As the NFL combine gets underway, anticipation builds for what the Miami Dolphins roster will look like in 2026 in the midst of an inevitable rebuild. This is an extremely important combine for the Dolphins. Without a lot of cap space to work with, the team will have to hit on its 2026 draft picks in order to get the franchise back on a winning track.
New head coach in Miami, Jeff Hafley, brings a strong background as a defensive coach, most recently as the Packers’ defensive coordinator. While the Dolphins are in a rebuild, it will allow Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan to build this defense how they want to through the draft. Hafley discussed with the media on Tuesday how he evaluates the edge rusher and linebacker position groups.
“Yeah, I mean, certain edge guys when you watch the film, it starts to me with the ability to rush the passer and then can they play the run,” Hafley said. “Then what you do, you look at if some of them are bigger, for example, you get a 275 (-pound) edge rusher that maybe is more of a speed to power guy, can he go inside and kick in and beat a guard with his quickness? Maybe he’s not a speed rusher on the outside, but maybe you get him into a passing situation, you can kick him down on the inside.”
The Dolphins will find themselves looking for edge rushers this offseason. The team has made its intentions clear to move on from Bradley Chubb, who led the team with 8.5 sacks a season ago. Miami also traded Jaelan Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles at the trade deadline this past season to acquire a third-round pick in this upcoming draft.
2024 first-round pick Chob Robinson currently headlines the Dolphins’ edge rusher group. Robinson took a step back statistically in year two, totaling four sacks and 21 tackles through 15 games. But with Chubb and Phillips no longer with the team, Robinson will headline the Dolphins’ edge rushers going into 2026. Hopefully, the change in coaching personnel can do a better job to help Robinson reach his full potential.
The good news for the Dolphins is that this draft class is loaded with edge rushers in the first round. It was reported that the Dolphins conducted interviews with Auburn’s Keldric Faulk and Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. on Wednesday. It seems the move to add an edge rusher early in the draft could be a growing possibility in Miami.
“And then it’s the same thing for an off-the-ball backer. When you look at an off-the-ball backer, how does he play in space? How does he react to the run? But then is he a guy that you can match up one-on-one with the backs and run through backs and become a good blitzer? I think people make mistakes; they just watch like point-of-attack film. I think you’ve got to sit back and really watch game tape to see all the different things that they’re asked to do,” said Hafley.
Linebacker isn’t one of the Dolphins’ glaring needs. Miami’s linebacker group currently features All-Pro Jordyn Brooks, who led the NFL last season with 183 tackles. The other starting linebacker is Tyrel Dodson, who posted career bests of 129 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and five sacks last season.
However, this group is currently lacking young talent on cheap contracts. At some point, the Dolphins will need to add youth to this group, which could be seen in the later rounds of this upcoming draft.
More Dolphins: New QB hitting the trade market should interest Dolphins
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Jeff Hafley details how he analyzes edge rushers and linebackers
Reporting by James Trefry, Dolphins Wire / Dolphins Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
