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Super Bowl Road Maps: Jaguars| Bears| Browns
Welcome to Super Bowl LXI road maps, where we look at every team’s chances of winning it all in 2026. We’ll analyze the summer optimism before providing a reality check of what’s to come. Next path to assess: the Dolphins.
The Dolphins finally took a long look in the mirror and realized it was time to stop pretending to be contenders. That’s the good news.
Now for the bad news: It could be a while before the Dolphins put together a roster good enough to make the playoffs. And maybe this time, the team builds a roster that can do more than just advance and provide their first playoff victory since 2000. That lengthy drought likely played a role in the previous regime’s decision to make a series of aggressive moves that didn’t get them far in the end.
There were trades for Tyreek Hill, Jalen Ramsey and Bradley Chubb, but maybe the worst decision was handing Tua Tagovailoa a massive four-year, $212.4 million contract extension despite his injury history and uneven performances since entering the league in 2020. While Tagovailoa did play well at times under the previous coaching staff, turnovers were constantly an issue, and his play diminished against better teams. There were obvious signs that this team shouldn’t have operated like a contender. While the Dolphins made two playoff appearances under McDaniel, they didn’t look like a real threat, given how poorly they played against physical teams and during the winter months when temperatures dipped.
Former GM Chris Grier and McDaniel ignored the signs and are no longer in a position to make decisions for the Dolphins. Those roles now belong to GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley.
While the Dolphins are clearly in rebuild mode, the new regime might not be totally different from the one before. Miami stripped down its roster but splurged on free-agent quarterback Malik Willis, signing him to a three-year, $67.5 million contract, including $45 million guaranteed.
Willis’s deal isn’t nearly as expensive as Tagovailoa’s extension, but it was a bit of a head-scratcher that Miami decided to gamble on the former Packers backup instead of waiting to add a quarterback in next year’s loaded draft. Then again, even if Willis plays well, it might not prevent the Dolphins from picking high in the 2027 draft, since the roster needs so much work.
Leadership
Seeing this regime rush to sign Willis, who’s still unproven as a long-term quarterback, might have given Dolphins fans flashbacks to the Tagovailoa extension. But Willis’s arrival adds flexibility and could end up being a savvy signing for Sullivan, but more on that later.
Already, this partnership of Sullivan and Hafley is different from Grier and McDaniel because their first pick was used on offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, the 6'7", 366-pound rookie from Alabama. (There’s a chance Proctor starts his career as a guard.) Miami hadn’t taken a tackle in the first round since 2016 when Laremy Tunsil, ironically, became Grier’s first draft pick.
It seems Miami is building its roster from the inside out, an approach that didn’t seem to be a priority in the four seasons with McDaniel, who favored more speedy skill players.
Additionally, Hafley has a track record of building physical defenses, as demonstrated by his work over the past two years as the Packers’ defensive coordinator. Green Bay ranked in the top six in total yards and points allowed in Hafley’s first season, and he quickly implemented Micah Parsons into his scheme last season. Hafley is a rookie head coach in the pros, but he was Boston College’s coach from 2020 to ’23.
For Miami’s second first-round pick in April, the one gained in the Jaylen Waddle trade with Denver, Sullivan added cornerback Chris Johnson. How Proctor and Johnson play as rookies will provide a glimpse into how the new Miami partnership eyes and develops talent. Sullivan spent 21 years working in Green Bay’s front office in various capacities, including vice president of player personnel for the past four seasons.
Most influential roster move
How Willis performs could dictate how the Dolphins maneuver in the 2027 draft, which could include quarterback prospects Arch Manning, Dante Moore, Julian Sayin and CJ Carr.
If Willis plays well and shows real upside of being the long-term answer, the Dolphins can focus on addressing one of their many other needs. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and edge rusher Colin Simmons could also be available in next year’s draft. There’s also the possibility of the team swapping places with a quarterback-needy team for more draft picks to continue building out the roster properly.
If the team can’t afford to pass on one of the notable signal-callers in the first round, Willis can be the bridge quarterback before the team has an out on his contract after the 2027 season. Willis isn’t exactly in an ideal situation with having to prove himself with one of the league’s worst rosters, but Miami’s decision-makers are familiar with his game after watching him the past two years in Green Bay.
Willis appeared lost when the Titans thrust him onto the field after making him a third-round pick in 2022. He was traded after his second season to Green Bay, where he learned to play with composure and under structure. Once the game slowed for him, Willis’s athletic ability stood out in the times he filled in for Jordan Love, especially last season.
Why this offseason move will (or won’t) work
Believe it or not, Willis will actually have a good amount of help on the field because he’ll get to hand the ball off to electric running back De’Von Achane.
It was smart of the team not to move on from all of the fast players from the McDaniel era. Achane proved last year that he can run between the tackles and handle more of a workload after setting career highs in carries (238) and rushing yards (1,350). The new regime also handed Achane a four-year, $64 million contract extension because of what he provides in the passing game, recording at least 65 catches and 450 yards in each of the past two seasons.
Achane, however, might be the offensive player who feels alone on this roster, not Willis. Miami’s top three receivers are currently Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell, and there are also concerns at tight end with Greg Dulcich currently the top player at that position.
It’s going to be a tough task for new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik to make sure his star running back doesn’t break down from having to do too much.
Breakout player candidate: DT Kenneth Grant
In order for the Dolphins to be tougher in the trenches, they’re going to need the 2025 first-round pick to make sizable strides in Year 2 of his development.
It was a rough start for the Michigan product, but it seemed he was adjusting to the pace and physicality of the game toward the final quarter of the season. He has rare speed for a player who stands 6'3" and 335 pounds. The team desperately needs him to command attention in the interior of the line because most of Miami’s edge rushers are unproven. Last season, Grant played 52% of the defensive snaps, finishing with 33 total tackles, two sacks and five QB hits.
Missing piece
This might be one of the few teams in the league that would be better off standing pat for the entire season. The Dolphins aren’t in a position to acquire talent and probably don’t have a player to dangle in a substantial trade unless it’s Achane, but that’s unlikely after the extension he signed this offseason. Miami would be better served riding out the waves of what will likely be a bumpy first season under Hafley and looking forward to perhaps a franchise-altering draft in 2027.
Realistic outlook
To be straightforward, expect Dolphins fans to chant “We want Arch” at some point during the season or the name of whichever quarterback emerges as the clear No. 1 prospect. Again, even if the season goes sideways, that won’t necessarily mean that the Willis signing was a disaster, because he can at least serve as a bridge option while the team lays out a proper developmental plan for an incoming rookie next season. What’s important in 2026 is how the team improves in the trenches, especially after how big an issue that was for the previous regime. It should be all about properly rebuilding this roster.
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GILBERTO MANZANO
Gilberto Manzano is a staff writer covering the NFL for Sports Illustrated. After starting off as a breaking news writer at NFL.com in 2014, he worked as the Raiders beat reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and covered the Chargers and Rams for the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News. During his time as a combat sports reporter, he was awarded best sports spot story of 2018 by the Nevada Press Association for his coverage of the Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov post-fight brawl. Manzano, a first-generation Mexican-American with parents from Nayarit, Mexico, is the cohost of Compas on the Beat, a sports and culture show featuring Mexican-American journalists. He has been a member of the Pro Football Writers of America since 2017.
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