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Dolphins Coach Reveals Early Thoughts on Rookie Jonah Savaiinaea

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Douglas Santo | Last updated Aug 5, 2025 11:57 AM ET

The Miami Dolphins used their first two picks on the trenches in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Dolphins drafted defensive tackle Kenneth Grant in the first round, and followed that by picking offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea in the second round.

Both guys are expected to have significant roles in their rookie season and have already impressed the Dolphins' coaching staff in training camp.

Transitioning from the college level to the NFL can be difficult and comes with learning curves. However, Dolphins' offensive line coach Butch Barry is happy with Savaiinaea's growth.

"I like where things are at," Barry said after practice on Monday (h/t Palm Beach Post). "You know, everything's a process, right? And camp is, you know, we're two weeks in."

Savaiinaea still has a lot of time before the Dolphins' first week of the season, and he'll get more reps throughout the preseason to develop as well.

"Does he have a lot of stuff to work on?" Barry said. "Absolutely he's got a lot of stuff to work on and we haven't played real games or anything like that... I think the process of which he goes about it and understanding how to be a pro, we've got some really good guys in the room that can teach him how to be a pro."

Aaron Brewer on Jonah Savaiinaea: "Definitely impressed with Jonah just because of how he handles himself. He's a rookie but he don't carry himself like a rookie, he carries himself like a pro." (@MiamiDolphins) #PhinsUp pic.twitter.com/hLmSipV5jh
— FinsXtra (@FinsXtra) August 4, 2025

Savaiinaea has veterans on either side of him along the Dolphins' offensive line to learn from and lean on. Center Aaron Brewer and right guard Austin Jackson both have five years of experience in the NFL, and left guard James Daniels has seven years of experience.

The Dolphins' rookie continues to improve daily, and he's soaking in everything his coach throws at him.

"Every day there's flashes of things that we really like," Barry said. "There's things that we're coaching it better. I coach him on something, he tries to fix it. And every time as a coach that you see somebody take something that you give them and they try to fix it, I mean, that's what you do it for. And that's, so we've seen a lot of good things and we've got a long way to go."

Savaiinaea has been able to develop in training camp and spring practices against his teammates, but on Friday, he'll have his first chance to go against an opponent in the Dolphins' joint practice with the Chicago Bears. Barry said it'll be intense, but Savaiinaea is ready for it.

"You're going out there to play football, something you've done your whole life, right?" Barry said. "It's against another opponent... And so it's gonna' be very intense, but he's already an intense person. He's already a very focused person. So I think he'll be in a good place mentally where he's got to be."

Both Dolphins' rookies have impressed on either side of the ball early on, which starts with their work ethic. Grant and Savaiinaea told reporters at the beginning of training camp that they have a quiet competition between who can be the first and the last to leave the building each day.

That's the type of mentality you want from your rookie's if you're the Dolphins, and it seems to be paying off on the field so far.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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