6 Burning Questions Dolphins Must Answer During Training Camp

The Miami Dolphins’ veterans report to training camp tomorrow, marking the start of the final preparations for the upcoming season. 

The Dolphins are coming off a disappointing 8-9 season and an offseason that featured the team losing star players and high-level contributors in favor of younger, less-proven players. The team even invested in positions it has largely ignored in the past, like guard, linebacker, and receivers over 6 feet tall. 

However, despite a change in philosophy and significant roster turnover, the Dolphins have numerous unanswered questions heading into training camp. We’ve decided to look at the top six that fans should pay attention to in the preseason. 

A quick disclaimer, we’re only looking at questions that can be at least partially answered in training camp. Big picture questions will have to wait for regular season games. 

Questions Dolphins Must Answer In Training Camp 

1. Do They Have Any Starting Cornerbacks Besides Kohou? 

This is the biggest question looming over the Dolphins as training begins this week. 

The team traded Jalen Ramsey and cut Kendall Fuller, only to replace them with Kendall Sheffield, Artie Burns, and fifth-round pick Jason Marshall Jr. Although the Dolphins reportedly reached out to several free agent cornerbacks, there doesn’t seem to be much momentum for a deal. 

Plus, the Dolphins don’t have a ton of money to work with. Sure, they can always create more, but they need to keep some money for the season, too. 

While the immediate need for a cornerback is obvious, the long-term one shouldn’t be overlooked. The Dolphins' only recent significant investment in the position came via second-round pick Cam Smith in the 2023 NFL draft. 

Smith has basically done nothing since entering the league and is on the roster bubble this summer. Training camp won’t show us for sure whether any of Miami’s unproven cornerbacks are a potential long-term option. 

Still, the Dolphins need to see if there are any signs of improvement from the players mentioned above, as well as those like Storm Duck. 

Whether the team signs a veteran or not, the Dolphins will need several of the cornerbacks currently on the roster to contribute now and in future seasons. 

2. Is the Offensive Line Chemistry Right? 

Getting a grasp on how tough and strong an offensive line is during training camp can be difficult. They are mostly lining up against the same players every day, and preseason football is so far removed from regular-season football that it’s a poor evaluation tool. 

What can be judged at least a little bit is whether Miami’s five projected starters — Patrick Paul, Jonah Savaiinaea, Aaron Brewer, James Daniels, and Austin Jackson — work well together. 

There are a lot of moving parts on this line, and this group hasn’t played together much, if at all. 

Savaiinaea is a rookie, Daniels is new to the system and coming off an Achilles tear, Jackson missed the second half of last season with a knee injury, and Paul played less than 400 snaps last season. 

Are Daniels and Jackson 100%? Which side of the line should Savaiinaea play on? In a system that demands a lot from its offensive linemen in the running game, how well-coordinated is everyone? 

These are essential questions the Dolphins can start to answer in training camp. 

3. How Healthy Is Tyreek Hill? 

This question falls into the “no duh” category, but it’s still incredibly important. Hill was not himself last season, as he dealt with a wrist injury suffered last summer. 

He had two surgeries on that wrist this offseason and is back to running routes and catching passes. His track results from this summer at least prove that his speed hasn’t gone anywhere and that he’s still in good shape. 

Of course, Hill also comes with major off-field and locker room questions, but as far as on-field questions are concerned, whether Hill can play like he did in 2023 and 2022 is at the top of the list. The Dolphins couldn’t create explosives for several reasons last season, but Hill’s regression is one reason why. 

And his return to form is one of the easier ways to fix that problem in 2025. 

4. Are Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips Back to Form? 

This question falls into the same category as the latter. Chubb and Phillips are both returning from season-ending injuries, and the Dolphins are set to rely on them quite a bit this season. 

The team’s trio of top edge rushers — Chubb, Phillips, and Chop Robinson — is great, but there’s little reliable depth behind them. Plus, given the team’s underwhelming secondary, there will be more pressure on the pass rush to prop up the defense. 

Chubb has an extensive injury history that includes multiple ACL tears, and Phillips’ extensive injury history includes two consecutive season-ending injuries. 

Not only do the Dolphins need Chubb and Phillips to be solid to high-level contributors this season, but they also need the pair to remain on the field for most of the year. How these two players look during training camp is a big deal. 

It’s not about whether they make plays in the backfield or if they stand out in joint practices. It’s about making sure their explosiveness, bend, and speed haven’t been sapped by their time on injured reserve. 

Both participated in mandatory minicamp, which is a good sign. 

5. What’s Up With The Tight Ends? 

The tight end position has primarily been an afterthought during the Mike McDaniel era. However, last year saw Jonnu Smith break franchise records before the team ultimately traded him this offseason. 

Now, Miami’s tight end room features what is essentially two battles for a “staring” spot. Julian Hill and Pharaoh Brown will compete for the primary blocking role, while Darren Waller, Tanner Conner, and Jalin Conyers will compete for the pass-catching role. 

While conventional wisdom would suggest the receiving role matters more, finding viable perimeter blocking from Hill and Brown might be a bigger piece of the puzzle. 

One of the most significant reasons Miami’s outside zone running game struggled last season was because of poor perimeter blocking from tight ends and receivers. 

We don’t know if Hill and Brown are the solution to that problem, but at least we know that it’ll be a high-volume role with a big impact, even if it doesn’t show up in the box score. 

On the other hand, the receiving tight ends might be a key cog in the machine or not have a place at all. Smith’s absence left a lot of targets on the table, but that was a product of a Dolphins’ offense stuck in neutral (or reverse) for most of the season. 

The Dolphins shouldn’t want the offense to rely on the tight end like it did last season. 

Plus, Miami has better options for those targets anyway. While Waller, Conners, and Conyers are listed at tight end, their position is just slot receiver. Depending on the situation, players like Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, De’Von Achane, or Malik Washington might be a better choice. 

Although it’ll be an interesting battle to watch during training camp, whoever wins might not end up seeing the field much anyway. 

6. Is Kenneth Grant Ready for a High-Volume Role? 

One of the bigger swings the Dolphins took this offseason was choosing to rebuild the interior of its defensive line through the 2025 NFL draft. 

The most important member of that group, Kenneth Grant, is penciled in as one of the team’s starters heading into training camp. That’s not a surprise or uncommon, but the Dolphins used their best offseason asset on Grant, so expectations are high. 

There will be a rookie learning curve, and progress for young players is rarely linear, but Grant needs to look like he belongs early. It’s fine if the finer points of the game elude him, but he needs to hold up physically. 

As we mentioned in the section on Chubb and Phillips, there are several large “ifs” for the defensive line this season, and Grant is another. He’s got a great partner in Zach Sieler, so Grant doesn’t need to be elite or even great as a rookie. 

He just needs to be a reliable player who gets better as the season progresses. That process will start in training camp.