Miami Dolphins second-year offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea is making important strides in more than just his play.
Miami Dolphins right guard Jonah Savaiinaea is making important strides in more than just his play.
During the 2025 season, Savaiinaea was one of the worst-rated guards in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. That ranking would follow the young lineman into the 2026 season, which led to head coach Jeff Hafley stepping in and shutting down the criticism.
Back in early August, Hafley stated that he hoped that Savaiinaea was not aware of the ranking, and also hoped that the lineman was not taking any of what was said about him the previous year to heart.
That appears to be exactly the case, as Savaiinaea has received glowing praise from Hafley and his fellow linemen. Going back to OTAs and minicamp, the maturity and play from the second-year guard were well-documented.
Now, after delivering a top-rated preseason performance, Savaiinaea offered some huge wisdom on where he was in 2025 compared to what his mindset is in 2026.
"Just learn from it. I'm big on my faith and my whole life is all about adversities," Savaiinaea said. "I thank God for adversities, because without them I wouldn't to be where I'm at today. So being able to go through it, it's okay to fail. It's August and I don't want to talk about last year anymore because that's like far, far behind me. I'm already moving forward. So all I got to say is embrace those failures and adversities, because it'll help you in the long way.
Savaiinaea stated that last year is nothing that will impact or can impact him in 2026. As he said, it is now August, and he is looking only at the upcoming 2026 season.
As stated above, Savaiinaea was one of the highest-rated players on the Dolphins roster.
Per PFF, Savaiinaea came in at No. 5 overall in terms of his grade on the offense. His overall blocking grade was 72.4, with a 67.2 pass block grade and a 70.1 run block grade.
The Dolphins lineman played in 22 snaps before he was pulled from the game, and he took full advantage of those snaps. Savaiinaea demonstrated his physicality by helping push the pile for the run game.
Quarterback Malik Willis also stayed relatively clean in the pocket, delivering 4-for-5 passes for 43 yards. He also picked up nine rush yards on two attempts.
For Savaiinaea, he indicated that the game has slowed down, and he is playing off instincts more than just feel. That is an important aspect for any player, especially starters.
The Dolphins have the chance to have a strong starting five offensive linemen, but there might be a case where an injury occurs, and the adversities that Savaiinaea spoke about will come.
How the line responds to needing to shuffle will be incredibly important for the success of the offense.
Savaiinaea has shown enough physicality in year two that he may also be called on to move from guard to tackle, as he has the size and strength to do so. Granted, he may be better served as a guard, but head coach Jeff Hafley may call for a major change if it needed.
The good news is Savaiinaea has not allowed his rookie year to sum up who or what he can be. Instead, he shook it off if there was anything to shake off and is looking at the 2026 season as his chance to make some noise.
