A Marshall Plan? Dolphins’ rookie fifth-round picks eager to make another case
Chatter on the Dolphins’ secondary, amid Wednesday’s report that they’re trying to trade Minkah Fitzpatrick:
▪ If the Dolphins were positioned to contend for a division title next season, then their two defensive backs selected in the fifth round of the 2025 draft likely would be projected for No. 4 or 5 jobs at their position.
But with the salary cap-clogged Dolphins embarking on a major rebuild, there’s a potential opportunity for cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. and safety Dante Trader Jr. to prove whether they’re NFL starters, borderline roster players or something in between.
As rookies, they did enough to leave you wanting to see more.
But they didn’t do enough to confidently project them (at least not yet) for longterm starting roles, either.
Both struggled in coverage, though Marshall improved late in the season.
Their final metrics weren’t particularly good:
Trader — selected five spots after Marshall, at pick 155 — permitted a 130.8 passer rating in his coverage area: 16 completions in 18 targets for 197 yards and a touchdown.
Marshall allowed a 109.5 passer rating in his coverage area: 20 completions in 28 targets for 262 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
But Marshall ended the season on the ascent as he regained his health after a midseason injury and after he grew increasingly comfortable in his first season playing the nickel corner role.
He said he’s “pleased” with how the year ended for him.
“This offseason, there are a lot more things to become accustomed to,” he said. “It’s my first season playing the nickel. There a lot more things I can do to better myself.”
Former general manager Chris Grier said it didn’t concern him that Marshall had only two interceptions in four years at Florida (and none in 2023 or 2024) because of his superb ball skills. He had one pick last season, an impressive leaping grab of a downfield throw by Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield.
“I always believed in my ability of being around the ball,” Marshall said. “A PBU [pass break up] is good. Just being around the ball, I always had a nose for that. I wouldn’t drag myself down because I didn’t have that many interceptions.”
Among new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan’s decisions — in tandem with his coaching staff — is whether to project Marshall as a boundary cornerback (his position at UF) or a nickel corner.
The team’s 2025 defensive assistants said he can play either, and Marshall said he has no preference.
“I grew accustomed to liking the nickel,” he said. “I am a boundary cornerback. But I like both of them honestly.”
The Dolphins’ 2025 defensive backs coach, Brian Duker, said: “The physical stuff was unique to his position [nickel]. That was one of the transition phases that was most foreign to him. He did a great job.” (Duker is now the Jets’ defensive coordinator.)
Trader’s story
Trader’s instincts, versatility and ability to pick up the defense quickly all impressed the former staff. So did his run defense, which PFF ranked second among all Dolphins players and 17th among 98 qualifying NFL safeties.
But there must be improvement in pass coverage and tackling; his eight missed tackles were tied for second on the team, behind only Bradley Chubb’s 12. That’s why PFF rated him 71st of 98 safeties despite the sterling run defense grades.
He said he felt like “the smallest person in the world” after Chargers receiver Ladd McConkey juked him out and left him in the dust on a three-yard reception and 39-yard run that set up the Chargers’ game-winning field goal in a Week 6 win against the Dolphins. “I’ve watched [that play] over 30 times,” Trader said three days after that game.
Trader cited tackling as his No. 1 needed area of improvement.
“I missed three tackles my senior year [at Maryland] and I missed [eight] this year,” he said during a conversation at his locker.
“Sometimes I get overaggressive, come down a little too fast,” he said. “Playing more in control [is the goal]. There were three or four this year, where I was like, ‘yeah, he got me.’ Tackling in the league is very hard. Next season, you will see improvement on that.”
Duker said the 2025 coaching staff liked that Trader is “sharp mentally, plays really hard and trusts with he sees.”
The Dolphins played Trader some at nickel late in the season. And even though he said he’s “equally comfortable” at that and safety, he said he sees his long-term future more at safety.
“I like having eyes on the quarterback, being deeper,” he said, talking about his affinity for playing safety. “The good thing in our [2025] defense is we don’t play free or boundary. We play left and right. We have eyes on the quarterback.
“Playing nickel, you are able to be in the box, be involved the blitz, which I can do. But you need more time on task for that. I’ll definitely be cross-training with Minkah. Being able to play all that helps elevate your game. I always pride myself on being a Swiss Army knife.”
Trader makes clear that starting next season is his goal.
One other note on the young defensive backs: Cornerback Storm Duck, an opening day starter as a second-year undrafted player, saw his season ruined by injuries and ended up allowing four of six targets to be caught for 72 yards (18 per catch) and a touchdown.
But Duker insists “he would have played well,” if he hadn’t been injured.
This and that
▪ If the Dolphins opt to keep one veteran starter from their secondary, Rasul Douglas — who has a background with Sullivan in Green Bay — would be cheaper than Fitzpatrick, who has a hefty nonguaranteed salary ($15.6 million) and hefty cap hit ($18.9 million) that would drop to a $3.2 million dead money hit if he’s cut after June 1 or $12.9 million if he’s traded before June 1.
Douglas closed with a 67 passer rating in his coverage area — seventh among corners with at least 50 targets, in between top-10 first-round picks Pat Surtain Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr. PFF ranked him 19th among 114 qualifying cornerbacks. He was “everything I thought he would be and more,” Duker said.
Fitzpatrick closed with a 103 passer rating against (27 for 35 for 253 and two TDs and a pick).
But PFF rated him Miami’s best player on defense this season and third-best run defender, behind Jordyn Brooks and Trader. Overall, PFF rated Fitzpatrick the league’s seventh best safety overall and 20th best run defender at the position.
Duker said Fitzpatrick’s “playmaking,” was missed late in the season. “He’s demonstrated the ability to make big time plays He’s calm, has [good] communication, the ability to put out a fire.”
But the Dolphins, beginning their rebuild and needing cap space, appear ready to move on from Fitzpatrick.
▪ The veteran free agent safeties — Ashtyn Davis or Ifeatu Melifonwu — were uneven.
Davis had a 108.8 passer rating in his coverage area, with two TDs allowed. Melifonwu was at a poor 120.2 passer rating against, with three TDs relinquished. Elijah Campbell also is set for free agency.
This is the latest in my series of stories about incumbent Dolphins, with interesting quotes from one-on-one interviews, metrics and perspective.
Please click here for a story on Patrick Paul, here for one on Jonah Savaiinaea, here for one on the three 2025 rookie defensive tackle draft picks Grant/Phillips/Biggers, here for a piece on Chop Robinson, here for one on Greg Dulcich and Julian Hill, here for one on Ollie Gordon II and here for one on Malik Washington.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 3:35 PM.
