The 2026 Miami Dolphins won't be confused by anyone as one of the league's top teams. They're in a markedly transitional phase, painstakingly flushing out the mistakes of contracts past and trying to get through the season with a patchwork unit. They're especially thin at wide receiver, cornerback, and safety. These groups have not one but multiple legitimate question marks at starting positions this season.
But what if I told you that a position group featuring a player making north of $20 million a season, a very recent first-round pick, and two second-year players was among the defense's most glaring issues in 2025? That's the composition of the defensive tackle room, consisting of Zach Sieler, Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips, and Zeek Biggers.
On paper, this unit should've been an anchor for a team that was lacking in the secondary. Make no mistake about it, the secondary was abhorrent last season, allowing a 105.3 passer rating as a team, a ranking that was fourth-worst in the league. Where was the defensive line, you might ask? They were busy allowing the seventh-most rushing yards (2,251) at the fourth-greatest average (4.8 yards per carry). They were repeatedly gashed on the ground — but that's only half of the equation.
Unearthed metric shows that the Miami Dolphins defensive lineman struggled mightily in both phases
Oftentimes, when a defensive line struggles mightily against the run, it's because they're too amped up getting after the quarterback. As a coach, you may be able to live with it if the havoc being wreaked by the defensive line is leading to turnovers. The problem for Miami is that their defensive line couldn't do that either.
Despite 38 sacks on the season, which ranked a passable 18th, only 11 of them came from defensive tackles. Sieler led the way with 5.5, and no one else had more than 2.0.
According to Sports Info Solutions, none of the top four Dolphins defensive tackles in 2025 were in the top 70 in terms of pressure percentage. Sieler ranked 76th (7.1%), Grant 94th (6.5%), the since-departed Benito Jones 139th (3.9%), and Phillips 150th (3.3%) out of 169 defensive tackles with at least 40 pass rushes on the year.
Now, no one is expecting these guys to be Aaron Donald. He is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Being a liability against the run and the pass, however, is a fast pass out of the league altogether. In an admittedly small sample size, Biggers showed the most potential of the group with an 8.1% pressure rate, which ranked 56th. He is certainly due for an uptick in playing time in 2026, though there's still work to do.
Not a single one of these players was onboarded by new Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. If the defense doesn't improve drastically in 2026, we could be in for even more shaking up. From Sieler, who has a $12.6 million salary in 2027 with no guarantees, to the second-year players on modest rookie deals, all of these players are on tenuous ground.
Sieler was still at least solid last season, and his leadership can't be overstated — selfishly, you hope he can get back to his double-digit sack ways of 2023 and 2024. It goes without saying that Grant, Phillips, and Biggers could play themselves into the foundational conversation for the Dolphins' future this season. The group has gobs of potential, but potential only gets you so far.
As Bill Parcells is often credited with saying: "Potential means you haven't done anything yet." Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips, and Zeek Biggers will have a chance to seize the opportunity in just a few short months. By this time next year, hopefully we're not talking about potential — we're talking about performance.
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