The Dolphins are dangerously close to blowing this entire rebuild.
Well…the Dolphins enter midseason with a 1-7 record. Obviously that is a poor record, but the good news is that we are not in a contending year, so it really doesn’t matter.
At the beginning of the year, knowing we were going to be rebuilding with a ton of rookies, I really only had one wish (which the Dolphins have already granted me): do NOT go 0-17. I didn’t not want that stigma as a fan, and I certainly didn’t want our players to have to live with that.
Thanks to the Jets and a nearly flawless game from from Malik Willis, we hit that goal! We got our win. NOW it’s time to tank. It’s too important to not do so.
Now comes the tricky part. There are an unprecedented amount of bad teams this year in the NFL. We are only 1-7, and that only puts us at the third pick. Several teams are already at 2-7, including our next opponent, the Indianapolis Colts.
Say we beat the Colts. We become 2-7 and they go down to 2-8 and leapfrog us in the Tankathon. If some other 2-7 teams lose as well, suddenly we’re sitting at the 7th or 8th draft pick overall.
At this rate, doing the math, if we end up around 3-14, we probably won’t even be in the top 10.
This entire 2026 rebuild season will have been wasted if we don’t land a top 3 pick, preferably #1.
I hope Jeff Hafley realizes the importance of this. To state it simply: There is absolutely NO advantage to finishing 2-15, 3-14, or God forbid 4-13.
But there is a gigantic advantage to finishing 1-16.
Sorry to all of those who want to select a WR as our first draft pick…but we need a QB more. Way more. Malik Willis is simply not getting any better. If anything, we’re seeing why the Packers and the Titans (and two college teams) let him walk. Sorry to say, but he’s not the answer. He’s a mere placeholder until we can hopefully get Drew Mestemaker.
I expect Hafley to say, “We will not tank. We fight to win.” But I hope and pray that deep down, he is smart enough to “wink-wink try” to win.
Wins are vitally important when you’re trying to reach the playoffs. Losses are vitally important when you’re trying to land an elite player in the draft.