On Thursday, the Dolphins continued churning the bottom of the roster, signing OT Marques Cox and RB Carlos Washington, Jr., while waiving TE Jalin Conyers and OL Braeden Daniels. In today’s newsletter:

Chris Perkins admitted something refreshing in his latest column: he might have been too harsh on the Dolphins' 2025 draft class. He originally gave it a D, largely as a critique of Chris Grier's draft strategy rather than the players themselves. After watching this week's OTAs, Perkins is warming up to the group, particularly the late-round picks who've shown a level of grit that's hard to fake.

Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is the headliner of Perkins's reassessment. Phillips started 16 games as a rookie and finished with 34 tackles, but the numbers undersell what makes him interesting. Perkins watched Phillips knock the blocking sled on its side multiple times during Tuesday's drills while other linemen were just shoving it back. The energy seems to be the differentiator. Perkins noted Phillips has “an attitude and enthusiasm that you don’t often see.”

Phillips is typically the first defensive player at the line of scrimmage ready for the next play, and he explains his logic simply: "There's a guy that's lined up in front of you. He's going to try to kill you. So you've got to take the field the right way. It’s a mindset."

Safety Dante Trader Jr. is the other potential late-round impact player. Trader had 55 tackles and a forced fumble last season and was the standout of Tuesday's OTA, intercepting Malik Willis on a tipped pass and frequently working at the front of the line during individual drills. Perkins compared the Phillips-Trader combination to former Dolphins fifth-round picks Reshad Jones and Bobby McCain, both of whom became starting-caliber players who outperformed their draft slots significantly.

Perkins also flagged Jason Marshall Jr., Ollie Gordon II, Zeek Biggers, and Quinn Ewers as players worth tracking. Marshall could be more effective on the outside this season after playing nickel as a rookie. Biggers is a 6-6, 319-pound mountain who showed promise as a run stuffer late last season. Gordon flashed as a short-yardage hammer. Ewers has the cheap-contract upside as a developmental QB behind Malik Willis.

First-round pick Kenneth Grant and second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea were less impressive in Perkins' eyes, which mirrors what we've heard from other observers. Grant didn't look noticeably different physically this offseason. Savaiinaea is trying to salvage his career by moving back to right guard. Neither has the buzz that the late-round guys are building.

Bottom line: Perkins isn't saying the 2025 class will suddenly become the heart of the rebuild. The plan was always for Jon-Eric Sullivan’s 2026 class to be the foundation. But finding three or four contributors from Grier's final draft would be a meaningful bonus for a roster that needs depth everywhere. Phillips and Trader, in particular, have the kind of edge that translates regardless of who drafted them. If they play all year with the energy they displayed on Tuesday, this rebuild gets a little easier to execute.

We've seen a lot of Jeff Hafley over the past few months. Introductory press conferences. The combine. Owners meetings. The draft. The OTA media availabilities. But until this week, we hadn't actually seen him do his job. The Dolphins finally fixed that, mic'ing Hafley up during an OTA practice and releasing the footage to the fanbase.

We must add the appropriate caveat: this is team-released content, so the organization isn't going to put out anything unflattering. But even through that filter, Hafley's presence on the practice field jumped off the screen. The man comes across as energetic and direct. The same intensity that players have been describing all offseason finally has visual evidence to back it up.

This matters because press conferences only tell you so much. Mike McDaniel was charming and quotable in front of microphones, too. Where coaches actually earn their reputations is on the practice field, in the meeting rooms, and in the moments when nobody's watching. The mic'd up footage gives Dolphins fans the closest thing they're going to get to seeing Hafley in his element before training camp opens in late July. He's coaching every rep. He's correcting technique. He's challenging guys. He's pushing the pace. That's the head coach the players have been describing, and now we get a glimpse of it ourselves.

The smaller details from the video also reinforce what we've been hearing. Hafley moves from position group to position group, watching everything. He's willing to get involved in the drills, trying to rip the ball away from his own players. He emphasizes talking and communication on the field throughout the video. He stresses urgency in his post-practice huddle. These are all things he's said publicly for months, but seeing him do them is different from hearing him talk about them.

Bottom line: At the end of the day, this will be the most important version of Jeff Hafley to evaluate. The press conferences, podcast appearances, and interviews are all part of the job, but they don't determine wins and losses. It’s the coaching, teaching, and developing (of players and of relationships) that will. The early returns from the mic'd up footage suggest the energy and standards Hafley has been preaching are actually showing up in practice. That's a good sign for a rebuild that's banking on coaching to develop one of the youngest rosters in the league.