Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Is Seven Wins a Realistic Goal?

By Alain Poupart Sports Illustrated

Updated July 4, 2026 10:07 AM

Part 1 of a Fourth of July weekend Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From Mike Marchese #GoFins:

Hey Alain, is seven wins a possibility (my view of a successful season)?

Hey Mike, anything is possible, particularly when you have two major unknown quantities in important spots like head coach with Jeff Hafley and quarterback with Malik Willis. The Dolphins have an awful lot of question marks and an awful lot of players who have yet to deliver on their potential, but in a wildly successful scenario, maybe we get a ton of positive answers and player breakthroughs, and then maybe seven wins isn't unfathomable. But the reality is it's more likely than not that the Dolphins won't be able to reach that victory total.

From Ross Jones:

How many rookies do you believe will make the 53 if healthy and how many do you think can start or be in the rotation?

Hey Ross, the Dolphins made 13 draft picks before they signed 11 undrafted free agents, though one of them already has come and gone. I would suspect most of the draft picks will make the 53 and I think maybe only one or two of the UDFAs will join them. So let's make it 14 total rookies making the 53. As for how many will get significant snaps, right now I'd say that group will consists of Kadyn Proctor, Chris Johnson, Jacob Rodriguez, Caleb Douglas, Trey Moore and Kyle Louis.

From Matt Thau:

Hey Alain, appreciate all that you do. I have pretty low expectations for this year and am disappointed about the likelihood of another "lost" season in the hopes of building for 2027. If you were trying to "sell" the team, what are three things you view as reasons for the fans to be invested this year?

Hey Matt, first off thanks. The biggest selling point for me would be seeing what the Dolphins have in Malik Willis, whose skill set could make him the most exciting quarterback to watch the team has had in a long time. Second would be the draft picks, specifically first-round picks Kadyn Proctor and Chris Johnson, along with recent first-round picks Chop Robinson and Kenneth Grant and watching their development. Finally, I'd say another reason to watch would be seeing a new style of football under head coach Jeff Hafley.

PASS RUSH CONCERNS

From Darrill Batte:

Where is the pass rush going to come from, Alain? Everyone talks about our WRs as the weakest link. My biggest concern going into the season is the pass rush. So far Chop Robinson hasn't impressed me and we also added a couple of guys who haven't been productive yet in their careers. Do you agree with me that is the biggest concern?

Hey Darrill, yeah, you might be on to something there. Chop Robinson was very good in the second half of his rookie season, but his 2025 performance was very worrisome. The pass rush without question is a major concern heading into the upcoming season, but the hope is that the combination of Robinson, Josh Uche, David Ojabo and some blitz packages can get the job done. I'd also be worried about the safety position and until further notice the wide receivers lack the "it" factor.

From Jayco:

Jeff Hafley cites Dave Wannstedt as a mentor. Considering how ultra-conservative Wannstedt was, along with the hiring of a failed offensive coordinator, how concerned should we be about the future of this offense?

Hey Jayco, I get what you're saying given Bobby Slowik was fired by the Houston Texans after a bad 2024 season by their offense, but C.J. Stroud had his best year under Slowik in 2023. As for Wannstedt, yes, he was a very conservative coach with his background as a defensive coordinator, but Hafley's career has taken him many places since then and I'm not sure there's any correlation in how he'll manage the game. Hafley has said he believes in physical football, so don't be surprised to see a focus on the running game; the question is how conservative or aggressive Hafley will be with his decisions.

From ShaneMcElligott:

Why did they hire Slowik if his offense doesn't suit Malik's talents? I fear this could turn an interesting season into a pretty dull depressing one.

Hey Shane, any coach can tweak the system to fit his quarterback's strengths and that's what we should expect Slowik to do with Malik Willis. I think too much is made about that particular issue.

From Dave Campbell:

Greetings Alain! With all the (useless) chatter of Willis not beating out Ewers for QB1, got me thinking some. You've probably written about this before but memory fails me. Who is the best QB2 in Dolphins history? Mine would be in this order: Earl Morrall, Don Strock & Scott Mitchell. Honorable Mention goes to Steve DeBerg, who only was 1-4 in his starts but the one was that icy Thanksgiving Day game plus the fact IMHO he did the best play-action pass ever. Always appreciate great written content on Miami Dolphins on SI.Com plus best Podcasts out there with All Dolphins and Dolphins Collective.

Hey Dave, thanks as always for the kind words. I get why you have Morrall at number 1 based on his 1972 performance, but to be fair he didn't have to do a lot of heavy lifting on a team with a brilliant running game and great defense. My vote for number 1 would go to Strock, who was a great backup for more than a decade. I think I'd go with Matt Moore at number 2 and then maybe give a nostalgic nod to Morrall at number 3.

From Mark:

Hi Alain, giving how thin our edge rusher room appears to be, what ever happened to Grayson Murphy, who looked extremely effective the last two pre-seasons? He was cut & never mentioned again.

Hey Mark, I think I'll start here by saying that calling Murphy "extremely effective" is a bit of a stretch, though that happens frequently when certain media members (not me) start overpraising young players in camp. As I saw it, Murphy fell into the category of "there might be something there," but then he tore an ACL in a 2024 preseason game and I honestly didn't notice do much at all last summer. Murphy was set to play for the Orlando Storm of the UFL this spring, but he decided to retire a week into training camp.

From Jorge Francisco boyd:

Hi Alain, who do you see as the two starting DEs and who may be in their rotation. Also, do we have any of them who can set the edge?

Hey Jorge, I'll first oint out that the Dolphins don't list any players as defensive ends, but rather have defensive linemen and edges. With that in mind, I think we're looking at Chop Robinson and Josh Uche as the starting edges, and I do believe that both Uche and fellow newcomer David Ojabo can set the edge.

From Ricky Bobby2527:

Hi Alain, you provide great coverage with interesting articles. I'm going old school here. Three of my favorite Dolphins ever were Louis Oliver, T-Buck & Jeff Cross. What is your opinion on those three?

Wow, that is indeed old school. You bring up three good players there at safety (Oliver), cornerback (Buckley) and defensive end (Cross). At his best, T-Buck was elite in coverage with great ball skills, Oliver was a big hitter in the secondary, and Cross was a quality pass rusher on a shaky defense for many years.

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This story was originally published July 4, 2026 at 10:00 AM.

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