Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar will write about the game’s Secret Superstars — those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment, we focus on Miami Dolphins center Aaron Brewer, who came from humble beginnings and an uncertain NFL future early on. Maybe nobody expected Brewer to become the league’s best center, but he’s built a credible case.
There are two things you might not expect about the 2025 Miami Dolphins. First,
they’re almost playoff-relevant at 6-7 after a brutal 2-7 start, and second, they’ve become one of the NFL’s best rushing offenses. Maybe that’s less of a surprise if you factor in Mike McDaniel’s history as Kyle Shanahan’s run game coordinator in San Francisco from 2017-2020, but this Dolphins offense really leads with the run right now. Through Week 14, they’ve run the ball on 45.3% of their plays, which ranks 14th, but they rank eighth in rushing yards per game (126.5), third in rushing yards per play (4.9, tied with the Chicago Bears and the Washington Commanders), fourth in run plays of 10 or more yards (47), and first in yards after contact per attempt (3.86).
Another surprise, which is more than tangentially tied to all that rushing success, is the efforts of center Aaron Brewer, because this guy has become the embodiment of the whole Secret Superstar thing. The Dolphins slipped under the national radar with their unfortunate start to the season (except for the inevitable “Will Mike McDaniel be fired in-season?” stuff), but Brewer, the 2020 undrafted free agent from Texas State (Go, Bobcats!), has become one of the game’s best at his position, and quite possibly the best move center the NFL has seen since Jason Kelce’s salad days.
When an O-line authority like Brandon Thorn is on the case, you need to pay attention.
Why was Brewer undrafted? Well, you can start with the size profile. At 6’1 and 274 pounds, Brewer would have been as short as any interior offensive lineman at the scouting combine since 1999 were he actually invited to the scouting combine, and he would have been the second-lightest interior offensive lineman during that time, behind only Air Force’s Ben Miller in 2002 at 263 pounds. By the way, Kelce himself was the third-lightest IOL invited to the combine in that time at 280 pounds.
The Tennessee Titans signed Brewer out of college, and he was primarily an offensive guard for them in his first three seasons, giving up a lot of sacks (11 through 2022) and finding his way. The move to center in 2023 didn’t pay immediate dividends; Brewer allowed six sacks and 34 total pressures in the middle of Tennessee’s offensive line in 2023.
Things started to go in the right direction for Brewer when the Dolphins signed him to a three-year, $21 million contract with $13.18 million guaranteed on March 15, 2024. McDaniel tends to want a more agile center in his offense, and Brewer cut his sacks allowed down to two, and his pressures allowed to 14, in McDaniel’s offense last season.
But it’s really 2025 that has seen Brewer take the proverbial leap. He’s allowed one sack and 12 total pressures in 449 pass-blocking reps, and whether it’s in the pass or the run game, he’s put up as much highlight tape as any offensive lineman you’ll find right now. Because when you have a center who can jump three or more gaps in the blink of an eye, that’s not really normal.
And if you think that Brewer can’t get the leverage needed to throw around cockroach blocks and pancakes when needed… well, think again.
The block that got Brewer the most praise this season came in Miami’s 34-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons on October 26. With 13:34 left in the game, and Miami already up 24-3, Tua Tagovailoa threw a quick outlet pass to running back Ollie Gordon II, which might have been blown up by Falcons safety Jessie Bates III were it not for the fact that Brewer somehow got into space to blow up Bates instead after chipping defensive tackle David
David Onyemata.
That’s not a usual move, and everybody knew it. Gordon was able to scamper for a 13-yard touchdown as a result.
“Yeah, that was awesome,” Tagovailoa said postgame. “It was crazy just how it all timed up with Jesse having Ollie in man, and then right as he catches the ball, maybe a step or two steps and boom, those two collided. That was awesome, that was a cool block.”
Tagovailoa also spoke about Brewer’s value to the team.
“There’s a lot of things that I could say, but dude is just a special cat. The way he gets off the ball, his leadership in the huddle, his command for the guys to get in and out so we can operate, but outside of that just things that we can do with him schematically, in the pass and in the run game – special player.”
The next day, when McDaniel was asked about how both Brewer and Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks always seem to be in the middle of everything on the field, the coach had a ready answer.
“They’re both captains,” McDaniel said. “They’re both cut from the same cloth where you have very talented players that also possess a chip on their shoulder, but are appropriately utilizing it. They’re guys that players want to be led by. There’s not a better compliment to pay a football player than a locker room-voted captain, and then to see how they bring it every day without relent, to the point that their teammates are expecting a certain level of focus, energy towards what we’re doing and towards the day, and they, without fail, bring it. They earn their ‘C’ on their chest, and I think they’re monumental for your team to continue to progress. The NFL season is long and rigorous and there’s a lot of challenges to it, but when you have guys like that that are your captains that earn it every day and then continue to improve their game, you’re in a good spot with your locker room.”
Brewer deserves both Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods for his play this season, but at this time, he’s not in the top 10 of fan voting for the former honor. I ain’t saying nothing since I have an All-Pro vote… but you fill in the blanks.
When offensive coordinator Frank Smith was asked earlier this month why Brewer should be a Pro Bowler, he’s what Smith said:
“One, he’s a hell of a leader. He’s a guy on our team that when our backs are against the wall, he’s coming out fighting, and he has led our crew. He’s extremely gifted in space. His speed off the line of scrimmage, his growth at center overall, his range to be able to reach. It’s hard at offensive line when you’re on a team especially like ours, is battling back, but I’d say one of the major reasons why we’re battling back is because of Aaron Brewer, and he should get all the attention he deserves.”
The tapeheads are in agreement. Now, it’s time for everybody to realize that when it comes to NFL centers, there is indeed a new sheriff in town.
