"Fail forward fast, we want to go out there and fail, but fast." Those were the words of Miami Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron just before his team took the field and did exactly what he had asked them to: fail.
The Dolphins completed their 2007 season, narrowly winning just one game. They were more than the worst team in the NFL; they were poorly coached, poorly prepared, and nearly every position group was bad. The worst part? It wasn't a rebuild year.
Forward to 2026. The Dolphins are in transition. They reset the roster, reset the cultural direction, fired the GM and head coach, and made wholesale changes on both sides of the ball. Dolphins fans are prepared for a bad season, but unlike 2007, there is at least hope.
Miami Dolphins roster rebuild leaves some position groups void of starting talent and depth
When the Dolphins take the field this year, there are no high expectations, but fans do not expect Miami to win only one game. They do, however, expect the team to have several positions that hold them back.
Entering training camp, the Dolphins have four position groups they need to figure out because they could end up with the worst groups in the entire NFL.
Tight end
The Dolphins' tight end room is weak. Starter Greg Dulchich looked good in his first year with the team, but behind him are a couple of rookies and a couple of unproven veterans. Ben Sims did not have consistently good practices during the offseason. That will put him under more pressure when camp begins.
Wide Receiver
On paper, they may not look horrible, but when you start comparing them across the rest of the league, the Dolphins' WR room is clearly one of the thinnest. Miami lacks both a number one and a number two receiver. You could argue that they lack a proven slot receiver as well. The Dolphins are hoping TuTu Atwell, Jalen Tolbert, or Jaelan Reagar can step up and assume one of those three roles, but even if they do, they still will rank quite low around the NFL.
Safety
Everyone seems to be high on second-year safety Dante Trader, and for good reason. Trader has looked good so far this offseason, fits well within the Jeff Hafley defensive system, and showed a lot of promise last year. Miami has six safeties on the roster as they head towards next month's start of training camp. The longest tenured in the unit are Zayne Anderson (3 years) and Lonnie Johnson Jr. (7 years). Neither of them is guaranteed a roster spot. The next most experienced? Trader.
Cornerback
The Dolphins' CB room will ultimately succeed or fail on the shoulders of two players, rookie Chris Johnson and second-year defensive back Jason Marshall. The rest of the roster is made up of players with limited NFL experience despite vested years.
If Marshall and Johnson are the starters outside, the depth behind them isn't experienced. Miami still has to find a suitable starter inside. It's not a great situation for Jeff Hafley to be in, but for a coach who prides himself on developing inexperienced players in that position, he will get that opportunity in spades this year.
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