Early on Wednesday morning, Miami Dolphins guard Jonah Savaiinaea was named by ESPN as a “bluechip” player under the age of 25 despite the fact that he struggled mightily during his rookie season. In fact, Miami’s second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft was rated as the worst guard in the entire National Football League last year by Pro Football Focus (PFF) — earning a dismal 28.4 grade.
Earlier this month, PFF released their list of the top-10 second-year players in the NFL under the most pressure
to perform in 2026 — and Savaiinaea was on that list. Here’s what they had to say about the young player:
“The Dolphins’ 2025 season was a disaster by almost all accounts, and that included Savaiinaea at guard. The second-round pick was a consistent starter but had a difficult time acclimating to the pros.
Last year, Savaiinaea’s 28.4 overall PFF grade was the worst among any qualified guard by almost nine grading points. In fact, that mark carries historical perspective: It’s easily the lowest in a season by any guard to play 950 or more snaps in the 20 years of PFF data. Not only did Savaiinaea permit eight sacks and 45 pressures, but he also played to a poor 37.3 PFF run-blocking grade.
After Miami drafted Kadyn Proctor in the first round this April, Savaiinaea is projected to slide to right guard, where he played 985 snaps at Arizona. Although it projects as a transition year in South Beach, the Dolphins will need Savaiinaea to look far more comfortable as they try to protect new quarterback Malik Willis and open lanes for De’Von Achane.”
So, despite ESPN’s seemingly misplaced praise for Savaiinaea earlier in the day, is it clear that there’s really nowhere the guard can go but up in terms of his play moving forward. Well… either that, or to the bench and eventually the unemployment line, which no Dolphins fan wants to see happen.
