Dolphins avoid catastrophe at tight end; big decisions await. Where things stand
On the final day of June last summer, when Miami decided to trade Jonnu Smith, a player coming off the best statistical season of any Dolphin at his position in franchise history, the team seemingly was left with a tight end room that only a mother could love.
That jettisoning of Smith, who coveted a contract extension that the Dolphins would not give him, came nine weeks after Miami bypassed drafting Penn State tight end Tyler Warren, who caught 76 passes for 817 yards for the Colts this past season, in order to draft defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, who was decent but nothing more.
As it turns out, the tight end room didn’t doom the Dolphins in 2025.
Do they still need a difference-maker at the position? Probably.
But the law firm of Waller, Dulcich and Hill made the situation far better than it realistically could have been.
Darren Waller — who came out of retirement to play for the Dolphins the day after Smith and Jalen Ramsey were dealt to Pittsburgh for Minkah Fitzpatrick — finished with 24 catches for 283 yards and six touchdowns in nine games and three starts.
Greg Dulcich, signed to the practice squad on Aug. 28 and moved to the 53-man roster 13 days later, was something of a revelation, with 26 catches for 335 yards in 10 games and three starts.
And Julian Hill was a key cog in a running game that finished tied for third in the league in yards per carry (4.7).
Collectively, they didn’t match Smith’s 88 catches and 884 receiving yards in 2024.
But that troika allowed the Dolphins to survive at a position that could have been a disaster. And Dulcich and Hill made a case to be included in new general Jon-Eric Sullivan’s reshaping of the roster.
Dulcich become a favorite target of rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, catching 11 passes and a touchdown in Ewers’ three starts.
Former coach Mike McDaniel said Dulcich “is a very good football player with how to get leverage and separation. And he is a tough guy to tackle. I knew his hands and ball skills and route running were good.”
Dulcich — who was first team All-Pac 12 in 2021 at UCLA — caught 33 passes for 411 yards as a rookie third-round pick for Denver in 2022 before his career stalled.
He had just eight catches for 58 yards for the Broncos and Giants in 2023 and 2024. Denver cut him Thanksgiving week in 2024, and the Giants released him in late August 2025.
“He has really good ball skills, good speed downfield,” former offensive coordinator Frank Smith said. “He has really good natural pass game awareness. He’s good at yards after the catch... The blocking.. You see the growth this year. The hangup has been staying on the field — with injury issues.”
That hasn’t been a problem here. Though it’s too early to tell how Sullivan will fill the position in 2026, Dulcich has made a case to be re-signed. He said he would love to remain a Dolphin.
Waller, meanwhile, would like to play next season and would be interested in returning, agent Drew Rosenhaus said on WSVN 7. But Sullivan might opt to go younger at the position.
Hill, for his part, has taken another step in carving out a niche as a skilled in-line blocker, while also achieving career highs in receptions (15) and receiving yards (140).
How close is Hill to being an elite blocker?
“There are a few things I’m trying to work with him on,” former Dolphins tight ends coach Jon Embree said. “Once he cleans those two or three things up, he will be [elite]. He’s very smart, sees what defenses are trying to do, can make adjustments on the fly. He understands what we’re trying to accomplish with our runs, and he can play freer. Once he cleans up a couple things, he’ll be the standard of what you want in a blocking tight end.”
His growth as an undrafted player out of Campbell has been gradual but also steady through three seasons.
“It wasn’t as fast as he wanted,” Embree said. “I tell the guys, ‘I will never let you drown, never let you go under and stay under.’ Sometimes he wanted to do the next step and skip the step we wanted to work on. Once he figured it out... We started to see the fruits. He’s still scratching the surface.”
Hill said his confidence has grown appreciably. The key, he said, was “last offseason, having the courage to push through the bull and having the confidence to know I can play.
“You have to learn how to be professional, what it really means to block at this level. That takes time, especially coming from the FCS. It’s not an excuse; it’s just reality.”
Waller and Dulcich will be unrestricted free agents in March.
Hill will be a restricted free agent, and the Dolphins figure to tender him.
The only Dolphins tight ends under contract are unproven Cole Turner and Zach Kuntz, who both signed futures contracts that give Miami their offseason rights.
This is one of a series of pieces focusing on incumbent Dolphins players and position groups.
Here’s an examination of what the Dolphins really have with Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers. Here’s a piece on the future of Jonah Savaiinaea after a disappointing rookie season and a cruel irony.
This story was originally published February 9, 2026 at 2:39 PM.
