With the Miami Dolphins’ Week 1 opener against the Las Vegas Raiders less than a month away, competition on the team is ramping up.
Prior to Miami’s preseason opener against the Commanders, which the team lost 20-7, the team revealed their first official depth chart. And if there was one takeaway, it’s that the Dolphins won’t be shy about starting their rookies right away.
While that is not entirely surprising as the team parted ways with a large number of their veterans from last year’s team, some of the ones who remain may be in danger of losing their starting role. That is currently the case for one Dolphins linebacker, whose role as a starter came into question after the depth chart’s release.
Miami Dolphins Starter in Danger of Losing Job to Rookie
One of the notable aspects of the Miami Dolphins’ depth chart was the fact that linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who started 16 games for the team last season, was listed alongside rookie second-round pick Jacob Rodriguez, without the team naming a starter at this point of training camp.
While Dodson did start Friday’s preseason game against the Commanders, alongside Willie Gay, Rodriguez is still pushing him for the starting role.
Last season, Dodson totaled a career-high 129 combined tackles and five sacks. However, he was not graded highly by Pro Football Focus, ranking Dodson 59th out of 88 qualified linebackers. The Dolphins linebacker particularly struggled in pass coverage, earning a 45.4 grade.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez was selected with the 43rd pick in the 2026 NFL Draft by Miami. He was ranked as the 42nd-best prospect by NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, who wrote: “Rodriguez is an off-ball linebacker with outstanding instincts, playmaking ability and intangibles. He’s a dominant player against the run, sorting through the muddy box to locate ball-carriers and bring them to the ground. He finds a lane and attacks with inside-out leverage. He’s a tackle for loss machine. His lateral range is excellent, too. In pass coverage, he’s best utilized as a zone dropper. He relies on his awareness/feel for the game to position himself for interceptions and pass breakups. In man coverage, he does have some issues when he’s asked to stop/start and mirror. He has a unique ability to punch the ball away as a tackler, leading to 13 career forced fumbles, including seven last season. Overall, Rodriguez is polished and equipped to make an immediate impact.”
Rookie Impresses During Training Camp
As Jeremiah mentioned, Rodriguez is ready to make an immediate impact, but Dodson still stands in his way. However, that has not stopped the rookie from impressing during training camp, which led to the competition for the starting role.
Regarding Rodriguez’s impressive training camp, The Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad wrote: “Miami Dolphins rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez continues to be an absolute menace during training camp practices. In his first practice action at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 8, J-Rod was a magnet to the ball …It’s impossible to overlook or overstate how ready Rodriguez seems.”
In his first NFL game action, Rodriguez earned a 53.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 13 snaps. Dodson was Miami’s sixth-best defender in the loss according to PFF as he was given a 73.8 grade.
It should also be worth noting that releasing Dodson would save Miami $2.9 million and would count as less than $1 million in dead money. If Dodson remains with the Dolphins in 2026, his career earnings would surpass $15 million, according to Spotrac.
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