Less than 2 weeks to go until Training Camp begins, and we get to see somewhere around 90 players, 53 of which will grab an actual roster spot, while 16 other players will be vying for an opportunity to make the practice squad, while still others may be claimed by other NFL teams. So 69 players will be part of the Miami Dolphins organization, the others either enter NFL purgatory and aren’t claimed while others have an opportunity to make one of the 31 teams practice squads or rosters.

While there has been an awful lot of talk about the attitude changing around here, players and coaches a like bristling at the notion that the Miami Dolphins are a soft team, the training camp will be the first opportunity to dispel this notion. In reality, this will have to come from the players, Mike McDaniel isn’t going to turn into some kind of hardass. One player in particular I would have my players grind on is TE Darren Waller. He quit on the NY Giants and retired because he was tired of doing drills and the physicality of the game itself. I would have defenders grinding him into the dirt every damn play to find out if his heart in this. Better to find out before the season starts than after and expend lots of time in energy getting him up to speed with the playbook and also robbing time from younger players like TE’s Julian Hill, Tanner Conner and Jalin Conyers. One of these guys may be the future while IMO, Darren Waller is the past.

The secondary battles should be fun to watch. Like I mentioned in an earlier article, I’m hoping a couple of the young players we have, whether drafted or undrafted, rise to the occasion and earn a starting job. It would be wonderful for Cam Smith to all of a sudden turn on a switch and be the player we hoped he could be. I wouldn’t be betting on it though, and more than likely, Storm Duck and incumbent NB Kader Kohou could be our starters on the outside, leaving either veterans Artie Burns or Kendall Fuller to play nickel and slot corner. At safety, with the trade for Minkah Fitzpatrick, he will be one safety and then we have a battle between vets Ifeatu Melifonwu, Ashtyn Davis and Elijah Campbell, and then young players like last year’s 6th RD pick Patrick McMorris, and new draftee Dante Trader Jr. Minkah Fitzpatrick played SS for the Steelers last season but don’t be surprised if his role is changed back to FS with our Dolphins, potentially teamed with Melifonwu. While Minkah is a great tackler, he’s best as a CF roaming around making plays. We’ll find out if Anthony Weaver agrees soon enough.

We’ll also get a look at the big fellas both on the O-line and D-line. Will big Jonah Savaiinaea and Kenneth Grant be Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt for us? Will they be better? We can only hope. We’ll probably see a fair amount of rookies Jordan Phillips as well, but my guess is Weaver goes with the vet NT Benito Jones to start the season, but Phillips will and other draftee Zeek Biggers will be in the rotation. Once again, this is where the “soft” comes in. Do these guys “bite” now and change that narrative, or do we fold like a cheap suit when we play the big boys. The trenches is where it starts, but as we all know, the QB has to be at his best when we play better teams, so that’s one huge factor that must change as well.

The WR corps as we know is headlined by WR’s Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. There are two players though that I’m hoping have a big impact on our offense, one BIG and one small. The BIG is Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, the small is Malik Washington. While there’s another BIG, Erik Ezukanma, as The Who said so well, “Won’t get Fooled Again”. Ikhine was a TD machine last year, and will probably steal some of the receptions that TE Jonnu Smith had last season for us. I think Malik Washington has a good chance to become a legit NFL threat from the slot. Then of course, the wild card is RB De’Von Achane who is used all over the place and will also get his fair share of receptions.

The person not on the roster that has to have a huge turnaround is HC Mike McDaniel. Let’s face it, he’s a big part of the reason for our “soft” label, and he’s also got to do a much better job adjusting to what defenses throw at us. I don’t want to hear one more time this season that the only way to beat the two deep scheme is with short passes. We know that wasn’t the answer and McDaniel has to unlock that puzzle and make teams pay. Yes, running the ball efficiently will help a lot, but whether we run well or not, you have to challenge them deep regardless, and McDaniel had better find the way to do so, or expect us to be at or near the bottom of our division.

This year, we’ll have a couple of veterans looking to get a new contract, and OLB Jaelan Phillips is one of them. I wish this kid all the success and luck in the world, I admire him so for his resolve rehabbing for 2 successive season ending injuries. 2025 is big year for Jaelan as he’s playing on his 5th year option and whether it’s here in Miami or elsewhere, a good season and being able to play a full season will go a long way to help him for his next contract. Bradley Chubb will still be under contract through 2027, but Chubb who missed the entire season in 2024 after getting injured late in the ’23 season will have a lot of work to do in order to stay on the roster beyond this season. his cap hit in 2026 is $31M. Tyreek Hill will also likely be gone in 2026 as his cap hit will be $51M, just $5 below QB Tua Tagovailoa. Don’t expect either Chubb or Hill to be around, and perhaps Phillips too if he either doesn’t make enough of an impact or can’t stay healthy once again. This camp should reveal at least somewhat as to how physical our trenches will be and I expect some hard fought battles from both squads!

GO DOLPHINS!!!