LAS VEGAS — When the Miami Dolphins open the 2026 season against theLas Vegas Raiders, nearly a quarter of their active roster will consist of rookies. The Dolphins have 13 of them, most in the NFL, all with a story to tell on the road to realize their dreams.
For fullback DJ Herman, his reality exceeds anything he could have dreamed.
“I’m even more stoked than probably some of these other rookies because I’m going back to my hometown, where it all started, in Las Vegas,” Herman said.
Herman figures “all the stars aligned” for his big day to be wrapped in a family reunion and personal cheering section about 50 strong.
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Elsewhere around the locker room, rookies who have endured the NFL Combine, the draft, rookie camp
and training camp eagerly await the payoff: putting on that uniform for real.
For some, the night before the game will be a sleepless one.
For many, there will be nerves.
For a few — and you can bet the veterans are buzzing about this part — the emotions will be obvious.
“I’ll probably cry a little bit,” guard Kadyn Proctor said.
In a time and in a city enabling you can bet on anything, put your crying money on Proctor. Don’t waste it on linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.
“I’m not a crier,” Rodriguez said. “My wife’s a crier, so she does all that for me, which is nice.”
That’s not to say Rodriguez’s excitement isn’t at Level 10.
“This is something you’ve been waiting for your whole life,” he said, adding that the dream dates to when he was 3 when he chose his sport.
“I kind of told my parents that and they kind of always held me to that moment,” Rodriguez said.
Receiver Caleb Douglas will enter his first NFL game feeling especially upbeat. Douglas just celebrated his 23rd birthday Sept. 9. If he’s blowing out candles, it’s football season.
“It’s been like this all my life,” he said. “That’s awesome.”
Rodriguez’s wife, Emma, is a pilot of a Black Hawk helicopter in the Army. He said the special moment he would look forward to is the flyover, but Allegiant is an indoor stadium. Some rookies say the fact they’ve made it to the NFL hits them during the national anthem. The moment Douglas can’t wait for?
“First touchdown,” he said. “I’m going to get in there and dance. I’m in the mirror practicing every day.”
Jeff Hafley makes debut as NFL head coach
It’s not just rookie players debuting for the Dolphins. Jeff Hafley will be leading his first NFL game as a head coach. Hafley said he planned to go about his business like any game week, tweaking the game plan and preparing to call it from field level as opposed to the booth, where he served as Green Bay’s defensive coordinator.
“I’ll be anxious for it, but I’ll have put in the work, so I’ll make my calls fast and I’ll be decisive,” Hafley said. “You can’t have any regrets on game day. You’ve just got to go out there and coach free.”
That’s the part he can control. The part he can’t is how each rookie will respond in the moment.
“If your process is right, you can go out and you can play free and there should be no hesitation,” he said. “And them knowing that I’ll have their back and there is going to be some ups and downs. I mean, that’s all these rookies. It’s just how it’s going to go. To me, it’s how do you respond when something good or bad happens? And then there needs to be growth. I’m excited to go on this journey with them.”
The Raiders, by comparison, have just four rookies on their active roster. They include the top overall pick this year, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who will back up Kirk Cousins, the veteran who won’t have Pro Bowl tight end Brock Bowers (knee) available. None of Las Vegas’ four rookies is expected to start.
The Dolphins, on the other hand, not only will start Rodriguez at inside linebacker, but he’ll wear the green dot and be responsible for relaying Hafley’s calls and making adjustments.
“He’s ready,” fellow linebacker and team captain Jordyn Brooks said. “I mean, he’s been ready. That’s why we trust him with the green dot.”
Herman has earned the coaches’ trust despite arriving as an undrafted free agent. He was a linebacker at San Diego State who converted to fullback, where he’ll be asked to protect quarterback Malik Willis and clear a path for running back De’Von Achane.
Question for Herman is, while backed by his large hometown cheering section, will he be earning money? Or is it more accurate to say it’ll be costing him to pay for so many tickets?
“Yeah, you could say that,” he said, laughing. “There’s going to be a lot of people there so you know it’s going to be awesome, but it’s well worth it. It’s something that’s going to be a truly remarkable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Hal Habib covers the Miami Dolphins for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at HHabib@usatodayco.com.
Sunday's game
Dolphins at Raiders
4:25 p.m., FOX
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' 13 rookies await NFL debut vs. Raiders (who will cry?)
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