Freethinker
Hall of Famer
The Miami Dolphins have been testing the upper limits of an Afrocentric roster percentage for the last couple seasons under black GM Chris Grier. They even took home the honors of blackest team, in a tie with Green Bay, starting last season with a mere 10 White athletes and a pathetic single starter. Well the team predicably sucked and both Grier and the World's Whitest Black Man HC were fired. In come GM Jon-Eric Sullivan and HC Jeff Hafley both from GB in their previous stint. While one's initial thought would be "from the frying pan and into the fire" regarding White athletes, I've noted many times that they were one of the surprise coal-black teams that magically Whitened up via the draft and free agency. Let's find out by how much.
Total White Athletes on Roster (Starters in bold)
16 Whites total, with 5 starter. Grade: D
QB - Kyle McCord, Brady Cook
FB - DJ Herman
WR - Ryan Miller
TE - Greg Dulcich, Will Kacmarek
C - Andrew Meyer
T - Garrett Kingston
RDT - Zach Sieler
MLB - Jacob Rodriguez, Jackson Woodard
FS - Zayne Anderson, Michael Taaffe*
K - Riley Patterson
P - Bradley Pinion
LS - Tucker Addington
PS - Liam Anderson (ILB), Ethan Bonner (CB), Max Llewellyn (EDGE)
*Could argue starter based on snap count
So this could be one of the most improved teams this year demographically with 6 extra Whites and 4 extra starters with the asterisk of Herman being a possible lightly used fullback. Either way, I'm happy to see the improvement. HC Jeff Hafley has astutely been accused of CF poster of running Boston College into the ground during his recent stint there, so we should view him and his squad with skepticism until proven otherwise.
On offense, the QB room was totally overhauled in the offseason. The next great black hope Malik Willis is being given the keys at least for 1 season. If the team is as bad as many predict, Miami will be in the Arch Manning sweepstakes and he'll be gone. Kyle McCord was excellent all preseason, performing statistically as well as any player. One would think that the Packers, lacking in a young QB to develop behind the enigmatic Jordan Love, would be head over heels at the prospect of keeping him but instead traded him for a late round pick. Good move Miami. Miami also nabbed another young QB, Brady Cook who was dropped by the Jets, who were likely trying to sneak him onto the practice squad. Possibly another smart move by Miami. With Miami losing, Willis playing behind a sumo line and his tendency to run, expect McCord to get some opportunities this year.
Greg Dulcich is the standout offensive weapon and starter. Starting last year on the PS after being discarded by the Giants, Dulcich proved to be a valuable weapon. With few receiving options, many have predicted Greg to be a leading target guy this year. It didn't play out that way in week 1 but we'll have to stay tuned. Will Kacmarek is a rookie drafted in round 3 out of Ohio State. He's billed as an elite blocker. DJ Herman is the starting FB, who received roughly a quarter of the week 1 snaps. He's a UDFA out of San Diego St. Ryan Miller was a surprise survivor of roster cuts, considering he spent most of the preseason with the Giants. He was the WR5 this week and received zero snaps on offense. Don't expect much unless guys get hurt or suck super bad ahead of him. The offensive line is still sumo laden and very poor as week 1 should (they were ripped by media outlets). Meyer and Kingston are both relatively young but stuck as reserves right now.
On defense, that is where the 2026 Dolphins stand out! Zach Sieler is the veteran anchor who's one of the best at his position (DT). Jacob Rodriguez is a 2nd round stud who was the defensive star of a top Texas Tech squad last season. He's a rare White player that has been immediately inserted as a starter right away. He was the star of week 1, racking up 14 total tackles, which was the best Dolphin debut since Hall of Famer Zach Thomas. Jackson Woodard is another guy who was a WTM (White tackling machine) in college but the NFL wasn't interested in drafting. After slumming it on the PS squad last year, he earned a reserve spot with an excellent preseason. I have no doubt he would rack up 8-10 tackles every game if he were inserted as a starter. Moving towards the safety position, the Dolphins are rare team to roster 2 White athletes. Zayne Anderson was the best GB to Miami move. The fill in starter is reportedly liked and trusted by Hafley and company. Possessing strong coverage instincts and physicality in run support, Anderson is a flexible option for the defense. In week 1, he played the most defensive snaps out of the safety group at 78% and played well. Former Texas rookie Michael Taaffe is the other co-starter. The former walk on (imagine my shock!) is a highly instinctive player who just has a nose for the ball and puts himself in the right spots. This is evidenced by a week 1 interception. Taaffe played 75% of the snaps while Dante Trader Jr, the listed starting SS, only played 47%. I hesitate to list the Dolphins with a starting duo but this is certainly a situation worth monitoring.
