The Miami Dolphins are four games into the 2026 season, and a rookie trio is already making a mark on the defensive side of the ball. It's no secret the Dolphins are in a rebuild and have the youngest roster in the league. They have more rookies taking snaps than any other team this season by a huge margin.
The Dolphins' rookies have totaled 1,726 snaps through all three phases of the game, through four games. To put into perspective the discrepancy with the rest of the NFL, the Cleveland Browns are second with 1,167 snaps.
Four players on the Dolphins defense have played 90% or more of the snaps, and three of those are rookies in Jacob Rodriguez, Chris Johnson and Michael Taaffe.
Rodriguez, the second-round linebacker, leads the team in snap percentage
at 98.4% and tackles with 46. He is second on the Dolphins in tackles for loss with three. He is also second in the entire NFL in tackles and leads all rookies. Last week against the Minnesota Vikings, his 18 tackles broke the Miami franchise rookie record for a single game, moving ahead of Zach Thomas and his 16 from 1996.
Not only is he a top candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year, nearly a quarter of the way through the season, he' been mentioned in the Defensive Player of the Year category as well. Rodriguez has been all over the field and even had an interception in Week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Johnson, the first-round cornerback, has played in 96.0% of the snaps, and although having an adjustment period to start his professional career, he has shown sound tackling ability through the first four games. Johnson is the fourth leading cornerback in tackles in the league with 25 heading into Week 5.
Additionally, and more importantly, he has played extremely well in coverage the last two weeks. In fact, over the last two games, he leads the NFL in yards allowed while in man coverage with just seven.
Johnson, who has been tasked to play outside and in the slot, has the confidence of head coach Jeff Hafley to handle any area or scheme.
“Say you want him to match up on a wideout, but that wideout goes in the slot, now he has a capability to go inside and they might not know are we in man or zone because he's in the inside, where if I just took an outside only guy and I brought him inside, they might say, “oh, he's inside, he doesn't do that. They're only playing man coverage,'" Hafley said “Or maybe the guy on the outside doesn't have the ability to cover a slot. But now as he grows and develops, he could be a guy that I'm going to follow you around the whole game regardless of where you are and I can do that.”
Lastly, and certainly not least in this trifecta of rookies, is Taaffe, the fifth-round safety. He's started each week and has played in 90% of the snaps while displaying tough tackling and run-stopping ability despite a small frame. At just about 6’0” and 190 pounds, Taaffe is among the top safeties in the league in run support. He is ranked third the position in percent run stop rate at 6.4 and tied for second in stops against the run with six.
1/6 Is Michael Taaffe too small?
— Phinhub (@Phinhub) October 7, 2026
The Dolphins took him at pick 158. Four games in, PFF has him top 3 among NFL safeties against the run.
6-0, 190. Starting every week. pic.twitter.com/t1lOIv5iDg
Edge rusher Joshua Uche has been impressed with Taaffe, telling reporters on Monday, “You see that Taaffe is throwing his body in there with reckless abandonment. That's what you want to see out of one of your teammates and just all the rookies in general, man.”
The cerebral and instinctual defensive back has so far proven his skill set supersedes his size and has been a steal of a pick for the Dolphins thus far. He has also been sent on four blitzes and credited with a pressure and a hurry.
Hafley has trusted his young players on defense, and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has done a great job finding the talent. All three could be future captains for this team, and Rodriguez is already wearing the green dot, communicating with Hafley and relaying his play calls on the field.
Rodriguez spoke about that duty and his rapport with his head coach, telling reporters on Wednesday, “Coach Hafley gives me a lot of confidence. I think the confidence that he has in me instills confidence and I have so much respect and confidence in him that what he's putting together, the plan that he has and the situations that he put us in throughout the week gets us ready to play."
He continued, “And so I think that, combined with the play call in and everything that we have throughout the game, that just builds confidence and gets us to play fast and gets us to play together.”
In a season where Miami needs to show growth and progress, as well as identify consistent starters and team leaders, the defensive side of the ball looks to have an excellent foundation to build on with this trio.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Miami Dolphins rookie defensive trio making their presence felt early
