The Miami Dolphins' defense has had a rough go of it thus far in 2026. While they're doing a decent job of holding their own against the run, their pass defense is getting absolutely shredded.
Although rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez is one saving grace in coverage, basically every other Dolphins defender struggles in that department. Oh, and Miami doesn't have any legit pass rushers to pressure the opposing quarterback.
All of this intersects with first-round rookie cornerback Chris Johnson. He's adjusting to playing the nickel way more than he did in college and has very little help from elsewhere in the secondary.
Yes, Hafley's preference is to be conservative and play coverage, but you can't do that when you can't generate pressure with a four-man rush. Thus, it's time to get a little riskier after getting shredded by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a 24-10 loss in Week 3.
How can Hafley do this and better position Johnson for greater success? By stealing a trick of the trade from Kansas City's legendary defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo.
Chris Johnson has the tools to impact Miami Dolphins' toothless pass rush
The Dolphins have zero sacks through three games. That's not good.
According to Next Gen Stats, Chiefs nickelback L'Jarius Sneed had five pressures on eight pass rush snaps on Sunday. Like Chris Johnson to a certain degree, Sneed has adjusted from being a predominant boundary cornerback to often playing in the slot. The hybrid life is clearly working a treat for him to revitalize his career.
Johnson thrived as a perimeter corner at San Diego State, and that's why he went in the first round. But in addition to being excellent in coverage, Johnson is an outstanding tackler in space. If he were deployed more often on, say, fire zone blitzes, he could do some real damage. Johnson can absolutely fly and lay the wood as a free runner on vulnerable quarterbacks.
Hafley could stand to get a little bolder, like Spags, to capitalize on Johnson’s talents, not to mention changing up coverages from some of his standard vanilla zone schemes.
You could argue that the Dolphins don't necessarily have the talent or collective competency to execute more exotic play designs. Let's be honest, though: Nothing is really working for Hafley when he tries to stop the pass.
I get that Brock Purdy and Patrick Mahomes are vets who've seen a lot of football. However, their combined numbers in the last two games against Miami's D are downright silly:
- 40-for-46 passing (87 CMP%) for 533 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT, and a 134.9 passer rating
Get outta here. That might as well be routes on air!
So again, I say, what does Hafley have to lose by sending Johnson in as a blitzer from the slot on occasion?
And shoot, thanks to Jacob Rodriguez's coverage chops, he could be the one who replaces Johnson and makes a play on the ball. Rodriguez could also lock up a defender long enough for Johnson to get home, or any other soul on the Dolphins' front seven who wants to actually tackle a quarterback this season.
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