Another issue hurting Dolphins. And play time changes, grades, notes by position

On a team with so much youth, the Dolphins need their most experienced players to perform at their absolute best.

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It’s the offense, in particular, where not enough of those older players – veterans with at least two full years in the league – are presenting the best version of themselves, wide receiver Malik Washington aside.

Consider:

▪ Quarterback Malik Willis began Monday 28th in completion percentage at 56.3. That’s worst among all quarterbacks who entered this season as starters.

He’s 26th in passer rating at 73.0 — ahead of only two other quarterbacks who entered the season as starters (Drake Maye and Justin Herbert).

▪ Running back Jaylen Wright, thrust into a starting role in the wake of De’Von Achane’s season-ending ACL injury, mustered just 7 yards on five carries in Sunday’s 15-10 loss at Minnesota. His 3.8 average on 146 career carries is pretty pedestrian.

▪ Tight end Greg Dulcich didn’t have a reception Sunday and has just 90 receiving yards this season (on nine catches); that’s partly on offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik for not maximizing him to the extent Mike McDaniel did. PFF rates him 66th of 78 tight ends, and third worst at his position as a run blocker.

▪ Jalen Tolbert, by far the Dolphins’ most experienced receiver, has played only 18 offensive snaps. Is this the same guy who caught 49 passes for 610 yards in 15 starts for Dallas two years ago? Either Tolbert isn’t doing enough in practice, or coaches simply prefer to play youth.

▪ Center Aaron Brewer has been solid, but not as good as a year ago, if you believe PFF, which rates him 17th among all centers (compared to second last season) and ninth worst as a pass blocker.

▪ Right tackle Austin Jackson allowed two sacks against Minnesota on Sunday, and Pro Football Focus rates him 67th among 69 NFL tackles this season.

▪ Left tackle Patrick Paul — while good overall this season (PFF rates him 23rd among tackles) — committed two costly holding penalties on Sunday and another that the Vikings declined.

“I’ve got to be better,” Paul said. “Those penalties, can’t let those happen. Got to clean up the technique.”

Washington, a skilled returner and emerging receiver, is doing enough; he’s 16th in all-purpose yards with 435 and seems to be maximizing his ability as a sixth-round pick.

Some notes by position:

Running back

The Dolphins rode the hot hand, giving 22 offensive snaps to Ollie Gordon II and 12 to Wright.

Gordon set a career high with 100 yards rushing on nine carries, and his 11.1 per-carry average was the ninth best in Dolphins history in a game (minimum nine carries). PFF rated Gordon as Miami’s second-best player on offense Sunday, behind only Washington.

“We believe we can run the ball on people,” coach Jeff Hafley said afterward. “You guys know that’s important to me.”

Fullback DJ Herman played 20 snaps and PFF rated him Miami’s worst player on offense.

Quarterback

Willis continued to struggle in the face of a pass rush; he was 4 for 9 for 20 yards in that situation, equal to a 51.6 passer rating. His 49 passer rating when under pressure is eight worst among the 24 QBs who have started the first four games.

After finishing 7 for 7 on passes thrown at least 20 air yards for Green Bay last season, Willis is now 4 for 15 on such throws as a Dolphin after going 0 for 3 Sunday. That 26.7% accuracy on those throws is sixth worst among the 24 QBs who have started all four games.

Wide receiver

Washington played 34 of Miami’s unusually low 39 snaps, while Chris Bell played 32. Kevin Coleman Jr. played 20, Tolbert 6 and Ryan Miller 4. Washington caught five passes for a career-high 67 yards, but all other Dolphins receivers combined for just 3 yards in receptions (by Coleman).

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Offensive line

Surprisingly, PFF rated Jackson as Miami’s best offensive lineman on Sunday, even though he allowed both of the Vikings’ sacks. But all five offensive linemen received subpar grades from PFF.

Paul and Jackson each permitted two quarterback pressures; the other starting offensive lineman allowed one apiece.

Jackson was rated Miami’s best run-blocking lineman, while Jonah Savaiinaea was rated the worst. Caedan Wallace played one snap as a sixth lineman.

Tight end

For the first time, rookie Will Kacmarek played more snaps than Dulcich (24 to 20).

PFF rated Kacmarek third among all Dolphins on offense, and Dulcich 15th — ahead of only Bell and Herman. Kacmarek also had by far Miami’s best run blocking grades in his 13 run blocking snaps.

Defensive tackle

Zach Sieler (two sacks) had the seventh multisack game of his career and logged 61 of Miami’s 78 defensive snaps. Zeek Biggers, toggling between end and tackle, played 48 snaps, Jordan Phillips 46 and practice squad player Mazi Smith, the former Cowboys’ first-round pick, played nine.

PFF rated Phillips as Miami’s third-best player on defense, while ranking Smith 17th and last.

Defensive end/edge

Joshua Uche played 55 snaps, had a sack and was rated by PFF as Miami’s No. 1 player on defense on Sunday. Chop Robinson played 50 snaps, had a sack and eight QB pressures and rated fifth of 17 Dolphins defenders.

Malik Herring played 28 snaps and Rodney McGraw 12 in his NFL debut. Herring had three quarterback pressures and McGraw one.

Linebacker

Jacob Rodriguez’s 18 tackles were the most by a Dolphins rookie in a single game, topping Zach Thomas’ record of 16 against Arizona in 1996. His 46 tackles are second in the league, one behind Denver’s Alex Singleton.

Rodriguez and Jordyn Brooks played all 78 defensive snaps; Willie Gay Jr. played 27. Brooks had 13 tackles and is ninth in the league in tackles this season.

Pass coverage remains problematic for Rodriguez and Brooks, who combined to allow 18 of 20 passes to be caught for 180 yards — 96 of those against Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson.

Cornerback

Rookie cornerback Chris Johnson played all 78 snaps on defense and played well for a second week in a row; he was targeted four times and allowed only 7 yards (on three receptions). PFF rated him Miami’s second-best player on defense.

JuJu Brents logged 69 defensive snaps and yielded completions on both his targets, for 24 yards.

Jason Marshall Jr. played 60 defensive snaps and permitted one completion in two targets for 14 yards, per PFF.

Safety

Dante Trader Jr. left with a knee injury, then returned and finished with 52 defensive snaps. Zayne Anderson played with Trader and Michael Taaffe on a couple of occasions, in a three-safety look, and logged 29 defensive snaps. Taaffe played all 78.

Of the three, only Taaffe was targeted in coverage, per PFF, and permitted one pass to be caught (on two throws), for just 4 yards.

The play of Phillips, Taaffe, Rodriguez and Johnson should have the Dolphins very encouraged. And Trader was Miami’s fourth-best defender when he was in the game Sunday, per PFF.

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This story was originally published October 5, 2026 at 12:50 PM.