The Miami Dolphins look like a much different team now than they did when they played the final snaps in their 32-30 Week 18 loss to the New York Jets to end their unremarkable 2026 campaign.
Miami has brought in a new general manager and a new head coach who have together made wholesale changes to the roster, which included a swap at quarterback and a controversial trade that sent their top wide receiver to the AFC West for a first-round pick.
While the Dolphins have plenty of doubters right now, NFL analyst Rich Eisen seems to believe in what Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley are doing in their first offseason in charge.
“Why am I just thinking that the Dolphins are getting what they’re doing right?” Eisen asked on a recent episode of his show. “Everybody thinks that Malik Willis is just a placeholder for whoever comes next… Where did they come from, the folks who are running the Dolphins? You could’ve sat there two years and said ‘Jordan Love is throwing to Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks’ and gone yadda yadda yadda down the line there until those guys started balling out, and you’re like ‘OK, they’ve got a pretty good receiving corps. there.'”
The Jaylen Waddle trade, as referenced earlier, had plenty of detractors, considering that he’s a former first-round pick who has been one of the most productive wide receivers in the league since the Dolphins took him out of Alabama.
However, the fact that Miami shipped him out isn’t a bad thing to Eisen.
“I wouldn’t sit here and say the Dolphins aren’t eager to win or aren’t doing the right thing because they let Jaylen Waddle go,” Eisen said. “It kind of makes sense. Tear it down to the ground and start up again.”
There’s a strong chance that the Dolphins are one of the worst teams in the NFL this year, and if they are, they could find their quarterback of the future. If they’re not and Malik Willis impresses, they’ve found a diamond in the rough. Some good outcomes could come from a down year in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: NFL analyst thinks the Dolphins are ‘getting what they’re doing right’
Reporting by Mike Masala, Dolphins Wire / Dolphins Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mike Masala, Dolphins Wire | USA TODAY Network
