Just How Far Away Are the Dolphins?

That the Miami Dolphins ended their 2025 season with a loss at New England wasn't terribly surprising, especially given the large number of front-line players who missed the game because of various injuries.

But the unraveling in the second half served as a pretty good encapsulation of the whole season and where the Dolphins stand as an organization heading into an offseason of uncertainty.

The Dolphins' 7-10 record ended up being the 22nd-best in the NFL in 2025 and they were at least three games behind all the AFC teams that made the playoffs.

And yet it feels like the Dolphins are much closer to the dregs of the conference than the upper echelon.

And in a lot of cases, the Dolphins actually have a grimmer outlook than even those teams at the bottom of the standings.

The Dolphins, put simply, look like a team that's got a ton of work to do just to start thinking about maybe competing for the possibility of eventually getting back into contention.

Yes, it looks like that long a road.

THE MESS IN MIAMI

Let's be realistic and look at what the Dolphins have right now to serve as a foundation.

The front office will be undergoing some changes, and the question is whether that will entail only a new general manager or whether the Dolphins will be joining the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and Tennessee Titans, for now, as teams looking for a new head coach.

And if the Dolphins decide to bring back Mike McDaniel for a fifth season, the past two seasons didn't exactly serve as evidence to provide a lot of optimism moving forward.

But maybe the justification for retaining McDaniel is to see what he could do with a more athletically gifted quarterback, though that would bring into question his QB acumen based on his reported going to bat for Tua Tagovailoa getting his contract extension.

Regardless of the head coach, the Dolphins headed into the offseason with a gigantic question mark at the most important position because Tagovailoa sure appears on his way out and if he isn't, then what are the chances he can rebound from a very disappointing season to regain his form or not one but two seasons ago?

Rookie seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers showed he could become at least a serviceable NFL backup in his three starts, but he also looks like he's got a limited ceiling and doesn't project as a franchise quarterback.

Adding a Lamar Jackson would help solve that one issue in a dramatic way, but the Dolphins are in a tight cap situation — they'll actually head into the offseason in the red for 2026 — and they're also not a quarterback away.

And the reason they're not a quarterback away is the talent pool simply isn't deep enough, the result of some sub-par drafting in recent years.

The Dolphins simply have failed too often to nail their early-round picks, and there's reason for concern that here we go again with this 2025 draft class after a rather uneventful rookie year for Kenneth Grant and a downright concerning one for Jonah Savaiinaea, not to mention 2024 first-round pick Chop Robinson making very little impact in his second season.

Yes, the Dolphins do have some good players here and there, with De'Von Achane, Jordyn Brooks, Zach Sieler, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Rasul Dougas, to name five, but there's too little depth and not enough front-line starters.

Be honest, is there one position where the Dolphins really are set moving forward?

Running back? Yes, Achane is an absolute baller and Jaylen Wright has ability and this might be the closest thing to a set position the Dolphins have.

Anywhere else?

Quarterback? No. Tight end? Nope. Offensive line? Nope. Wide receiver? Edge? No. Same for cornerback, safety, linebacker, you name it.

It's not good, especially when you look at the AFC playoff teams, all of whom have one or more outstanding feature.

You've got elite defenses in Denver, Houston and Jacksonville; franchise quarterbacks in Buffalo, New England and Los Angeles; and whatever magic the Pittsburgh Steelers have in always finding a way despite rosters that often don't appear to match up.

Other teams around the AFC have their calling card, a clear reason for hope in 2026.

Cincinnati has Joe Burrow and his star wide receiver; Baltimore has Lamar Jackson (unless it doesn't anymore); Indy has a strong core that was good enough to help the Colts start off 8-2; Tennessee has its franchise quarterback with Cam Ward.

Really, the only teams that look like might have as long a road as the Dolphins are the Jets, Cleveland and Las Vegas. But even then, the Jets have a mother lode of draft picks coming up, Las Vegas has the first overall pick, and Cleveland has a very, very good defense that just needs some kind of competent offense to make it work.

The Dolphins don't have any of this.

And that might be the most depressing thought of all after this disappointing 2025 season.