Miami Dolphins 2026 preview: Malik Willis headlines the Dolphins' reset after major offensive changes

• Malik Willis takes over at quarterback: Miami begins a new era after signing Willis to replace Tua Tagovailoa.

• A strong rookie class offers hope: Kadyn Proctor and Chris Johnson headline a 13-player draft class expected to contribute immediately.

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A 7-10 season brought sweeping changes to Miami, with former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley replacing Mike McDaniel as head coach and the Tua Tagovailoa era at quarterback coming to an end.

Malik Willis arrived in free agency to replace Tagovailoa, but the trade that sent wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to Denver has left plenty of questions about how good the Dolphins' offense can be in 2026.

Here is our 2026 preview of the Miami Dolphins.

Key Free Agency/Trade Additions

Willis delivered an impressive performance against the Baltimore Ravens in his lone start of the season and parlayed it into a three-year, $67.5 million contract with the Dolphins this offseason. In that Week 17 game, he completed 18 of 21 passes for 288 yards while adding 60 rushing yards and a touchdown, earning a 95.6 PFF grade. He also performed well across two starts for the Green Bay Packers in 2024, earning 71.8 and 75.9 PFF grades in Weeks 2 and 3. The reality, though, is that he has just 209 career dropbacks in the NFL, making this a gamble by the Dolphins, albeit one that could pay off even if he performs at his 2024 level.

After a disappointing 2023 and 2024, Uche bounced back as a rotational player for the Philadelphia Eagles last season. He generated 23 pressures on 142 pass-rushing snaps and earned an 84.3 PFF pass-rush grade. It remains to be seen how much playing time the Dolphins expect him to receive, with the 2020 second-round draft pick yet to crack 400 snaps in a season during his six-year NFL career.

2026 NFL Draft Class

The Dolphins made 13 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, beginning with Kadyn Proctor at No. 12 overall. Proctor played left tackle at Alabama but is expected to kick inside to left guard as a rookie in Miami. He is an absolute mountain of a man and is coming off the best season of his college career, having earned PFF grades above 80.0 as both a pass blocker and run blocker while allowing 21 pressures on 611 pass-blocking snaps.

Their second first-round pick was San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson, who, like Proctor, should step straight into the starting lineup. He earned a 92.4 PFF coverage grade last season, allowing just 18 receptions on 349 coverage snaps while recording four interceptions and five pass breakups. He's also a very reliable tackler, as he missed just 5.4% of his tackle attempts across four seasons in college.

Reasons for optimism

The 2026 season could be a challenging year for the Dolphins, but if there's cause for optimism, it's the young talent already on the roster. De'Von Achane is one of the best running backs in football despite still being just 24 years old. He rushed for 1,350 yards in 2025, with 4.1 of his 5.7 yards per carry coming after contact. Three seasons into his career, he has yet to earn a PFF grade below 80.0. Meanwhile, left tackle Patrick Paul took a significant step forward in his second season, improving his PFF grade from 44.9 as a rookie to 66.2 last season.

They also had a really strong draft, as seven of the players they drafted earned PFF grades above 75.0 in their final seasons in college. It wouldn’t be a huge shock to see six or more of this class wind up as starters by the time the 2027 NFL season begins.

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Reason for pessimism

On paper, this is the worst receiving corps in football. The Dolphins' top three pass-catchers by PFF receiving grade from the 2025 season — wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill, and tight end Darren Waller — are no longer on the roster. Among returning wide receivers and tight ends, Greg Dulcich led the group with just 335 receiving yards last season.

There is hope for the future after Miami selected three wide receivers within the first five rounds of the draft. Right now, though, the top of the depth chart consists of Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell and Malik Washington. None of the three earned a PFF grade higher than 60.9 last season, and they combined for just 712 receiving yards across the regular season and playoffs in 2025.

Breakout Candidate

Defensive tackle Kenneth Grant endured a rough start to his NFL career, earning a 30.4 PFF grade over the first five weeks of the season. He steadily improved as the year went on, though, and his 62.0 PFF grade from Week 6 through the end of the season ranked third among the 14 rookie interior defensive linemen who played at least 200 snaps during that span. His 16 defensive stops over that stretch also ranked second in the group.

With a full NFL offseason under his belt, expect Grant to continue that upward trajectory in 2026.

Key roster battles

The Dolphins used the 37th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on guard Jonah Savaiinaea, but the former Arizona Wildcat endured a disastrous rookie season. He allowed 45 pressures, including eight sacks, on 579 pass-blocking snaps. The former was the highest total in the NFL, while the latter was tied for the most. He moves from left guard to right guard this season, but if his struggles continue through training camp, the Dolphins could give sixth-round rookie DJ Campbell a long look. Campbell allowed just 18 pressures on 484 pass-blocking snaps during his final college season.