Give Jon-Eric Sullivan credit: the Miami Dolphins general manager is a man of his word.
With linebacker Jordyn Brooks officially locked up through 2029, Sullivan’s trifecta of signings is complete. That means the foundation – which includes Brooks, center Aaron Brewer and running back De’Von Achane – is set. And luckily, the Dolphins couldn’t have picked a better trio.
“They know where they stand,” Sullivan said in the days ahead of the NFL Draft. “We’ve had conversations. They know how important they are to this team and where we are with them.”
With Brooks, the Dolphins have the heart and soul of their defense. The former Texas Tech standout came to Miami ahead of the 2024 season after four years with the Seattle Seahawks. Brooks specifically spent two seasons with Seahawks legend Bobby Wagner – vocal leader, prolific tackler, etc. – and happened to have a similar effect on the Dolphins’ defense in 2025.
Case in point: after a season in which he led the league in tackles en route to his first All-Pro bid, Brooks still participated in mandatory minicamp despite the lack of an extension.
“I need to get better as a player so that’s why I show up,” Brooks said. “Obviously, I never want to send the wrong message to the team or to my teammates. I play with these guys. Go to battle with them. I want them to know that I’m here no matter what [and that I’m] playing the game for the right reasons.”
Then there’s Aaron Brewer. At 6-1 inch and 295 pounds, the center likely wasn’t supposed to be here. He was undersized. He didn’t go to a name brand school. And he went undrafted.
But as the adage goes, hard works beats talent. So Brewer put his head down and against all odds, fashioned himself into one of the best centers in the league, earning second-team All-Pro honors in 2025.
Brewer too was a mainstay at minicamp despite his looming contract situation.
“I know one way to go about things and that’s working and keeping my head down,” Brewer said Tuesday afternoon. “That’s what I come out here and do every day. Lead the guys. I hope to be here for the long run, so I’m trying to pour everything in me to everyone around me to make us the best team we can be.”
Part of Brewer’s success, however, can be attributed to Achane. Check any of the star running back’s long runs and odds are Brewer is either at the point of attack or the lead blocker. It’s a chicken or the egg situation, one in which it’s unclear who bears responsibility.
The bottom line: the tandem works.
“Achane is a very, very important piece of what we want to do moving forward,” Sullivan said. “He’s a building block for us. It is a priority for us to get a deal done for him in the coming weeks, months.”
The former third-round pick was clearly the driving force for the offense in 2025. Not only did he lead the team in receptions, his 1,838 yards from scrimmage was second in franchise history to only running back Rickey Williams’ legendary 2002 season. Achane also posted a league-high 5.7 yards per carry and made the Pro Bowl as a result.
A diminutive 5-9 inches, Achane doesn’t look like an imposing physical presence similar to Derrick Henry or Saquon Barkley. Catch him between the sidelines, however, and it’s a different story.
“He’s dynamic,” coach Jeff Hafley said. “There are plays that you’re not even blocked right for, and he gets 6 or 7 yards. His vision, his acceleration, the way he can catch the ball out of the backfield, he’s so hard to defend.”
With the trio locked up for the foreseeable future, the Dolphins now have their building blocks for the future. Hopefully this rookie class can pan out and Miami will be one step closer to the playoff win that has alluded them for more than a quarter of a century.
Miami Herald
C. Isaiah Smalls II is a sports and culture writer who covers the Miami Dolphins. In his previous capacity at the Miami Herald, he was the race and culture reporter who created The 44 Percent, a newsletter dedicated to the Black men who voted to incorporate the city of Miami. A graduate of both Morehouse College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Smalls previously worked for ESPN’s Andscape.