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Miami Dolphins' facility becomes land of opportunity for underdogs
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- Miami Dolphins' facility becomes land of opportunity for underdogs
One by one, they hopped on Zoom for a meeting with reporters, coming from backgrounds covering as much of the spectrum as humanly possible. The tight end whose career is finally beginning to blossom. The linebacker from Nigeria who once dreamed of playing football, only not this kind of football. And the defensive back drafted with elite status but now hoping his career clicks with his sixth NFL team.
They all embraced one word to explain why they're now Miami Dolphins : opportunity. To us, it's just a word. To them, it's everything.
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The cynics among us might even point out that opportunities are plentiful with these Dolphins because they've cleaned house and are starting from scratch . There's no arguing that. But even in lean times, let's not lose sight of what it looks like to come out on the other side.
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Kader Kohou . Remember him? An undrafted defensive back who arrived four years ago looking for an opportunity. If anybody knew the meaning of the word, he did. He was 9 when his family won a lottery enabling them to move to the United States from the Ivory Coast. When he finishes this coming season with the Kansas City Chiefs , he will have earned $6.5 million in the NFL.
The rest of us profit in a different way. Who doesn't love a good underdog story? They may not come along every year, but it's a virtual lock that in this start-from-scratch transition the Dolphins are going through, it's going to happen this season. Maybe for a guy who in the hours after not getting drafted agreed to a free-agent contract with a chip on his shoulder ballooning to boulder size. Maybe for the Zach Sielers of the world, kicked to the curb by a team but still not taking no for an answer.
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"All we need is an opportunity, right?" said linebacker David Ojabo , 25, the Nigeria native who became a second-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2022.
Not only have injuries taken a major chunk out of his career, they've struck at the worst possible time, such as the Achilles tear suffered just before the draft and the ACL tear his rookie season.
"I mean, opportunity, man," Ojabo said. "You know, when you're out for so long, they can't see you, can't really evaluate you."
Here's what teams can do: forget about you. Out of sight, as the saying goes.
Oct 5, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) is tackled by Baltimore Ravens linebacker David Ojabo (90) during the fourth quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images
"Some things you don't prepare for, but it's just how you react," Ojabo said. "It's how you bounce back. For me, I went straight to work. I had surgery the next day (after the Achilles tear) and I worked my tail off to get back. And yeah, that's life, honestly."
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It's life in the NFL. Sieler grew to become a Dolphins MVP. A rare success story, yes, but not even the most extreme underdog story. The Super Bowl-winning Dolphins featured one of the great offensive lines in NFL history. It included Hall of Famers Larry Little and Jim Langer. Nobody drafted them. And the draft in those days went 17 rounds.
That's for Dolfans of a certain age. More recently, there are plenty of examples of guys who realized there actually is life (and a locker) after cut-down day. Nik Needham . Julian Hill. Chris Brooks . Let's not forget Raheem Mostert and Alec Ingold , which in no way is to suggest this is a complete list of players who beat odds one way or another.
Greg Dulcich 's path in the NFL has been bumpy
Dec 28, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins tight end Greg Dulcich (85) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Tight end Greg Dulcich, 26, took a different path, getting drafted in the third round by Denver in 2022. Even then, he couldn't avoid a bumpy road. Put his 2023 and 2024 seasons together and you get 53 receiving yards. There were shrugs last year when the Dolphins signed him off the street.
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Maybe you first noticed him for his flowing locks, but when footballs started coming his way, a few things happened:
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1. He caught them.
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2. He made plays.
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3. You may have taken the trouble to learn his name is pronounced dull-SITCH. Today, there's nothing dull about his situation. General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan includes Dulcich in his list of guys he's counting on — and backing that up with a $3.2 million contract.
"Loved my time here last season and I'm excited to continue loving things down here in Southern Florida," Dulcich said.
The other player to meet with reporters was defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. , the oldest at 30, whose career has taken him to Houston , Tennessee , New Orleans , Carolina and Las Vegas .
Asked if the journey has been upsetting or frustrating, he said, "It's been all those things. … Been hurt by it. My emotions kind of been everywhere with transitions, obviously because of myself and my family. Just a lot of bouncing around. People don't understand it's a lot of moving pieces in it, especially when you have kids and a wife that you've got to move around from place to place. You've just got to try to find a team that really cares about you."
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Somewhere in Miami Dolphins' midst lurks next good underdog story
