It's no secret.
Up to this point, this Miami Dolphins season has essentially been a hard-fought game of show and tell with its rookies and younger pieces.
The win column would suggest they're losing that game, but the "show" part is a bit more nuanced than simply clinging to the Dolphins' 1-6 record.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a drive this season that hasn't been heavily impacted by a rookie, whether it's Jacob Rodriguez essentially serving as the quarterback of Miami's defense, Kadyn Proctor adjusting as a Day 1 starter at left guard, or Chris Johnson Jr. being tasked with covering some of the league's most skilled slot receivers and tight ends.
Miami entered the season with an NFL-high 13 rookies on its active roster, six of them being Week 1 starters. Ten rookies saw action in the opener, combining for 436 snaps, the most by any team in a Week 1 game since snap data began being tracked in 2006.
As Miami approaches the midway point of the season, here's how its top five rookies stack up, both against one another and the rest of the NFL's rookie class.
Before getting into the numbers, let's repeat a statistic one last time, in case it hasn't become repetitive enough.
Rodriguez entered his first NFL game as the only rookie wearing the green dot, being responsible for communicating Jeff Hafley's defensive calls to the rest of Miami's defense.
Through seven games, Rodriguez has rewarded Miami's trust with 69 tackles, sixth-most in the NFL and second among rookies behind Tennessee's Anthony Hill Jr., who has 82 in eight games.
Washington's Sonny Styles, the seventh overall pick, has recorded 54 tackles, an interception, a sack and a forced fumble. New York Giants linebacker Arvell Reese, selected fifth overall, has 56 tackles.
His instincts stand out when chasing down throws to the flat or run plays stretching toward the perimeter. He's also shown enough fearlessness and leverage while attacking interior runs to either bring down ball carriers or blow up blockers trying to clear out the second level.
He's not without shortcomings, especially in coverage.
Even as college football's highest-graded coverage linebacker in 2025, Rodriguez has had some trouble against NFL tight ends.
Like when Mike Gesicki won his goal-line dance battle against Rodriguez after stemming his route inside, shimmying into Rodriguez's hip pocket and breaking back out toward the sideline to snag a touchdown.
There's progress though, as he earned a 90.5 PFF coverage grade against New England in Week 8, allowing just 13 yards on two targets.
All in all, there isn't much reason to be anything but encouraged.
The 6-foot-7, 366-pound lineman arrived in Miami after playing left tackle at Alabama, but immediately transitioned to left guard.
Through six starts, Proctor has earned a 64.8 overall PFF grade, ranking second among seven qualifying first-round rookie guards. For comparison, Baltimore's Vega Ioane has earned a 67.9 grade, while Giants first-rounder Francis Mauigoa sits at 49.1.
He's given up just one sack according to PFF, but that doesn't mean his pass protection has been without problems.
Against San Francisco, he struggled to get adequate leverage against Keion White and gave up a sack after being caught reaching.
Other mistakes haven't always shown up on the stat sheet.
Against Cincinnati, Boye Mafe simply tossed Proctor aside on a pass-rushing rep, helping collapse a pocket that forced Malik Willis into a sack credited to another defender.
That doesn't mean there hasn't been plenty to like, especially in the running game.
Proctor's size and athleticism lets him blow up defenders at the point of attack and fluidly navigate open space while creating running lanes.
One of his better moments came against Kansas City, when he pulled across the formation and helped clear the way for Ollie Gordon II's goal-line touchdown.
Talk about taking your lumps.
Chris Johnson Jr. gave up two touchdowns in his first NFL game (although Jeff Hafley attempted to bail him out on one), and for much of September, it felt like opposing offenses were foaming at the mouth to welcome Miami's first-round pick to the league.
But since then, you could argue his game-by-game improvement has been the most tangible of any Dolphins rookie.
Johnson has become increasingly comfortable working from the slot, showing quicker reactions to short-breaking routes and a better understanding of how to keep up with receivers without immediately bailing out of his backpedal.
On a second-quarter throw intended for Adonai Mitchell against the New York Jets, the San Diego State product practically ran his route for him, weaving side to side without flipping his hips before coming away with an interception.
The play was wiped away because Johnson got too handsy, but his coverage up to the point of contact gave another glimpse of his improving instincts.
Against New England, he allowed just one completion for eight yards according to PFF.
While his coverage was solid, he had a clean opportunity to sack Drake Maye on fourth down but dove at the quarterback's feet and missed, allowing Maye to complete a pass and extend the possession.
His 64.6 overall PFF grade ranks fifth among 11 qualifying first-round rookie cornerbacks. He also has 40 tackles and a forced fumble, which came against Cincinnati when he knocked the ball loose from Chase Brown near Miami's goal line.
When he's been on the field, he's been one of Miami's more productive offensive players.
The third-round pick has 13 receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns in four games, averaging 17.4 yards per catch.
That's only the 10th-most receiving yards among all NFL rookies, but Douglas has played in significantly fewer games than most of the players ahead of him.
Tennessee's Carnell Tate leads the rookie class with 413 receiving yards in seven games, followed by Cleveland's Denzel Boston with 409 in eight.
Douglas is averaging 56.5 receiving yards per game, putting his per-game production in the same neighborhood as both players.
His debut against Las Vegas was impressive enough, catching five passes for 94 yards, tying Tyreek Hill's franchise record for receiving yards in a Dolphins debut.
But an ankle injury kept him out for three games, forcing Miami to wait before seeing whether that opening performance was more than a one-week surprise.
He resurrected against the Jets.
Douglas caught two passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns, including a well-executed, crisp out-and-up route that made his defender bite on the initial break.
Beyond the touchdowns, his size, body control and willingness to contribute as a blocker have given Miami something it has lacked at receiver, a true "X".
The question now isn't whether Douglas can produce at the NFL level. He's already shown that he can, on multiple occasions now.
It's whether he can stay healthy and maintain consistent production.
The fifth-round pick has started all seven games, recording 39 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
His two interceptions are tied for second among NFL rookies, trailing only Raiders cornerback Hezekiah Masses, who has three.
It's respectable production for a player who entered training camp without any guarantee of earning a starting job, but in this case, we'll have to look beyond the surface-level statistics to acknowledge that he's been downright abysmal in coverage.
The type of bad that makes you wonder how excited opposing receivers get when they realize they have a one-on-one matchup with him.
Whether it's Kyle Williams zooming across his face on a deep post, or Travis Kelce and Mason Taylor beating him on goal-line pylon routes, Taaffe has been a liability.
And the concerning part is that it doesn't seem like the type of problem that's easily remedied.
He usually isn't being fooled by elaborate routes or biting on play-action. It's more a matter of athletic limitations, particularly his closing speed and inability to recover once a receiver creates separation.
His 44.9 overall PFF grade ranks 91st among 98 qualifying safeties through Week 8.
That said, Taaffe has displayed the instincts and physical willingness to become a dependable run defender, particularly when coming downhill.
Against Kansas City, he made a strong stop on Kenneth Walker III on third-and-1, showing the run-stopping ability that made him a productive college safety at Texas.
If Miami wants to get the most out of him, they may need to find a more complementary role that emphasizes his strengths as a tackler rather than continuing to expose his limitations in coverage.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/onsi as Ranking the Top Five Dolphins Rookies And How They Stack Up With Their NFL Counterparts .
