Even at 1-5, the Dolphins have found a few breakout stories worth celebrating — and two of them could be long-term answers in Miami

Tight end Julian Hill

Julian Hill was public enemy No. 1 for Dolphins fans last year. He endured a tough start to the season with penalties in untimely moments and was a non-factor in the passing game — posting 12 catches for 100 yards on the season. Hill has settled in to his role on this team as the bl0cking tight end well in Year 3, doing the dirty work without the football at a more consistent and disciplined basis. It isn't always perfect — Hill struggled with some assignments against the Carolina Panthers in Week 5 as Miami failed to get the run game going.

But Hill looks like a competent NFL tight end! Dare I say...an asset as an ideal TE2 who isn't charged with being a prominent weapon in the passing game? It is worth mentioning that Hill has also caught nine passes for 76 yards this year through six weeks, plus a two-point conversion in Week 1.

Hill is not the answer to everything Miami needs at tight end long-term. But his growth should be commended and there should be a seat for him at the tight end table for years to come if he sustains this level of play.

CB1 (Rasul Douglas)

When the Dolphins moved on from Jalen Ramsey, the concern was what they'd look like on the back end. We have our answer — it is bad! But the irony of it all is that the player that's stepped in as the veteran and the top dog in the room, Rasul Douglas, has actually played very well. He's been physical, he's done well in run support, and he's made several plays on the ball. If you throw away the Week 1 performance, in which he was thrown into the game spontaneously after an injury to Storm Duck, Douglas has been fairly consistent and is still a sufficient NFL starter.

The problem for Miami here is two-fold. First, Douglas himself has been a strong performer but the rest of the secondary is still very, very leaky. And two, Douglas is on a one-year contract and he's a late-stage career player. There's no long-term resolution possible here like there is with Julian Hill and, as such, the long-term questions about a CB1 will continue.

Punter Jake Bailey

If you had this one on your bingo card, good for you. Jake Bailey is averaging the second-best net yards per punt (47.0 yards) of any punter in football this season. The Dolphins had a true competition between Ryan Stonehouse and Bailey this summer and the incumbent walked away the victor — and is proving that open competition can be a good thing. His punting metrics are good across the board.

He's eighth in hang time per punt, fifth in punts downed inside the 20, second in net yards per punt, seventh in return-rate, and seventh in yards per return among qualifying punters.

If he keeps it up, Bailey will join Hill as potential long-term answers at ancillary positions that Miami may have patiently seen pay off for them in 2025.

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