Kelly: Player development is how this Dolphins regime should be evaluated | Opinion
It was one moment during one drill that Chop Robinson has probably done 100-plus times throughout his professional career as an edge rusher.
Push the blocking sled back, move the cushions mimicking an offensive linemen to the left and place your head and body on the outside of its left shoulder to ensure that the edge is set.
Robinson’s first go at the drill was so bad defensive line coach Austin Clark forced him to do it again, and then again, repeating the coached technique until the Dolphins’ 2024 first-round pick got it right.
“He’s always on my [butt] about everything, but it’s good having a coach like that,” Robinson said, referring to Clark, a holdover from Brian Flores and Mike McDaniel’s staff. “He’s on me 24/7, but I know he wants me to be the best player I could be, and become a complete player.”
Practices like the ones Miami’s held the past month during the offseason program are designed to teach technique, helping players address areas of concern so they can take the next step in their professional career.
That next step is different for everyone, but necessary if this rebuilding franchise is going to deliver a respectable season in 2026.
And that’s why I believe player development, more so than wins and losses, needs to be how this new regime, these new coaches are evaluated.
Malik Willis, a career backup the Dolphins gave $45 million in guaranteed money to so he could become Miami’s starting quarterback, must be taught how to become a pocket passer.
Greg Dulcich must learn how to impact the game in every role — pass catching, pass protection and run blocking — a tight end plays.
Jonah Savaiinaea must clean up his troublesome pass protection, which made him the NFL’s worst offensive guard in 2025 according to ProFootballFocus.
The Dolphins have three moldable pieces of clay in Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers. Miami needs all three to build a forceful defensive front.
Dante Trader Jr. flashed the talent it took to be a rookie starter last season, but his inconsistent play got him demoted and shelved. Coach Jeff Hafley, who worked his way up the coaching ranks working with cornerbacks and safeties, needs to help Trader iron out his game so he can become the player he has the potential to be.
The same can be said about Jason Marshall Jr., JuJu Brents, Ethan Bonner and Storm Duck, four cornerbacks who have flashed the potential it takes to play in the NFL.
But can Miami’s coaching staff turn any of them into reliable, consistent NFL starters?
That’s what this season’s about, taking what Hafley and his staff inherited, and some of the players they brought with them like Willis, polishing it up, and turning it into a building block.
We need to see development, and that requires top shelf coaching.
“Stuff that would drive me nuts would be [situations where] a guy gets beat on a go-ball or a touchdown and the coach just starts yelling. I mean, what are you yelling at? Like the guy got beat and it sucks, right? Go coach him and ask him what he saw. Why he saw what he did? What did [he do] on his first step, where his eyes were, pick his brain on why he did what he did,” Hafley said, explaining his style of coaching. “Why was he in a trail position? Why wasn’t he on top? Why did he finish the way he did? Why didn’t he turn back? Why’d he play through the front shoulder?
“Listen to him,” Hafley continued. “Then tell him what you saw and what he could do to correct it.”
That’s the value of coaching, and the unknowns in that department are why I’m not willing to say this 2026 Dolphins team is starved of talent, and the season will be a disaster.
What Hafley’s team lacks are proven, established names; productivity that can be relied on if healthy.
But there is talent present, potential that could be harnessed on this roster, which is full of young players with upside.
There are former early draft picks such as Tutu Atwell, David Ojabo and Lonnie Johnson Jr., who are all former second-round picks who didn’t pan out with their previous team.
This is their second, if not third chance, and coaches who can help them clean up areas of their game that are weak, would benefit them all.
Miami also has second-year players such as Trader, Grant, Phillips and tailback Ollie Gordon II, just to name a few, who struggled in their rookie seasons. Hopefully they have learned from those lessons, and can dial up the impact in their second season.
The Dolphins also have former backups such as Willis, Dulcich and Robinson, players who are being given a chance to prove they are NFL starters, and rookies with the talent and the makeup — versatility and intellect — Hafley wants his franchise to be built around.
The only way all of those players take the next step forward is through coaching, and opportunity.
Say whatever you want about free agency, and talent acquired in the draft, but in my opinion what separates the contending NFL franchise from the rest of the pack is player development, which has been extremely spotty for the Dolphins the past two decades.
The way this season is setting up we will quickly learn if Hafley and his staff have what it takes to turn this franchise around, and the journey starts with player development.
