When’s the Last Time a Dolphins Neophyte Won ROTY?

When’s the Last Time a Dolphins Neophyte Won ROTY?

The Miami Dolphins added 13 players in total to the fold via the 2026 NFL Draft, and two in particular stand out as folks who could contend for Rookie of the Year awards in their maiden seasons.

Wide receiver Chris Bell, though down for the count for the foreseeable future with a torn ACL, is a dark-horse contender for the Offensive Rookie of the Year hardware. Plus, linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who was an All-American as a senior, paced the nation in forced fumbles in 2025 and is a do-it-all player on that side.

With the Dolphins hoping some of their recent draft picks end up in the running for major maiden-season rewards, it’s worth looking back at the last time one of their players won Rookie of the Year.

Short answer — it’s been a long while since any Dolphin has been crowned Rookie of the Year. Miami rookies have won just three combined Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year awards in franchise history, and former left defensive tackle Tim Bowens, all the way back in 1994, stands as the most recent Dolphins recipient.

Bowens, the No. 20 overall pick in that year’s draft, started 15 of the 16 games he played as a rookie, compiling 52 tackles, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovered. He put up those numbers on a very good Dolphins team, too — they won 10 games in the regular season and later picked up a Wild Card win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

One of Bell or Rodriguez becoming the first neophyte in more than three decades to take home a Rookie of the Year trophy would be a nice consolation prize for a likely brutal 2026 season for Miami. Wins will probably be hard to come by, and the schedule-makers didn’t make things any easier on the Dolphins, as their schedule for next season is supposed to be one of the NFL’s most difficult.