Miami Dolphins 2026 Preview

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.