Which Sophomore Players Have the Biggest “Prove-It” Year on the Horizon?
When compiling this list, there were three clear questions that were important to me. If the answer was “yes” to all of them, then the player would be suitable for this category.
- Is this player in his second year in the league?
- Has this player fostered a relatively disappointing season thus far?
- In order for the Dolphins to succeed, does this player have to perform well on a consistent basis?
Now I know No. 2 and No. 3 are subjective, but there were two players that quickly checked the boxes for me.
When I began thinking about who shoulders the most pressure heading into the 2026 regular season, Savaiinaea was the first player who came to mind. No, focusing on an offensive lineman is not the flashiest pick, but there is a lot to break down here.
Miami selected Savaiinaea last season with the No. 37 pick in the draft out of Arizona. He earned a score of 76 at the 2025 NFL Combine, which ranked fifth among all guards coming out of the class.
Savaiinaea primarily played right guard with the Wildcats, but ended up starting all 17 games at left guard for Miami. The Dolphins’ offensive line combinations made little to no sense last season.
Cole Strange, who Miami picked up from waivers in 2025, started 14 games at right guard. The Dolphins were forced to pick up Strange after James Daniels tore his pectoral muscle after playing just three snaps for the team.
Daniels started 84 games across stints in Pittsburgh and Chicago before signing a three-year, $24 million contract with Miami. This contract, while only costing the Dolphins $11 million of guaranteed money, will go down as one of the worst offensive line deals in franchise history.
After the whole Daniels debacle, Mike McDaniel decided to stick Savaiinaea at left guard rather than his college position. You don’t need me to tell you that was a poor decision.
Savaiinaea had an overall PFF grade of 28.4. Not great, right? The grade is 81st out of 81 NFL guards. He was dead last.
He was also dead last in pass blocking with a grade of 14.1. You may be thinking, “Wow, that’s pretty bad, but maybe his run blocking was a little better.” You would be wrong. His run block grade was 37.3, which was 79th out of 81 guards.
The good news? He can only go up from here.
Now here is where Kadyn Proctor comes along. The Dolphins rookie primarily played left tackle at Alabama, but with Patrick Paul doing a decent job and continuing to develop in the spot, Proctor will take over at left guard.
Savaiinaea will be back where he belongs at right guard, and we will finally be able to see what the former second-round pick is made of.
Here’s another second-year Dolphin poised to make a splash. Grant had a very disappointing rookie season, considering his draft position, and I believe this year will hold a large improvement.
Grant was taken with the 13th overall pick in the 2025 Draft and played in all 17 games. However, he only tallied 33 tackles and three sacks, plus one batted pass.
The lackluster stats landed him as PFF’s 107th interior defensive lineman among 134 total. He earned a 48.4 overall grade and ranked 91st in pass rush and 112th in run defense.
Like Savaiinaea, the grades aren’t great for a premier draft pick. The minimal production last season was difficult to witness, but this year is much more important for Grant.
The Michigan product had other big-name pieces to pick up his slack, but the same can’t be said for this season. Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, while both played on the outside, outshone Grant enough.
The Dolphins now have far less talent in the trenches, putting more pressure on Grant to have a solid sophomore season.
This situation reminds me slightly of Christian Wilkins.
Before he disappeared off the face of the Earth after five games in Las Vegas, Wilkins was also taken 13th overall. The 2019 draftee got off to a slow-ish start, but found his footing as he continued to develop.
Wilkins posted similar stats to Grant in his first year — 30 solo tackles, two sacks, two batted passes — but exploded onto the scene in his junior campaign.
He only started 12 games in his sophomore year before adding 89 tackles, 4.5 sacks, four batted passes and a forced fumble in 2021. His final two years in Miami were also incredibly productive.
Wilkins added 163 combined tackles and 12.5 sacks in ‘22 and ‘23 before Miami failed to give him the money he deserved and the fiasco with the Raiders unfolded.
Hopefully Grant can follow in Wilkins’ footsteps — sort of. I would like to see the former speed up the process by a year and stick around in Miami.
