Studs and duds of the Dolphins' 2025 season

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The 2025 season is over for the Miami Dolphins and it brought more disappointment than satisfaction for fans.

After an 8-9 season in 2024, the Dolphins' 7-10 campaign was only a one-win difference but the team never came particularly close to being a contender. Even four straight wins after Halloween weren't enough to dig Miami out of the 2-7 hole it dug itself in the first two months of the season.

Still, there were some positives for the Dolphins heading into 2026.

Here's who stood out for the Dolphins in a good way, and who had a rough year in 2025:

Stud: RB De'Von Achane

When the Dolphins added Achane to their offense in 2023, they immediately had another speedy home run threat who could make plays in both the run and pass game.

What 2025 showed is that Achane can handle the load all on his own too.

With Raheem Mostert gone and young backups Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon providing inconsistent play, the Dolphins leaned heavily on their star running back. Achane finished with 305 touches when no other player on the team had even 80.

Achane's 1,838 yards from scrimmage were the second most ever for a Dolphins player in a single-season behind only Ricky Williams' prolific 2,216 yards in 2002. Williams put up that total with 430 touches.

Dud: QB Tua Tagovailoa

The 2025 season may be best remembered in the franchise annals as the end of the Tagovailoa era.

After giving him $212 million in August 2024, the Dolphins threw in towel in December and gave up on the quarterback. Now they're set to enter the offseason in pursuit of another passer who can compete for a starting role in 2026.

Tagovailoa's year ended with 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 14 starts along with eight fumbles. He was sacked a career-high 30 times and his 88.5 passer rating was his lowest since his rookie season.

Even press conferences were a tough spot for Tagovailoa in 2025. In October, the quarterback publicly apologized to his teammates for criticizing their meeting habits. He also blamed his own height for Jaylen Waddle's lack of involvement in one loss and received some flak for clapping back at ESPN's Cam Newton for criticizing his play.

Dud: Dolphins defensive line and edge rushers

There was no shortage of question marks about the Dolphins when the season started. But one area that looked like a strength was the defensive front.

In 2024, the Dolphins finished top 10 in both passing and rushing yards allowed. Zach Sieler recorded his second straight 10-sack season and Chop Robinson finished his rookie year looking like one of the NFL's fastest rising defensive stars. Surely the returns of Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, the free agency addition of Matthew Judon, along with draft picks Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips, and Zeek Biggers would make Miami a terror for opposing offensive linemen, right?

Wrong.

Phillips was traded after notching three sacks in nine games with the Dolphins this season, Sieler didn't record his first sack until November, Robinson struggled through a sophomore slump, Judon was released after 13 games without a sack, and the trio of rookie linemen looked like, well, rookies.

The result was a defense that dropped from No. 4 in yards allowed in 2024 to No. 24 in 2025. The 4.8 rushing yards they allowed per rushing attempt was bottom five in the NFL and opposing quarterbacks had a 103.4 passer rating against the Dolphins.

Stud: LB Jordyn Brooks

With just one of the four defensive team captains from 2024 returning to the team in 2025, Brooks wasted no time filling the leadership void on that side of the ball.

The all business linebacker was a force all season with an NFL-leading 183 tackles, a career-best 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, three pass deflections, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. While Brooks was somehow passed up for Pro Bowl honors, he was twice named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

Dud: Wide receiver No. 3

It looked like the Dolphins had two intriguing players who would compete to finally provide a reliable third option at wide receiver behind the duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

Malik Washington emerged late in his rookie season with a few big plays and his football IQ had him seemingly primed for a big role in year two. Free agent addition Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, fresh off a nine-touchdown season with the Titans, came with a demonstrated history of playmaking ability.

But even after Hill was lost for the year back in Week 4, neither Washington nor Westbrook-Ikhine made much of an impact in the Dolphins' pass game.

Washington saw his targets nearly double from 36 in his rookie year to 65 in 2025, but his yardage only climbed from 223 to 317. Westbrook-Ikhine was a healthy scratch for two of the last three games of the year and finished the season with just 11 receptions for 89 yards.

Studs: Jake Bailey and Riley Patterson

When training camp began in July, Bailey seemed to be the underdog in a battle with Ryan Stonehouse for punting duties. Patterson wasn't on an NFL roster.

Bailey won the job, Patterson filled in for the injured Jason Sanders, and both put up stellar numbers.

With Sanders ultimately out all year, Patterson nailed all but two of his 29 field goal attempts and set a new personal-best with a 54-yarder. Bailey's 47.7 yards per punt and 42.6 net yards per punt were his best numbers since 2020 when he earned All-Pro honors with the Patriots. He pinned 21 punts inside the 20-yard line and kicked only three touchbacks.

Stud: C Aaron Brewer

The Dolphins have provided Brewer with nothing but shaky guard play at his sides since he joined the team in 2024. Brewer has provided Miami with nothing but elite center play.

While he dealt with several minor injuries, including a neck issue that sidelined him late in the year, Brewer was among the NFL's most effective interior pass blockers and a significant part of the Dolphins averaging 4.7 yards per rush attempt, top 10 in the NFL.

Brewer's 85.9 grade from PFF was second highest on the Dolphins offense behind only Achane and second best among all NFL centers behind only the Kansas City Chiefs' four-time Pro Bowler Creed Humphrey.

This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Studs and duds of the Dolphins' 2025 season

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