Football

Ranking the Most Important Dolphins, No. 14: Can Dodson Carve a Role Among Rookies?

By Alain Poupart Sports Illustrated

Updated July 12, 2026 12:00 PM

The Miami Dolphins will head into training camp at the end of July with a totally different roster than the one that ended the 2025 season after an offseason overhaul that saw the departure of several significant veterans and the arrival of newcomers young and old.

The Dolphins have 91 players on their roster with the exemption they have for England-born rookie tight end Seydou Traore, a participant of the International Player Pathway Program.

As life goes in the NFL, not every player on the roster is equal, so we decided to rank all of them in terms of their importance to the Dolphins' success in the 2026 season. The list was determined on the basis of not just ability but also expected role and significance to the overall progress of the organization as it continues the rebuilding project that began with the hiring of Jon-Eric Sullivan as GM and Jeff Hafley as head coach.

This is part of a series that will run in the lead-up to start of training camp.

NUMBER 14: LB TYREL DODSON

How he joined the Dolphins

The Dolphins claimed Dodson off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks in November 2024 after he was released in the middle of his first season with Seattle.

Contract status

Dodson is headed into the second year of a two-year, $6.25 million contract he signed during the 2025 offseason. He's scheduled to make $2.4 million in base salary this year, though none of it is guaranteed, along with $717,000 in prorated signing bonus money, per Over The Cap.

His 2025 season

While he was overshadowed by Jordyn Brooks' All-Pro performance, Dodson put up pretty good stats himself, finishing with 129 tackles, five sacks, 10 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He started all 16 games he played. The interception came during the 34-10 victory against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in December. The other side of Dodson's performance showed a 115.7 passer rating allowed in coverage (per Pro Football

Reference) and ranking 61st among 73 qualifying linebackers (based on snaps) from Pro Football Focus.

His projected role

The Dolphins will be making more use of pure linebackers under new head coach Jeff Hafley's defensive scheme and they invested heavily at the position in the 2026 draft by selecting Jacob Rodriguez in Round 2, and then Trey Moore and Kyle Louis in Round 4, though Moore also will be used as an edge. Hafley now will have a lot of options for starting roles and a rotation, and Dodson definitely will be in the mix. He figures to battle Rodriguez for playing time at middle linebacker, and what complicates his situation is that he's in the last year of his contract, Rodriguez represents the future, and the Dolphins can walk away from Dodson with some cap savings if they decided to go that route.

THE PREVIOUS PLAYERS ON THE COUNTDOWN

90. G James Ester

89. T Kevin Cline

88. QB Mark Gronowski

87. DT Keith Cooper Jr.

86. EDGE Seth Coleman

85. RB Anthony Hankerson

84. WR Donaven McCulley

83. FB D.J. Herman

82. C Jim Bonitas

81. LS Tucker Addington

80. DT Alex Huntley

79. T Marques Cox

78. EDGE Rodney McGraw

77. TE Cole Turner

76. DT Khalil Saunders

75. CB Miles Battle

74. S Major Burns

73. RB Carlos Washington Jr.

72. EDGE Robert Beal Jr.

71. WR A.J. Henning

70. RB Donovan Edwards

69. DB Omar Brown

68. EDGE Cameron Goode

67. WR Jalen Reagor

66. EDGE Max Llewellyn

65. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.

64. CB Ethan Robinson

63. G/T Josh Priebe

62. DT Rene Konga

61. WR Tahj Washington

60. QB Cam Miller

59. CB A.J. Green III

58. EDGE Mason Reiger

57. CB Alex Austin

56. P Bradley Pinion

55. LB Jackson Woodard

54. K Zane Gonzalez

53. S Louis Moore

52. DT Matthew Butler

51. CB Marco Wilson

50. CB Darrell Baker Jr.

49. LB Ronnie Harrison Jr.

48. T Charlie Heck

47. WR Chris Bell

46. CB Storm Duck

45. WR Theo Wease Jr.

44. TE Seydou Traore

43. G DJ Campbell

42. G/C Andrew Meyer

41. K Riley Patterson

40. S Michael Taaffe

39. CB Ethan Bonner

38. TE Ben Sims

37. EDGE David Ojabo

36. S Lonnie Johnson Jr.

35. Zayne Anderson

34. EDGE Josh Uche

33. WR Jalen Tolbert

32. EDGE/LB Trey Moore

31. LB Willie Gay Jr.

30. RB Jaylen Wright

29. WR Kevin Coleman Jr.

28. G Jonah Savaiinaea

27. DT Zeek Biggers

26. LB Kyle Louis

25. RB Ollie Gordon II

24. WR Tutu Atwell

23. G/T Jamaree Salyer

22. WR Malik Washington

21. DT Jordan Phillips

20. WR Caleb Douglas

19. LB Jacob Rodriguez

18. CB Jason Marshall Jr.

17. S Dante Trader Jr.

16. TE Will Kacmarek

15. QB Quinn Ewers

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This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 11:49 AM.