The Miami Dolphins are dedicated to their youth movement, which will be heavily tested in 2026.
Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan are of the same mind that the team needs to be constructed through the draft, and that's exactly what happened.
The Dolphins drafted 13 players, and 12 of those 13 remain on the roster. Two of those draftees who aren't technically on the roster are edge Max Llewelyn, who is on the practice squad, and linebacker Trey Moore, who is on the IR.
With 11 players from the draft on the roster, many of those rookies are expected to take up starting positions in 2026. Considering the tough schedule, coupled with the travel miles and the roster construction in general, the youth movement will be under a bigger spotlight and microscope.
Among the starting rookies is linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who supplanted Tyrel Dodson for the position opposite Jordyn Brooks.
Rodriguez was a highly touted prospect out of Texas Tech who set an NCAA record of seven forced fumbles, and his ability to create chaos via turnovers has seemingly carried over to the NFL. Granted, he has not yet played in a regular season game, but he has jarred the ball loose during training camp.
Another rookie who will be tested is cornerback Chris Johnson, who was drafted No. 27 overall out of San Diego State. Johnson is expected to play the nickel and the boundary.
Johnson has impressed Hafley enough that he earned his position early on.
Rookie left guard Kadyn Proctor was also drafted No. 12 overall, and will be the second rookie lineman expected to start for the Dolphins in consecutive years. The first was guard Jonah Savaiinaea in 2025.
Though Hafley has not named him starter just yet Michael Taaffe might also win a starting role.
Simply put, with the Dolphins roster is expected to send out multiple rookies and the youth movement that Hafley and Sullivan have preached will be tested immediate out of the gate.
This testing of rookie talent will be a double-edged sword for Miami.
One one hand, the success of the rookies as starters will point to Sullivan as being an excellent talent evaluator. Conversely, their struggles will also have the opposite effect, and the Dolphins general manager will fall under plenty of scrutiny.
The same can be said for Hafley, who is responsible for putting these players in the best possible position to succeed.
As Hafley put it, the 2026 season is not about winning so much as its getting better every day and "not cutting corners." Additionally, Sullivan echoed a similar sentiment when he said that getting "incrementally better" every day is getting better.
Many expect that the Dolphins will be one of the worst teams in the NFL, but nobody can know that for sure. As the saying goes, "Any Given Sunday," and the Miami team, full of hopeful rookies, has just as much of a chance to win as the other 31 teams.
That said, the youth movement is here, and they will be thrown into the proverbial fire with a tough schedule, a roster that has been cheaply built, and a brand-new regime from top to bottom.
The good news is players young and old have bought into what Hafley is selling. How and when that translates into wins remains to be seen.
