Nobody expected the Miami Dolphins to be world-beaters in 2026. The front office is clearly sacrificing the team's current competitiveness for the sake of planning for the future. On both sides of the ball, Jeff Hafley's squad doesn't have the talent to match up with their opponents, and it has shown so far this season.
But as weak as the roster is, fans would have hoped to see some level of competence from the defense in the early going.
Instead, it's been one of the worst units in the league, especially against the pass. Both the Las Vegas Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers have been able to get whatever they wanted through the air.
If anybody can pull the Dolphins' defense out of its misery, it's Chop Robinson. The third-year edge rusher has to step up if Miami is going to field a passable defense.
Miami Dolphins' path to improvement relies on a Chop Robinson breakout
Robinson hasn't come close to reaching his potential with the Dolphins. The former first-round draft pick has produced a total of ten sacks through 33 games so far in his career. He was promising as a rookie, logging 56 pressures, but that number dipped to 19 in his second season.
With limited talent elsewhere on the defense, the Dolphins needed a big third season from Robinson. So far, it hasn't come. He failed to generate any pressure and was credited with one tackle in Miami's season opener. He missed the Week 2 loss with a concussion he suffered in practice, and his Week 3 status is currently unclear.
Whether it's in Week 3 or not, the Dolphins need Robinson to be at his best if they're going to generate any stops on defense. They currently rank last in the NFL in EPA per pass allowed and passing success rate allowed, per SumerSports. In fact, their current numbers would have ranked last in both categories in 2025, too.
The pass rush has been at the core of the problem. The Dolphins are the only team in the league that still hasn't produced a sack. Their pressure rate of 28.6% ranks 31st, only ahead of the New York Giants.
With limited pass-rushing juice elsewhere on the roster, Miami needs its former first-round pick to deliver. Robinson doesn't need to become an All-Pro pass rusher immediately. But without significant improvement from him, the Dolphins won't have any path to threatening opposing quarterbacks.
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