So that was all pretty positive but the biggest disappointments reside on the practice squad now. After spending all last season on the 53 and making the initial roster, CB Ethan Bonner was cut. With a new GM / HC, its not shocking that he was expendable. Hoping he finds his way back so we can have a highwater mark of 4 White cornerbacks this year joining Moss, DeJean and Price. The other disappointing last minute cut was Iowa alum Max Llewellyn. He was a 7th round pick by the team and performed well in preseason so I thought he'd land by was victim of the Dolphins ridiculous 7 waiver claims. One of the biggest failures of the team in week 1 was pass rush, so perhaps this opens the door for his elevation at some point.
Total White Athletes on Roster (Starters in bold)
16 Whites total, with 5 starter. Grade: D
QB - Kyle McCord, Brady Cook
FB - DJ Herman
WR - Ryan Miller
TE - Greg Dulcich, Will Kacmarek
C - Andrew Meyer
T - Garrett Kingston
RDT - Zach Sieler
MLB - Jacob Rodriguez, Jackson Woodard
FS - Zayne Anderson, Michael Taaffe*
K - Riley Patterson
P - Bradley Pinion
LS - Tucker Addington
PS - Liam Anderson (ILB), Ethan Bonner (CB), Max Llewellyn (EDGE)
*Could argue starter based on snap count
So this could be one of the most improved teams this year demographically with 6 extra Whites and 4 extra starters with the asterisk of Herman being a possible lightly used fullback. Either way, I'm happy to see the improvement. HC Jeff Hafley has astutely been accused of CF poster of running Boston College into the ground during his recent stint there, so we should view him and his squad with skepticism until proven otherwise.
On offense, the QB room was totally overhauled in the offseason. The next great black hope Malik Willis is being given the keys at least for 1 season. If the team is as bad as many predict, Miami will be in the Arch Manning sweepstakes and he'll be gone. Kyle McCord was excellent all preseason, performing statistically as well as any player. One would think that the Packers, lacking in a young QB to develop behind the enigmatic Jordan Love, would be head over heels at the prospect of keeping him but instead traded him for a late round pick. Good move Miami. Miami also nabbed another young QB, Brady Cook who was dropped by the Jets, who were likely trying to sneak him onto the practice squad. Possibly another smart move by Miami. With Miami losing, Willis playing behind a sumo line and his tendency to run, expect McCord to get some opportunities this year.
Greg Dulcich is the standout offensive weapon and starter. Starting last year on the PS after being discarded by the Giants, Dulcich proved to be a valuable weapon. With few receiving options, many have predicted Greg to be a leading target guy this year. It didn't play out that way in week 1 but we'll have to stay tuned. Will Kacmarek is a rookie drafted in round 3 out of Ohio State. He's billed as an elite blocker. DJ Herman is the starting FB, who received roughly a quarter of the week 1 snaps. He's a UDFA out of San Diego St. Ryan Miller was a surprise survivor of roster cuts, considering he spent most of the preseason with the Giants. He was the WR5 this week and received zero snaps on offense. Don't expect much unless guys get hurt or suck super bad ahead of him. The offensive line is still sumo laden and very poor as week 1 should (they were ripped by media outlets). Meyer and Kingston are both relatively young but stuck as reserves right now.
On defense, that is where the 2026 Dolphins stand out! Zach Sieler is the veteran anchor who's one of the best at his position (DT). Jacob Rodriguez is a 2nd round stud who was the defensive star of a top Texas Tech squad last season. He's a rare White player that has been immediately inserted as a starter right away. He was the star of week 1, racking up 14 total tackles, which was the best Dolphin debut since Hall of Famer Zach Thomas. Jackson Woodard is another guy who was a WTM (White tackling machine) in college but the NFL wasn't interested in drafting. After slumming it on the PS squad last year, he earned a reserve spot with an excellent preseason. I have no doubt he would rack up 8-10 tackles every game if he were inserted as a starter. Moving towards the safety position, the Dolphins are rare team to roster 2 White athletes. Zayne Anderson was the best GB to Miami move. The fill in starter is reportedly liked and trusted by Hafley and company. Possessing strong coverage instincts and physicality in run support, Anderson is a flexible option for the defense. In week 1, he played the most defensive snaps out of the safety group at 78% and played well. Former Texas rookie Michael Taaffe is the other co-starter. The former walk on (imagine my shock!) is a highly instinctive player who just has a nose for the ball and puts himself in the right spots. This is evidenced by a week 1 interception. Taaffe played 75% of the snaps while Dante Trader Jr, the listed starting SS, only played 47%. I hesitate to list the Dolphins with a starting duo but this is certainly a situation worth monitoring.
So that was all pretty positive but the biggest disappointments reside on the practice squad now. After spending all last season on the 53 and making the initial roster, CB Ethan Bonner was cut. With a new GM / HC, its not shocking that he was expendable. Hoping he finds his way back so we can have a highwater mark of 4 White cornerbacks this year joining Moss, DeJean and Price. The other disappointing last minute cut was Iowa alum Max Llewellyn. He was a 7th round pick by the team and performed well in preseason so I thought he'd land by was victim of the Dolphins ridiculous 7 waiver claims. One of the biggest failures of the team in week 1 was pass rush, so perhaps this opens the door for his elevation at some point.
