it’s not surprising he struggled as a rookie, but he’s not a guarantee to be any better in his second season in the league. He will compete with free agent acquisition Nick Westbrook-Inhine, who has a career 1.12 yards per route run average, for the #3 wide receiver role in 2025.
At tight end, the Dolphins’ other options behind Smith are 2023 undrafted free agent Julian Hill and veteran free agent addition Pharaoh Brown. Hill has averaged 0.53 yards per route run in his career and is a poor blocker as well, leading to him receiving PFF grades of 40.9 and 37.2 on snap counts of 343 and 515 in two seasons in the league, while Brown is a blocking specialist with 72 catches in 85 career games who is now heading into his age 31 season. Brown’s blocking ability likely gives him the edge for the #2 tight end job, but neither option is prepared to take over as the primary pass catching tight end if Jonnu Smith isn’t on the roster in 2025. The Dolphins have a good two wide receiver/one tight end trio, but this is a very top-heavy receiving corps.
Grade: B+
Running Backs
In addition to having a big passing game role, De’Von Achane will have a big role on the ground. As a rookie, he was a change of pace back and missed six games to injury, limiting him to 103 carries, as opposed to 209 carries for Raheem Mostert, but in 2024, that flipped, as Achane played 17 games as the lead back and had 203 carries, while Mostert was limited to 85 carries in 13 games. Achane did see his yards per carry average drop off from 7.77 as a rookie to 4.47 last season, but it was always highly unlikely that he would continue that high average from his rookie year in a bigger role, especially as the Dolphins’ offense declined around him.
Achane was still much more effective last season than Mostert, who averaged just 3.27 YPC. Mostert wasn’t brought back this off-season, which could open up an even bigger role for Achane, though the Dolphins will probably want to avoid overloading the 5-8 188 pound Achane. Behind Achane on the depth chart, the Dolphins have 2024 4th round pick Jaylen Wright, veteran free agent addition Alexander Mattison, and 6th round rookie Ollie Gordon. Wright and Mattison figure to compete for the #2 running back role.
Wright has the higher upside and figures to be the favorite for the backup job, but he was underwhelming as a rookie, averaging just 3.66 YPC on 68 carries and averaging just 0.10 yards per route run. Mattison has been underwhelming throughout his career though, averaging 3.90 YPC on 716 carries in six seasons in the league, with 0.99 yards per route run, so the Dolphins have to be hoping Wright can take a step forward in his second season in the league. The rookie Gordon, meanwhile, figures to start his rookie year as the #4 running back. Depth is a concern behind Achane, but Achane is one of the better all-around running backs in the league, posing a threat to defenses as a runner and a receiver.
Grade: A-
Interior Defenders
The Dolphins were solid on the defensive side of the ball last season, ranking 9th in yards per play allowed and 11th in first down rate allowed, but there are reasons for concern on this side of the ball as well. Of the 12 players who played at least 500 snaps for the Dolphins on defense last season, only five of them remain on the roster and one of those five is likely to not be on their team by the time the season starts. Some of these departed players were among their most important last season and, while the Dolphins did add some replacements, overall their replacements are not nearly as good as the players they lost.
One of those key players was Calais Campbell, who led the Dolphins’ defense with a 82.3 PFF grade, doing so on 616 snaps. Campbell excelled as a run defender, ranking first among interior defenders on PFF with a 85.9 run defense grade and he also added 5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 9.7% pressure rate as a pass rusher. A lesser off-season departure is DaShawn Hand, who played 564 snaps last season and had a 60.5 PFF grade. To replace them, the Dolphins used a first round pick on Kenneth Grant, who has a big upside, but who is highly unlikely to be as good as a rookie as Campbell was last season.
Grant will start next to Zach Sieler, one of the few good defensive players from last season who remains on this roster. Sieler finished with a 78.9 PFF grade across 749 snaps last season, playing equally well as a run defender and a pass rusher, with PFF grades above 70 in both aspects, including 10 sacks, 7 hits, and a 9.8% pressure rate as a pass rusher. For Sieler, it was his third season above 70 on PFF in the past four seasons, but he is now going into his age 30 season and could start to decline soon, which is a significant concern, considering he is one of the few talented holdovers from 2024. Even if he doesn’t drop off significantly, a slight decline from him in 2025 would further hurt this defense.
With Hand also not being retained, the Dolphins could rely more heavily on Benito Jones as their top reserve in 2025, even though he had a 51.3 PFF grade across 481 snaps last season. That wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for Jones, who has never finished above 60 on PFF in five seasons in the league, including a career worst 37.4 PFF grade across a career high 566 snaps as recently as 2023. He figures to continue struggling in 2025, this time likely in a larger role.
Other reserve options include 5th round rookie Jordan Phillips, 7th round rookie Zeek Biggers, and free agent addition Matthew Butler, a 2022 5th round pick who has played 168 nondescript snaps in three seasons in the league. All three are likely to struggle in a significant role in 2025 and there is a good one at least one of them has to play that significant role if any of their top-3 interior defenders misses time with injury. With Calais Campbell and Da’Shawn Hand gone and Zach Sieler now on the wrong side of 30, this position group looks significantly worse than a year ago, even with a first round pick in Kenneth Grant being added to the mix.
