The Miami Dolphins had very little salary cap flexibility to work with this offseason, and much of that was their own doing. They ate loads of dead money to move off Tua Tagovailoa, and had to pay his successor, Malik Willis, enough as the top starting quarterback candidate in free agency.
Between that brutal Tua divorce, several other vets being shown the door, and so many players hitting the open market, Miami had little wiggle room to add viable pass-catchers to Willis' receiving corps.
Jalen Tolbert was a more notable pickup than Tutu Atwell, which isn't saying much. There's also no guarantee that Tolbert will beat out the likes of rookies Caleb Douglas or Chris Bell for starters' snaps.
That said, there is at least some optimism that Tolbert can embrace being a higher-volume target than he ever was with the Dallas Cowboys. One prominent NFL insider regards him as one of the better-value free-agent signings of the whole offseason.
Miami Dolphins WR Jalen Tolbert cracks Jordan Schultz's top 10 all-underrated team from free agency
Jordan Schultz breaks NFL news left and right, so I'm sure the haters will say he's doing the bidding of these players' agents or something. But in all seriousness, it's not like Tolbert has massive expectations on a rebuilding Dolphins team. Perhaps Schultz is indeed on to something here...
I went back and looked at some offseason moves, and here are my top 10 under-the-radar free agent signings.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 11, 2026
These are players who I think could have a much bigger impact this year than we might even realize right now. 👀 pic.twitter.com/vwJxzluh9a
Bear in mind that Tolbert had 49 catches for 610 yards and seven touchdowns during the 2024 campaign in Dallas. Dak Prescott played in only eight games that year, so Tolbert was working with Cooper Rush for a decent chunk of time back then.
This past season, Tolbert's opportunities were limited once the Cowboys brought aboard George Pickens as a dynamic complement to CeeDee Lamb. Not many targets to go around for Tolbert with two WR1s like that gobbling up such high-volume usage.
It's not like Tolbert is some scrub. Ryan Flournoy and the uber-explosive KaVontae Turpin just rose to the occasion and earned more opportunities. They brought a different skill set that better diversified Dallas' passing attack.
Considering that he was able to produce pretty well with Rush chucking him the rock, Tolbert should benefit from having a dynamic, rocket-armed QB like Willis in Miami. Willis is especially adept at downfield passes. Tolbert's strength at the catch point and solid catch radius make him an ideal match with his new field general.
At least on paper, Tolbert's experience should make him a starter by default. Whether the Dolphins deploy him that way or prioritize getting their rookies a lot of run instead will determine just how underrated or impactful Tolbert can be for the team in 2026.
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