“You don’t hear that it starts in the secondary,” Dolphins defensive tackle Kenneth Grant said. “It starts with the D-line.”
For the Miami Dolphins, that’s more than a player showing love to his position group.
It reflects the identity head coach Jeff Hafley wants his team to establish, one built around toughness, physicality and controlling games from the inside out.
“We have to be the ones to get everybody going,” Grant said. “We have to bring the juice every day.”
Whether the Dolphins can consistently do that may depend on the development of Grant and Jordan Phillips.
Zach Sieler remains the proven leader of Miami’s defensive front, but Grant and Phillips are at the forefront of a young group that will be asked to take on greater responsibility this season.
Both second-year defensive tackles had uneven rookie campaigns, showing encouraging signs later in the year after a rocky start.
Now, the Dolphins need those flashes to become consistent production.
Late-season flashes create higher expectations
Hafley has emphasized physicality since taking over as Miami’s head coach, but acknowledged before training camp that he wouldn’t fully know which players embodied that identity until the intensity increased.
“How tough we are, how physical we are, who our toughest guys are, our most physical guys are, who’s going to embrace that?” Hafley said when describing what he wanted to learn once the pads came on.
Grant has been waiting for that opportunity.
“Once the pads come on, that’s our favorite day,” the Michigan product said. “That’s when the real work starts.”
Grant finished his rookie season with a 48.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, ranking 12th among rookie interior defenders. That number was bogged down by a difficult start as the former first-round pick adjusted to the speed, strength and technical demands of playing inside at the NFL level.
Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Kenneth Grant during practice drills at the Miami Dolphins Training Camp in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Friday, July 31, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
From Week 6 through the end of the season, the 22-year-old earned a 62.0 overall PFF grade while generating 24 pressures and three sacks. He closed the year with one of his more encouraging performances, recording three pressures and a defensive stop across 41 snaps in Miami’s season finale against the New England Patriots.
The production offered a glimpse of what the Dolphins believed Grant could become when they drafted him, and it continued through the off-season.
“He looks more like the guy that I saw in his college tape with his lateral quickness, his pass-rush ability, his ability to play the run, just the way he’s moving,” Hafley said. “I just feel like right now, he’s starting to believe in himself and his abilities that we know that he has.”
Phillips enters his second season with a similar opportunity.
He finished his rookie year with a 55.7 overall PFF grade, ranking 78th among 134 qualifying interior defenders. His 55.3 pass-rush grade ranked 104th, while his 53.4 run-defense grade ranked 72nd.
But like Grant, the Maryland product produced some of his most encouraging work late in the season as he became more comfortable.
Phillips earned an 81.6 overall grade in the finale against New England and a 69.1 grade against the Buffalo Bills.
“If you’re consistent, listen to coaching, listen to the vets in the building, and you trust the process, you will see yourself taking steps day by day,” Phillips said.
The 22-year-old understands confidence is necessary for a young player trying to earn a larger role. But he also knows confidence must be supported by preparation and production.
“The big thing is having self-belief but not delusion,” Phillips said. “There’s a big difference between the two.”
Zeek Biggers is another second-year lineman competing for a place in the rotation. At 6-foot-6 and more than 300 pounds, Biggers could provide Miami with an edge-setting option capable of playing outside on early downs while also moving inside in heavier defensive fronts.
Together, Grant, Phillips and Biggers give the Dolphins a young group of linemen whose development could determine how much flexibility the defense has around Sieler.
For the Dolphins to become the tough, physical team Hafley envisions, it may have to start exactly where Grant said it does: up front.