The Miami Dolphins have held organized team activities over the last few weeks, and a pair of second-year players have stood out to many. The Maryland Terrapins duo, and fifth-round draft picks from 2025, safety Dante Trader Jr and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips, have been the talk of the town.
First-year head coach Jeff Hafley has praised Trader for his work ethic, dedication and intelligence, and Phillips continues to impress with his strength and potential as a bona fide nose tackle who could be a fixture on this defensive line.
“Dante loves football,” Hafley recently told South Florida reporters. “He’s always here, he’s always in the building, he’s always asking questions. I mean, he practices so hard, he’s so intentional. He’s a smart football player who loves the game; he’s a lot of fun to coach.”
“When it comes to taking what he’s learning in the classroom and applying on the field and being in the right spot and communicating and grasping the scheme, and showing good leadership back there and being a great teammate and giving great effort and having a great attitude, I mean, I can go on about him.”
Hafley did say he realizes this is OTAs and very early in the offseason program, and the real test will be when helmets and shoulder pads come on later in the summer, but said of Trader at this point, “For passing the test of what he’s been given right now, I mean, I think he’s doing a great job.”
As a rookie, Trader cracked the starting lineup in three games, and on the season, finished with 55 total tackles, a pass defensed, along with a forced fumble and a recovery. He played in 39% of the Dolphins’ defensive snaps for the season, and was a help on special teams’ units, playing in 60% of snaps in that phase of the game. In 2026, Trader is heading for a significant spike in defensive work. The Dolphins have a very thin safety room where Trader has emerged as a likely starter and leader in the position group.
As for Phillips, he has been more impressive so far than Miami’s 2025 first-round selection and fellow defensive lineman Kenneth Grant. Phillips has proven to be outstanding in the middle of the defensive front.
Veteran defensive lineman and Dolphins elder statesman, Zach Sieler, has been impressed with Phillips’ progression, performance and efforts on the field and in the training room.
“I think one of the first things he got in trouble for was squatting too much,” Sieler said. “He’s worked his tail off this offseason; to see his growth from last year to this year has been incredible.
“His confidence on the field, his knowledge, you can tell the game is starting to click for him more and more, you can see that at the end of last season, and how well he played the run and all that stuff.
In 2025, Phillips saw 43% of Miami’s defensive snaps and started 16 games, tallying 34 total tackles (one for loss) and a quarterback hit. However, stats are not the sole aspect to look at in Phillips, as his strength is taking on multiple blockers and being key in stopping the run and helping teammates get to ball carriers.
At just 22 years old, Phillips has sky-high potential to be a decade-plus starter in this league, and Trader could very well benefit from being a star pupil of Hafley’s, who specializes in coaching defensive backs. On an extremely young Miami team starting yet another rebuild, it is looking very evident that these young Terps are foundational pieces for Hafley and the Dolphins.
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This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: The Young Terps, Trader and Phillips, impressing at Dolphins OTAs
Reporting by Jason Sarney, Dolphins Wire / Dolphins Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
