Why the Dolphins Are Excited About Their Rookie Defensive Tackles

The Miami Dolphins prioritized getting bigger and stronger on the defensive line during the 2025 NFL draft. 

Much has been made of the team drafting Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers, all of whom weigh at least 320 pounds. Because of their weight and strong tape against the run, a popular talking point is that all three players are “just nose tackles.” 

However, pigeonholing them like that would be a disservice to their skill sets, something Dolphins defensive line coach Austin Clark emphasized during a media session Wednesday.

“You may see them as noses, but we see them as versatile pieces,” Clark said. “The analysis I’d use for you is the fact that we played nickel with Christian (Wilkins) and (Zach) Sieler here for a long time.

“That’s two 3-techniques, and people would say, ‘You don’t have a nose.’ We play the best available guys you can get and piece your defense together. That’s the way you have to look at it. Get them all here. Evaluate what they can do and what they do best. Then, you try to piece them in the spots.”

Let’s look at each of the Dolphins’ rookie defensive tackles and see how they can be deployed at spots other than nose tackle. 

Kenneth Grant's Impressive Movement Skills

Grant is the most crucial part of this puzzle, given that the Dolphins spent the 13th overall pick on him. Don’t get it twisted, Grant’s 6-3, 339-pound frame will make him a nose tackle option for the Dolphins, but he’s capable of much more than that. 

Grant wasn’t even “just a nose tackle” at Michigan. 

Last season, he played just 97 of his 543 total snaps at nose tackle, according to Pro Football Focus. Grant had 368 snaps in the B-gap (lined up over an opposing guard), a position usually reserved for a player with a lot of athleticism. 

Grant’s speed and effort to make plays near the line of scrimmage and downfield prove that he can do more than just anchor blockers in the middle of the field. 

In fact, Grant’s effort and speed for his size are what drew Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver to him during the pre-draft process. 

“First, just in terms of make-up, to me, the one thing you can always gauge on film is the effort a guy plays with, and his effort on film was elite,” Weaver said. “They played a ton of plays, actually didn’t rotate very much a year ago at Michigan, and for him to play as hard as he did at his weight and still go out there and be as forceful as he was a player, that spoke a lot to me.” 

Nose tackles don’t move as well as Grant does, and they don’t usually have the stamina he showed at Michigan. For the Dolphins, this means Grant can play every position on the interior. 

If they want him to play nose, he’s got the strength and size to do it, but he can also win with quickness and athleticism from the B-gap. 

Jordan Phillips Has Underrated Upside

Of the players we’ll discuss, Phillips is probably the cleanest projection to nose tackle. 

His best reps come when he can stack and shed in the middle of the line. He’s got heavy hands, a squatty frame, and plenty of strength to collapse the interior of the pocket and clog up running lanes. 

Still, Phillips split time between playing the A-gap and B-gap with the Terrapins. In 2024, he recorded 283 snaps in the A-gap compared to 243 snaps in the B-gap. 

Like Grant, Phillips was given chances to play over guards because he showed flashes of impressive athletic ability. This rep against Oregon shows Phillips using some natural quickness to get a clean win into the backfield. 

The Dolphins saw Phillips’ athletic upside on tape, which is one reason the team targeted him in the fifth round. 

“Really happy about Jordan Phillips, a guy who was kind of under the radar a little bit, but the way he plays on film and just the person that he is, it’s the same thing; he’s going to reach that ceiling,” Weaver said. 

Phillips will probably play most of his reps at nose tackle this coming season, but he’s capable of more than that with some development to his pass-rush plan. 

Zeek Biggers Tape Isn't What You'd Expect

It’s hard to blame someone for assuming a defensive tackle named “Biggers,” who weighed in at 6-6, 320 pounds, was a nose tackle. After all, he’s got the name and frame for it. 

That said, Biggers played very few of his snaps in the A-gap last season. He took just 42 snaps there, but had 369 snaps in the B-gap. If you watch Biggers’ tape, this starts to make sense because he struggles to anchor in the middle sometimes. 

Additionally, he’s yet another player who moves much better than you’d expect. Many of his best plays are ones where he’s using athleticism to win instead of sheer power and strength. 

While that does make Biggers more than “just a nose tackle,” it’s something the team wants him to improve on this summer. 

“I thought Zeek was a great pickup. Biggers is big. K.J. Cotton, our assistant D-lineman coach, was at the East-West game and left and came back saying, ‘this guy is a big ball of clay,' " Clark said.  

“That’s what I see. He’s a big body, fluid mover. He’s just got to continue to get stronger in the weight room, being stronger at the point of attack. He may be able to do a few things. We’re excited to see him work.”

Ultimately, if Biggers earns a role on the Dolphins’ defensive line this season, it’ll likely be in a primary nose tackle role. But he’s got the movement skills to play all three spots on the interior. 

The Bottom Line With Miami’s Rookie DTs 

Assuming all three rookie defensive tackles carve out a role for themselves this coming season, there’s a good chance they’ll all take reps at nose tackle.

Phillips and Grant are excellent run defenders who have a decent bit of experience playing the position. However, the Dolphins clearly view all of these players as being capable of contributing beyond the nose tackle spot. 

Regardless of where they line up, Miami seems comfortable putting them on the field early. 

“That’s got to be trial by fire. I was in a very similar situation when I was in Houston back in 2016,” Weaver said about playing the rookies. “Around Game 4, we had to play with D.J. Reader, who was a fifth-round draft pick, and Joel Heath, a defensive end who was an undrafted free agent, and we finished that year No. 1 in total defense. 

“The standard doesn’t change; there’s going to be a lot asked of those guys, but they’ve got the shoulders to handle that.”

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