By admin 
Part 1 of a Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag heading into the 2026 season opener:
From Scott Lillard:
Alain, I enjoy following your work. My question is about the safeties. When you and your colleagues discuss the position, it always seems to be whether Trader or Taaffe will play alongside Anderson. Why is the discussion never about Trader and Taafe being on the field together? I’ve always found it odd that, given the youth movement and the strategy for 2026, those two are never really discussed as the potential pairing. I would imagine that long term, the hope would be for those two to eventually be on the field together.
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Hey Scott, based on our practice observations reps and performances, it’s always felt like Anderson was the one given at safety. Now, Anderson is under a one-year contract and the other two with two or more years left, so your point about working toward 2027 has merit. But it’s also possible that Anderson will be more than a one-year acquisition.
From Devidid Woods:
I feel KG is unfairly cast as this bust after 1 season. He had an uptick in production towards season’s end. Was it Aaron Donald, no, but year 1. I’m 51. It feels like every year, there’s 1 guy that EVERYONE decides to pile on. As if he’s completely incapable of making improvements. In closing. 2029, Miami Dolphins Super Bowl champs (throwback uniform will be our permanent ha ha ha)
I don’t know that anybody is “piling on” Grant in pointing out that overall his rookie season was disappointing and I regret to tell you there was nothing we saw in training camp to inspire great confidence things will be much better in 2026, particularly after he’s starting the season on IR. That said, nobody is giving up on him because that would be way premature, but there does need to be some progress. And I’ll take your 2029 Super Bowl and I don’t care what uniform they wear when they win it. Can I also request at least a couple of playoff appearances before then?
BOBBY SLOWIK AND THE OFFENSIVE GAME PLAN
From The Fins Reset:
Will we see Slowik trust the young receivers early on? Or will the game plan be the predictable run, run, pass?
The idea of playing the wide receivers is to help them develop and because they give the offense the best chance to make plays. If the Dolphins change the game plan to avoid using them or exposing them, then they should be benched.
From Robert Hanson:
Hey Alain, haven’t heard anything regarding whether the Dolphins are spending next week out west or are they flying home after the game? Also with Kacmarek nursing an injury, IYO will the Dolphins go with a steady diet of 6 O.L. (tackle eligible) sets, if he doesn’t play?
Hey Robert, the Dolphins will be staying out west after the opener, and just know they requested to the NFL that those two games be placed back to back for that very reason. It’s something they did back in 2022 when they played on the road against the 49ers and Charger and also in 2016 when they played against the Rams and Chargers. And Kacmarek will play against the Raiders barring a setback between now and game time.
From Ed Helinski:
How warm & fuzzy are you feeling about the Dolphins defeating the Raiders?
Hey Ed, not sure about warm and fuzzy, but I do believe the Dolphins have a totally legitimate chance to win this game. I’m not sure I’ll predict many wins for Miami in 2026, but their talent level (particularly among starters) is on a par with that of the Raiders.
WILL WILLIS TOP TUA?
From Thomas Hudson:
Saw the roster comparison. Interesting that everything is about which was better, except for QBs where the measure was “more promising.” Which tells me that, however exciting Willis may be, you are not prepared to say he is a better QB than Tua. All I have seen of Willis was one drive in the preseason. I am sure you have seen a lot more. What this offense needs at QB is someone who can make good decisions, probably quickly because of the line, and distribute the ball accurately to the right player. As much as I like Tua, that wasn’t him either, for the most part. I don’t know how much was up to each of the involved parties, but the Dolphins under McDaniel were never able to get beyond the second option in the WR room. Tua did show that he had that ability in a couple games earlier in his Dolphins tenure, but by 2024 he seemed to have lost it. Have you seen anything from Willis in practice that says he can be that guy? That he can drop back, read a defense, and hit the right receiver with regularity. Because he won’t make it long in the NFL if his best move is running the ball. As for the rest of the comparisons, WR seems like the hardest one. But that is only because we know how it worked out. Sure, the luster may have already worn off by September, but there was this in March: “And in Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, they not only got a wide receiver with good production and good years ahead of him, they landed somebody who will bring much-needed size to the position.” So you’ll forgive me, I hope, if I say I want a lot more than some size and good potential before I buy that this year’s group of WRs is anywhere near as good as last year’s, even with Hill being an injury question going in.
Hey Thomas, I’m guilty of taking the wimpy way out with Willis, but felt I had no choice because he’s such an unknown commodity. But I certainly would expect him to be better than Tua and certainly feel better about him now than I did about Tua at this time last year. As for the wide receivers, your point is fair because we did think that Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was a good addition last offseason. Having said that, I didn’t think very much about the upside of the overall group last year beyond Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle but have a degree of confidence in the new (but, yes, unproven) group.
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From Jeff Horst:
Alain, I’m really worried about our special teams, especially the punter and coverage units. Coach Tabor didn’t get much time with some of the guys on these units I fear. Special teams could be the difference in the game with the Raiders. Do you have anything to calm me?
Hey Jeff, where I can calm you is by pointing out the Dolphins have a very good returner with Malik Washington and Riley Patterson was basically automatic last year, while the Raiders’ new kicker Matt Gay was only 17-for-23 on field goal attempts last year. I’d actually be surprised if this game came down to special teams, but if it does, I think the Dolphins will be fine there.
From Jake McVay:
Hi Alain, how do you feel the players are responding to the new coach? Does it help Haf that he was a college head coach dealing with these young players trying to prove themselves?
Hey Jake, the fact that he was head coach at Boston College is more a reflection of his leadership qualities than anything else, but it certainly can’t hurt in dealing with young players. The reception by all accounts has been very positive so far, but it helps in that regard that the Dolphins have so many young players and also moved on from their more high-maintenance players.
From Jason Kirkland:
Hey Alain, I absolutely believe that the Dolphins aren’t trying to tank. But, what I do believe is that they will be organically tanking, meaning, their roster just isn’t good enough to win many games. I predict 5-12, max. Your thoughts?
Hey Jason, yeah, if we’re going to define “organically tanking” by being willing to accept a bad won-loss record to maintain the long-term objective of fixing the salary cap beyond 2026 and investing in young players, I am 100 percent with you. And I don’t have any issue with the 5-12 prediction, either. In fact, that’s where I most often land.
From rjgrosso:
Thanks as always for the best and most enjoyable Dolphins’ content in the market Alain. What is the reason for the limitation on the number of players from the 53 who can be active on gameday?
Hey Richard, the only reason I’ve ever heard mentioned involved competitive balance, with the idea being limiting the number of active players on game day equals the playing field if one team is way more banged up than the other. My thought always has been that once you get that deep into the roster, it can’t make that much of a difference and I truly don’t get the reasoning.
Today’s best reads
- Breaking Down the Miami Dolphins 2026 53-Man Roster Construction From All Angles
- Five Biggest Reasons for Pessimism for the Miami Dolphins Heading into 2026: Secondary Is Primary Concern
- Comparing the Dolphins Roster to This Time Last Year
- How Rookie DJ Herman Won a Roster Spot and Could Impact the Dolphins Offense
- Breaking Down the 2026 Dolphins Captains (And What Jeff Hafley Expects)
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