‘The tone-setters.’ Why the defensive line could be the Dolphins’ greatest strength
The offense has been the Miami Dolphins’ calling card since the arrival of coach Mike McDaniel.
And for good reason — the 2023 offense not only led the league in total yardage but looked explosive behind quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s arm and the speed of receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as well as tailback De’Von Achane. The unit, however, took a step back in 2024, falling to 18th in yards while the defense — despite injuries at edge rusher — finished in the top-10.
Fast forward to 2025 and the Dolphins could have a new area of promise: the defensive line.
“The defensive front seven sees themselves as they should — as a growing strength in our team and wants to lead by production,” coach Mike McDaniel said.
With 2025 first-round pick Kenneth Grant joining Zach Sieler at the defensive tackle position as well as edge rushers Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb (if healthy), the defensive line could give opposing offensive coordinators nightmares in 2025. Throw in a Year 2 Chop Robinson with defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s personal expertise — he has seven years of NFL experience — and the ceiling looks even higher.
“It’s really exciting to see how we can kind of all mesh together,” Sieler said Wednesday. “We have great guys across the board, and it’s just been awesome to play with these guys the last couple years — three years in some cases — and really to hopefully get everyone rolling into camp and into the season at max capacity and just really working our stuff and really being able to get as advanced as we can get together and rush as a unit.”
Sure, shortcomings at boundary cornerback could hinder their production. As of Friday afternoon, the Dolphins have only two corners — Storm Duck and Artie Burns — who have started multiple games. An undrafted free agent in 2024, Duck started three games last season due to injuries and gave up two touchdowns as well as allowed a 100.2 passer rating. Burns, a first-round pick from the University of Miami in 2016, has started just seven games during the last four seasons.
The bottom line: Miami needs to add a few bodies to the cornerback room for the defensive line to truly flourish. Especially since Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey is expected to be traded before the season begins.
“We’ve had a number of conversations with players — veteran free agents that are good football players,” general manager Chris Grier said following the conclusion of the NFL Draft. “We’ve had a number of conversations. Those will continue, and we’ll see if we can get something done.”
Still, the potential is there.
Sieler put together back-to-back double-digit sack seasons in 2023 and 2024 as well as added a career-high 13 tackles for loss in 2024. With 11 sacks and a career-high six forced fumbles, Chubb had a shot at the Pro Bowl in 2023 prior to tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, patella tendon and meniscus in Week 17. Phillips, meanwhile, registered 15.5 sacks in his first two years with the Dolphins before injuries hindered his 2023 and 2024 seasons. Robinson finished with 6.5 sacks in 2024, which was second among all rookies.
Add in Grant, who registered 6.5 sacks during his three years at the University of Michigan, who not only championship pedigree but also run-stopping chops with the a lot of pass-rusher potential.
“D-tackle is a big need,” Grier said. “A big nose tackle obviously, but we don’t view him as just a run stopper. We do think he has the ability to generate, and you’ve heard us talk about the pass rush, it’s not all about sacks. The ability to push the pocket in the middle is a huge thing in the NFL now, and we think he has tremendous work ethic and upside to do that.”
As for Grant himself, he believes his skill set fits right along with the group. All he needs to do is just be himself.
“They brought me in here because they saw something in my game that can translate to the NFL and into this team,” Grant said, explaining that the defensive line has “got to set the standard.”
“We’ve got to set the tone every day,” he added. “Every day in practice, every game, whatever it is — we’re the tone-setters. We’ve got to come out and show everybody what we’re about.”