Grade: B-
Edge Defenders
If there is one reason for some optimism on this defense, it’s the fact that they are likely to be healthier, after having the seventh most adjusted games lost to injury of any defense in the league last season. Most notably, the Dolphins should get a healthier season out of edge defenders Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb. Phillips was limited to 134 snaps in four games by a knee injury last season, his second straight seasons affected by a major injury, after a torn achilles ended his 2023 season and limited him to 366 snaps in eight games.
Phillips had a 87.7 PFF grade in his last healthy season in 2022 and seemed to be on his way to a similar season in 2023, with a 79.8 PFF grade at the time he got hurt. Between 2022 and 2023, Phillips had 13.5 sacks, 23 hits, and a 14.1% pressure rate in 25 games. Still only going into his age 26 season, Phillips has obvious bounce back potential if he can stay healthy and return to form in 2025, but that’s far from a guarantee, given his recent injury history.
Chubb, meanwhile, didn’t play a snap last season as he struggled to recover from a brutal knee injury suffered in week 17 of the 2023 season, which included a torn patellar tendon. He has now missed 43 games in seven seasons in the league and has had two significant knee injuries in his career, so there is no guarantee he ever returns to form. However, he has been a high level pass rusher throughout his career, with 39.5 sacks, 57 hits, and a 12.4% pressure rate in 73 career games, and he had his best season in 2023 before getting hurt, with a 88.8 PFF grade and 11 sacks, 15 hits, and a 14.7% pressure rate in 16 games. He could be a useful player even at less than his best and he’s still only going into his age 29 season, but it’s hard to know what to expect from him.
In the absence of Phillips and Chubb, the Dolphins were led in snaps played at the edge defender position last season by Emmanuel Ogbah, who struggled with a 59.7 PFF grade across 734 snaps, particularly struggling as a pass rusher, with 5 sacks, 6 hits, and a 8.0% pressure rate. Ogbah is no longer with the team, which could be addition by subtraction, especially if Phillips and/or Chubb stay relatively healthy and bounce back somewhat to form in 2025.
The Dolphins also got a solid season out of 2024 1st round pick Chop Robinson last season, as he had a 70.0 PFF grade across 565 snaps as a rookie, while totaling 6 sacks, 8 hits, and a 16.3% pressure rate as a pass rusher. Now going into his second season in the league, he could easily take a step forward and be even better in 2025. In a best case scenario, Chubb and Phillips stay healthy, play at or close to their prime form, and form a talented trio with Robinson, who takes a best step forward in his second season in the league, but a lot has to go right for that scenario to come to fruition.
If any of those players miss time with injury in 2025, their depth outside of the top-3 is a concern. Aside from Robinson, Quinton Bell played the most snaps of any returning Dolphins edge rusher in 2024 and he had a decent 64.8 PFF grade, but the 2019 7th round is highly unproven, playing just 258 snaps last season, after playing just 61 snaps total in the first five seasons of his career. Other options include Mohamed Kamara, a 2024 5th round pick who played 26 underwhelming snaps as a rookie, and Cameron Goode, a 2022 7th round pick who has played just 87 snaps in three seasons in the league. This group has a lot of potential upside, but also a lot of potential downside.
Grade: B+
Linebackers
The Dolphins also lost linebacker Anthony Walker this off-season, but he finished with just a 48.0 PFF grade across 516 snaps in 11 games last season, so his absence could be addition by subtraction. He will be replaced by Tyrel Dobson, who replaced Walker down the stretch last season, after being added mid-season. Dobson has had an interesting past two seasons. Dobson played 550 snaps in 2023 with the Bills as an injury replacement and excelled, with a 89.5 PFF grade, despite being a 2019 undrafted free agent who had previously played just 471 snaps in his first four seasons in the league, while never finishing above 60 on PFF.
In 2024, Dobson signed with the Seahawks as a free agent and continue to play well in coverage, but his run defense dropped off significantly and he was ultimately let go mid-season for reasons that likely had to do with more than just football, as he had a 65.8 PFF grade across 603 snaps at the time of his release. The Dolphins then picked him up and he played about the same as he did in Seattle, with a 66.8 PFF grade across 251 snaps in five games.
Dobson finished the 2024 season with a 67.3 PFF grade, which was a significant drop off from the year before, but he did play a new career high of 854 snaps, despite changing teams mid-season, and, in terms of coverage grade, he ranked 4th among linebackers on PFF at 82.9. Now going into 2025, he seems likely to remain a high level coverage linebacker, still only in his age 27 season, but whether or not his run defense bounces back remains to be seen.
