Dolphins' OTA takeaways, outlook to training camp Part II: Secondary
· Yahoo Sports
The Miami Dolphins have five weeks off until training camp begins. Following minicamp sessions and OTAs, rookie head coach Jeff Hafley was able to evaluate his new team, but the real assessment will come in July when the pads and helmets come on, and actual football is played.
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In Part II of this Dolphins Wire series of what to watch for this summer in South Florida, the focus here is on the secondary, an area in which Hafley is very familiar as a former defensive backs position coach.
The Boundary and Beyond
The Dolphins drafted cornerback Chris Johnson in the first round of the 2026 draft and traded up to select him. As Hafley has indicated several times over the last few months, Johnson could be used both on the boundary as well as in the slot when in the nickel formation. This will certainly be something to watch for in camp, especially in joint practices with the Washington Commanders and New York Giants.
Hafley told reporters back in May, “Chris is going to play inside and outside. We got to be careful overloading any young player, but we also have to get a feel for the players and see how much that they can handle.”
Clearly fond of the San Diego State lockdown corner, Hafley discussed the rookie's performance over the last few weeks, saying, “I think he's done a really nice job. He is very instinctual. He sees the game very fast. He works really hard in the meeting rooms. He's super athletic, has really good coverage ability. He’s been able to get his hand on the football and we've asked him to do a lot and he's handled it very, very well, which is what I kind of told you maybe a week or two ago.”
He added, “We've thrown a lot on his plate, and he's responded and I'm really excited to continue to coach him. I think you guys will like him a lot when you talk to him. He’s got a good energy about him and he's mature. You’ll see it. He's really mature for a rookie.”
When Johnson sees snaps on the inside, the Dolphins will look to JuJu Brents, who has not put together a full season in his career so far, as well as second-year 2025 fifth-round selection Jason Marshall Jr. If healthy, Brents can be a very good option for Hafley, who likes size among his defensive backs, and the 6-foot-3 cornerback is a perfect example.
The former Dolphins coaching regime experimented with Marshall in the slot last season, although he never really played in that area of the field. Even with an admirable effort, he will return to the outside where he played while in college at the University of Florida.
Hafley was familiar with his collegiate performance and gave South Florida media his assessment of Marshall last week, stating, “Well, I studied him a lot in college because I remember we actually had him on a 30 visit when I was in Green Bay. Good length, good size. He could press, get his hands on people at the line of scrimmage. I thought he could play the ball well down the field. Had some instincts when he was playing off in man and in zone coverage.”
There has been some debate on his positional potential across social media in recent weeks, and Hafley went on in his evaluation of Marshall adding, “And then when I watched the film, I kind of saw the same thing and I also saw a guy that had to go inside and outside, which I think is really hard for some rookies to do like we said, and he played more on the outside in college than he played on the inside, if I'm remembering that correctly. But I did see him get better as the year went on. I saw consistent improvement.
Continuing his description, Hafley added, “I think he made gains in the weight room. I think he's stronger now, and we've really kept him more on the outside than the inside. Though I'd be lying if we said we didn't put him on the inside at all. Actually, on some third-down plays we did put him on the inside, but primarily, he has and will be on the outside for us. And I think he's done a really good job.”
Also, in the mix will be a pair of past undrafted free agents in Storm Duck and Ethan Bonner, as well as some signed free agents from the offseason in Alex Austin, Darrell Baker Jr., Miles Battle and Marco Wilson. A.J. Green III and Ethan Robinson could also be in the mix as well.
Safety Room
The safety room gets a little trickier as it is a very thin group. Another promising fifth-rounder from last year, Dante Trader Jr., could be the key. Showing leadership and having an outstanding few minicamp sessions, Hafley has taken notice and is impressed with the second-year safety.
Hafley explained earlier this week to reporters, “I spend a lot of time in the DB room. Trader has done a really good job, really kind of helping out those rookies. And even talking to him, through his experience, him having a little bit of help; he feels now like he can help the rookie guys out.”
Even back in May, Hafley had a ringing endorsement of Trader, saying, “Dante loves football. He's always here. He's always in the building. He's always asking questions. He practices so hard. He's so intentional. He’s a smart football player who loves the game, and he's been a lot of fun to coach.”
Joining Trader will be veteran free agent additions Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Zayne Anderson, who could also be considered for significant snaps. Johnson has been well-traveled, and Miami will be his seventh team. He has just 22 career starts, but is another well-sized and long defensive back with a veteran presence that Hafley could utilize.
Anderson enters his sixth NFL season and was signed in the offseason after spending the last three seasons in Green Bay, two of which were with Hafley as his defensive coordinator. While spending most of the last two seasons as a special teams player, he could work his way into the safety rotation due to the lack of current depth in the group.
Not to be discounted is rookie Michael Taaffe from Texas. The 2026 fifth-round pick is a consummate leader and could be a very good option in the coverage side of things for Hafley’s secondary. A 2025 First-Team All-SEC and All-American selection, Taaffe could be another team leader and an extension of a coach on the field. He could sneak his way into starter consideration with a strong training camp.
A sleeper in this equation is undrafted free agent, Louis Moore out of Indiana, who was also a 2025 First-Team All-American as well as National Champion with the Hoosiers. Moore has been a noticeable factor during minicamp (per some South Florida reporters who had an eyewitness account).
With some uncertainty and a lot of work to be done in the defensive backfield, Hafley looks like the perfect person to mold the group this summer.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins' OTA takeaways, outlook to training camp Part II: Secondary