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1,568 total snaps played on offense, defense, and special teams. The number would be higher, too, if fifth-round rookie Jason Marshall Jr. hadn't succumbed to a hamstring injury in the first month of the season. He's currently been designated to return from injured reserve. That number of snaps may not be setting any NFL records, but it is smashing the impact of the last three years of drafts for the Dolphins. The 2024 draft class, which featured a pair of promising trench players in tackle Patrick Paul and edge defender Chop Robinson to go with skill players Malik Washington and Jaylen Wright, combined to post 1,940 total snaps played as rookies. In 17 games. This y'ears group is less than 400 snaps away from that mark and we have one half of the Week 9 contest against Baltimore left before we officially hit the halfway mark of the regular season. The 2023 draft class featured just four total players. Cam Smith and De'Von Achane were drafted in the top-100 and combined to give the Dolphins 537 snaps as rookies. Almost half of those came from Smith on special teams. Miami's other two picks, tight end Elijah Higgins and lineman Ryan Hayes, failed to make the 53-man roster. Neither played a down in Miami as rookies. That means this year's rookie class has posted nearly three times as many snaps in just half of the season as the 2023 class did in a whole season. 2025 Miami Dolphins rookie snap count leaders (through Week 8) OG Jonah Savaiinaea - 497 total snaps DT Kenneth Grant - 310 total snaps SAF Dante Trader Jr. - 279 total snaps IDL Jordan Phillips - 242 total snaps RB Ollie Gordon II - 139 total snaps And you wonder why the depth in Miami withered on the vine in 2024. The 2022 class was, believe it or not, somehow even worse. Miami again made four picks — this time with none in the top-100. Linebacker Channing Tindall, wide receiver Erik Ezukanma, edge defender Cameron Goode, and third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson combined to play 397 snaps as rookies in 17 games during the 2022 regular season. 167 of those snaps went to Tindall on special teams. This year's group is offering Miami a sorely needed infusion of young talent playing at high volumes. Perhaps it wouldn't have had to be this way if the team more closely coveted their draft picks from 2022 through 2o24. But they didn't. And as a result, these rookies reap the rewards of accelerated playing opportunities. Miami's future is in their hands — and how quickly they grow up will go a long way in determining who is coaching them into the future and who is making the next round of picks. window.addEventListener('message', function (event) {if (event.data.totalpoll && event.data.totalpoll.action === 'resizeHeight') {document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-426').height = event.data.totalpoll.value;}}, false);document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-426').contentWindow.postMessage({totalpoll: {action: 'requestHeight'}}, '*')
