Miami Dolphins 2026 Preview

August 21 update and best ball outlook::

(By: Mike Johnson)

• Malik Willis seems like a high upside QB option as a player with dynamic rushing ability and a cannon for an arm on a team that is likely to be trailing often. He is the prototypical “late round QB” for a variety of reasons.
• De’Von Achane is clearly the lead back and the market is appropriately pricing him in the early to mid second round. His talent, history, and stranglehold as the top RB on his team would normally profile him as an obvious first round pick, but the change in coaching staff and Miami’s organizational outlook increase the risk of systemic failure and/or Miami scaling back his workload with an eye to the future or shutting him down quicker that they usually would if he deals with any nagging injuries late in the season.
• Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II are in a battle for the backup RB job. It seems likely that each may get a handful of snaps behind Achane that amount to nothing and that should Achane ever miss time both players would be involved in a time share — with the likeliest outcome just being that Willis is asked to do more. Wright and Gordon are both available in rounds 18-20 of basically every draft, with Wright being my preference if forced to choose.
• The Dolphins top three WRs appear to be veterans Jalen Tolbert and Malik Washington along with exciting rookie third round pick Caleb Douglas. Douglas made an incredible catch in the first preseason game and has been rising quickly up draft boards. I am buying and chasing him up. Washington could wrack up a ton of targets as the primary short area receiver, although Achane’s skill set seems like it would overlap quite a bit. Tolbert is a “fine” 20th round pick, but it also wouldn’t be shocking to see him lose his job to younger players as the season moves along.
• Greg Dulcich is a fun player to chase who Dynasty and long-time Best Ball players are very familiar with. There don’t appear to be any dominant target earners among Miami WRs, which in theory gives Dulcich high upside. However, his inability to stay healthy and the fact that he hasn’t been an every down player in preseason and training camp practices with the first team offense leaves me preferring several other late round TE options.

WRITTEN BY: HILOW

Coaching/Philosophy/Scheme Changes ::

• Offense: Fired former HC Mike McDaniel, replacing him with defensive-minded HC Jeff Hafley. Hired OC Bobby Slowik.
• Defense: Hafley confirmed he will call defensive plays for the Dolphins in 2026. Hired Sean Duggan to serve as the new defensive coordinator.

Personnel Changes ::

• Arguably no team experienced a greater shakedown of their roster this offseason than the Dolphins.
• Traded WR Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos in exchange for a first, third, and fourth-round pick swap.
• Released WR Tyreek Hill, QB Tua Tagovailoa, EDGE Bradley Chubb, FB Alec Ingold, and K Jason Sanders.
• Saw P Jake Bailey, OT Jake Borom, and DT Benito Jones walk in free agency.
• Signed QB Malik Willis, WR Tutu Atwell, WR Jalen Tolbert, EDGE Joshua Uche, OL Jamaree Salyer, OLB David Ojabo, OT Charlie Heck, CB Marco Wilson, S Zayne Anderson, CB Alex Austin, CB Darrell Baker Jr, K Zane Gonzalez, K Riley Patterson, P Seth Vernon, and LS Tucker Addington.
• Drafted OG Kadyn Proctor and CB Chris Johnson in the first, LB Jakob Rodriguez in the second, and TE Will Kacmarek, WR Chris Bell, and WR Caleb Douglas in the third. Added seven more players with their 13 total picks.

Schedule ::

• Divisional Games (6)::
• Bills x 2, Patriots x 2, Jets x 2
• AFC West (4)::
• Chiefs, Chargers, @Raiders, @Broncos
• NFC North (4)::
• Vikings, Bears, @Packers, @Lions
• Bengals, @49ers, @Colts

Bull Case ::

I don’t know, man, I can’t find any path to upside that matters from this unit in 2026. It’s really that simple. We could waste 500 words on parchment spinning some magical fairy land story of how this team could overperform their lowly expectations, but I don’t think it’s worth my, or your, time and energy.