Dodson will start next to Jordyn Brooks, who was solid as an every down linebacker last season, with a 71.3 PFF grade across 1,039 snaps. That was a career best year for him though, as he had previously finished below 60 on PFF in each of his first four seasons in the league. Brooks is a former first round pick and could just be a late bloomer, but it’s also very possible he regresses somewhat in 2025 and fails to repeat his career best 2024 campaign.
The Dolphins also added some depth options this off-season, signing veterans Willie Gay and KJ Britt in free agency. Gay was a second round pick in 2020 and showed some promise early in his career, finishing above 60 on PFF in two of his first three seasons in the league, but he has fallen below 60 on PFF in each of the past two seasons, including a 44.1 PFF grade across just 277 snaps last season, which is why he had to settle for a backup job this off-season. Britt, meanwhile, struggled with a 44.6 PFF grade across 613 snaps last season in the first significant action of his career, after the 2021 5th round pick played just 234 snaps across the first three seasons in the league from 2021-2023. Both Britt and Gay would likely struggle if forced into a significant role by an injury to either Dodson or Brooks, but Dodson and Brooks are at least a solid starting duo.
Grade: B+
Secondary
The Dolphins’ secondary is the group that lost the most this off-season. Both of their starting safeties from a year ago, Jevon Holland and Jordan Poyer, are no longer with the team, nor is starting cornerback Kendall Fuller. None had a great season in 2024, but they all finished with PFF grades in the 60s and the players the Dolphins added to replace them are underwhelming. Additionally, the Dolphins are likely to be without top cornerback Jalen Ramsey this season, as he is expected to be traded or released prior to the start of the season, despite a 76.9 PFF grade in 17 starts last season. For the sake of this preview, I will project this unit as if Ramsey is not currently on the team.
Kader Kohou is the Dolphins’ top returning cornerback and he was decent with a 64.5 PFF grade across 708 snaps, but he is no one’s idea of a #1 cornerback, as he has played primarily on the slot and has received PFF grades in the 60s in each of his three seasons in the league. For outside cornerback options, the best the Dolphins have is mediocre holdovers Storm Duck and Cam Smith, mediocre free agent additions Kendall Sheffield and Artie Burns, and 5th round rookie Jason Marshall.
Smith probably has the most upside of the bunch, as he was a 2nd round pick in 2023, but he has shown next to nothing in two seasons in the league, playing just 155 snaps total. Last season, he was behind Storm Duck on the depth chart, even though Duck was an undrafted rookie who had just a 55.5 PFF grade across 359 snaps. Artie Burns was a first round pick in 2016 and showed promise early in his career, but he’s played just 938 snaps in his past seven seasons and now is heading into his age 30 season, so he’s only a desperation starting option. Sheffield, meanwhile, is a 2019 4th round pick who struggled with PFF grades of 47.5 and 40.3 on snap counts of 697 and 524 in his first two seasons in the league respectively and has since played just 169 snaps in four seasons in the league. It’s very possible the rookie Marshall will have to make starts for the Dolphins this season, even though it’s likely he would struggle if he did so.
At safety, the Dolphins are expected to start a pair of free agent additions in Ashtyn Davis and Ifeatu Melifonwu, both of whom are underwhelming options. Both are former third round picks, in the 2020 and 2021 drafts respectively, but neither have ever been a regular starter and neither have shown enough potential as reserves to give me confidence that they will be capable starters. Davis has averaged just 328 snaps per season in five seasons in the league, while making a total of just 22 starts, and Melifonwu has averaged just 219 snaps per season in four seasons in the league, while making a total of just 14 starts. Other options at safety include 5th round rookie Dante Trader and career special teamer Elijah Campbell, who has played just 284 defensive snaps in seven seasons in the league. This overall looks like arguably the worst secondary in the league.
Grade: C
Kicker
Jason Sanders is entering his 8th season as the Dolphins’ kicker. He has been inconsistent throughout his career, finishing below average in three of seven seasons, but he has overall accounted for 14.00 points above average in seven seasons in the league and he has had some great seasons, including a 2020 season in which he led the league with 13.91 points above average and a 2024 season in which he ranked 7th in the league with 7.66 points above average. It’s tough to know what to expect from him in 2025, but most likely he will be a slightly above average kicker, though not as good as he was a year ago.
Grade: B+
Conclusion
The Dolphins had significant losses this off-season, particularly on defense and, overall, look significantly worse as a team than they were a year ago. They could be healthier, after finishing with the 5th most adjusted games lost to injury in the league last season, but they still have a lot of key players with significant injury histories. They also will face a tougher schedule this season, after having the easiest opponents strength of schedule of any team in the league last season. Overall, it seems unlikely they will even reach last season’s win total of eight.
Update: The Dolphins did trade Jalen Ramsey and also Jonnu Smith as well, but they got back Minkah Fitzpatrick to upgrade their safety room and replaced Smith with Darren Waller, which isn’t a big downgrade. Overall, this team looks like they are in better shape than they were a month ago, but I would still expect them to finish below .500.
Prediction: 7-10, 3rd in AFC East
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