Underrated Dolphins defender may be creating a huge roster dilemma

The Miami Dolphins and their new head coach Jeff Hafley seem determined to capitalize on versatility as a means of plugging the many holes on their roster. Or at least that's true on Hafley's side of the ball, where the defense is experimenting with all sorts of personnel looks.

For instance, Kyle Louis played mostly linebacker in college and is a capable nickelback, yet he's auditioning at safety out of pure necessity. First-round cornerback Chris Johnson barely played in the slot in college, yet he's listed as the starting nickel on the team's latest depth chart.

Rookie fourth-round pick Trey Moore just went down with an ankle injury that'll keep him out for the foreseeable future. Moore is versatile, too, having thrived as an edge defender in college before moving to off-ball linebacker. He was listed in the latter spot on the depth chart, but was more of a Swiss Army Knife type.

Part of the reason Miami has the luxury to move around rookies like Louis and Moore is thanks to how deep the linebacker corps runs. Headlined by first-team All-Pro Jordyn Brooks, incumbent starter Tyrel Dodson, and second-round rookie Jacob Rodriguez, that group is seriously strong. It's the one position the Dolphins can say they are genuinely strong at in 2026.

So what does that mean for an emerging, potential breakout player in Jackson Woodard?

Jackson Woodard could be the odd man out in the Miami Dolphins' stacked linebacker corps

PFF graded Jackson Woodard as the highest-rated Dolphins defender with an 85.8 mark in the Week 2 preseason loss to the New York Giants. Woodard recovered a fumble on an excellent hustle play, and I still don't know how he came up with the ball.

It was a rugged, embarrassing outing for the home team in Miami, yet somehow, Hafley and GM Jon-Eric Sullivan keep stumbling into strong linebackers left and right.

Stephen Dix Jr. was signed off the street this past Friday as a waiver claim and was the green-dot linebacker throughout the second half of the Giants game the next day. If only it were that easy at all positions on this paper-thin Dolphins roster, eh?

Elsewhere in the linebacker room, Willie Gay Jr. was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs and started for them once upon a time. He continues to lurk as a talented wildcard, as does converted safety Ronnie Harrison Jr.

It's undeniable that Woodard has played well, but his 4.39 RAS score speaks to his athletic limitations. His composite speed and agility scores were categorized as below average and poor, respectively, when he came out of UNLV as an undrafted free agent in 2025.

Nevertheless, Woodard showed enough to stick around for the Houston Texans from May through December of last year, until the Dolphins signed him off Houston's practice squad.

Woodard got to learn under Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, who's one of the best in the business and was a decorated NFL linebacker back in his playing prime. It seems like Houston was keen to hang on to Woodard before Miami stole him away.

Athleticism is great, but a high football IQ is even better. If Woodard has no chance to see the field on defense, he could at least prove to be a valuable asset on special teams.

Since the Dolphins are shuffling around so many hybrid players, it might be worth keeping Woodard on the roster. He's almost become undeniable despite his lack of top-shelf physical attributes.

If Woodard sticks around, it could free up Miami to trade Dodson, start Rodriguez, and lean into base nickel packages to keep Johnson at his supposed main position, per the latest depth chart.

Plus, Woodard is a far more viable (and probably willing) contributor on special teams than a player with Gay's pedigree. And the Dolphins are leaning into their youth movement anyway, so why not skew toward the younger player in Woodard over Gay and some others?

Hafley and Sullivan sure do have some interesting 53-man roster decisions to make at the position that's easily the best single one on their roster.

Jackson Woodard can always be stashed on the practice squad, but after his impressive preseason and training camp, another team could swoop in and snag him. That's how the Dolphins scored him from Houston in the first place. Do Hafley and Sullivan want to take that risk? The plot has officially thickened!

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