{"id":388283,"date":"2026-09-02T13:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T13:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/388283\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T13:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T13:28:09","slug":"five-miami-dolphins-players-to-watch-during-2026-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/388283\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Miami Dolphins players to watch during 2026 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are five key players to watch during the Miami Dolphins<\/a>\u2019 2026 season:<\/p>\n

QB Malik Willis<\/p>\n

Getting an evaluation on the quarterback the Dolphins signed to a three-year, $67.5 million contract this offseason is of the utmost importance. As Willis gets his first shot as a full-time starter in the NFL, the new Dolphins regime of GM Jon-Eric Sullivan<\/a> and coach Jeff Hafley<\/a> needs to see if Willis has potential to be the franchise guy or if the team should invest in a top quarterback in the 2027 draft.<\/p>\n

Willis should provide excitement with his scrambling abilities and throwing arm. He must prove he can orchestrate an offense, make sound decisions from the pocket and throw with accuracy to limit mistakes while providing some highlights along the way.<\/p>\n

Edge Chop Robinson<\/p>\n

Jaelan Phillips is no longer around. Bradley Chubb isn\u2019t either. It\u2019s time for Chop Robinson to take ownership of the Dolphins pass rush in Year 3 after the previous regime selected him in the first round of the 2024 draft.<\/p>\n

Sullivan and Hafley didn\u2019t sign a marquee free agent on the edge or use a high draft pick to insert a young player into the position group, so it\u2019s on Robinson to capitalize on his pass-rush skills and become a complete player capable of setting the edge against the run, too.<\/p>\n

OL Kadyn Proctor<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot of intrigue around Sullivan\u2019s first draft choice in Miami. It was a surprise selection, but one the Dolphins GM made because of the rare combination of size and speed the former Alabama left tackle possesses.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not playing left tackle to start his professional career, though, as Patrick Paul has a stronghold on that role. Proctor will begin at left guard, which creates a massive duo on the left side of the line between him and Paul. Does he show that\u2019s where he\u2019s best suited for the rest of his career or will he eventually line up at one of the tackle spots?<\/p>\n

CB Chris Johnson<\/p>\n

The defense has questions at edge and in the secondary. Miami took a big step in shoring up the back end by drafting Johnson with the latter of their two first-round picks. Hafley has his background in coaching defensive backs, so Johnson\u2019s success could serve as a testament to the coach\u2019s talent evaluation at the position.<\/p>\n

Johnson can cover well at the various levels of routes, isn\u2019t afraid to be physical as a cornerback and can line up both inside covering the slot and outside on the boundary.<\/p>\n

RB De\u2019Von Achane<\/p>\n

We\u2019d be remiss not to include the biggest remaining star on the Dolphins roster, one who was signed to a four-year extension worth up to $68 million this offseason.<\/p>\n

Miami should look to get the ball in Achane\u2019s hands as much as possible this fall. Let his speed provide a home run threat. Get him in space to the outside in the wide-zone scheme. And Achane should get involved in the passing game, serving as a checkdown out of the backfield for Willis or even lining up out wide all over the formation.<\/p>\n

More season preview coverage<\/p>\n

Season outlook: A new Dolphins era begins under Sullivan, Hafley; plus keys for success, crucial games<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris Perkins: Dolphins\u2019 offense has plenty of potential, plenty of unknowns<\/a><\/p>\n

Dolphins 2026 schedule with dates and kickoff times | Matchup analysis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here are five key players to watch during the Miami Dolphins\u2019 2026 season: QB Malik Willis Getting an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[114,123,1763,125,124,119,110],"class_list":["post-388283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}