‘Up for the challenge.’ Why veteran leadership will be important for Dolphins in ‘26
The Miami Dolphins are in for a difficult season.
They have the second-most challenging schedule on paper. They have the youngest team in the NFL. They have a new coach.
That, however, doesn’t matter to the team leaders such as running back De’Von Achane, linebacker Jordyn Brooks and defensive lineman Zach Sieler. And as the Dolphins prepare to weather the ups and downs that come with an NFL season, it will be up to that trio to help keep this team steadfast.
“It’s going to be a gauntlet of a season,” Brooks said. “We got such young guys — it’s easy for young guys to kind of ride the wave, highs and lows in the season. So our job is to be somewhere in the middle and help those guys in the best way that we can. We’re up for the challenge and excited for this upcoming season.”
That challenge will certainly strike in the middle of the defense, as Brooks will have a new running mate in Jacob Rodriguez to handle play-calling duties. Despite being rather surprised that the team parted ways with linebacker Tyrel Dodson, he’s embraced the opportunity to play alongside his fellow Red Raider.
“Jacob is, I like to say, like a rookie vet,” Brooks said. “He’s already seasoned. Whatever he was doing at Texas Tech, he was doing the right things. Came in very knowledgeable of the game, very mature and just ready to go. He’s just gotten better and better since OTAs, honestly. I’m excited to see his growth and what he does this year.”
No person on the team has better direct experience in how to handle rookies than Sieler. In 2025, the Dolphins drafted a trio of defensive linemen — Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers — who played significant snaps. That meant Sieler, who had previously formed dynamic duos with Calais Campbell and Christian Wilkins, had to become more of a teacher.
Brooks saw this firsthand, calling it a challenge.
“You got a bunch of young guys, and they need guidance,” Brooks said. “It’s just like a baby needs his mother in a sense, but they need that guidance. Watching Sieler have to carry that weight last year, it’s not easy, and we got to do it again this year. And like I said earlier, that’s the challenge that we’re up for, you know what I mean? I think that we are the right vets to be in that position to help these guys, because we’ve walked those shoes.”
Most of the onus, however, remains on the rookies themselves, according to Sieler, who praised general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley for drafting a great group of young players.
“It’s not just the leaders; it’s also the rookies and the willingness to learn and to want to be a sponge and to really try to take their game to the next level,” Sieler said. “Sully, Hafley, all these guys did an amazing job with the guys that we have here and the guys that are in the room.”
Achane agreed, explaining that much will be required not just of the captains but of the entire team.
“It’s going to take all of us,” Achane said. “It’s not going to be just one person. We might have a couple of captains, but it’s not just going to be us up there, out there on that field. The young guys—it’s a business—they knew what they came into, and I feel like they’re ready to play. They’re hungry.”
As Hafley and Sullivan have continued to emphasize, the rookies’ play will likely fluctuate throughout the regular season. That, after all, is the price to pay when a team has this many young players as starters. Still, a commitment to winning cannot be altogether abandoned, something that the leaders will certainly instill in their respective position groups.
“We knew we’d be a young team,” Hafley said, later adding “We are excited to develop that. We’re excited for the hunger that they have. You mix in some good vets in the pieces that I’ve said all along that we already have here, and I’m excited to get the process started.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2026 at 4:36 PM with the headline "‘Up for the challenge.’ Why veteran leadership will be important for Dolphins in ‘26."
