Miami brought in Missouri edge rusher Zion Young for a pre-draft visit on Tuesday, and the profile is interesting. He's 6-6, 262 pounds, 22 years old, and plays with the kind of physicality that defensive coaches drool over. Over four college seasons split between Michigan State and Missouri, he racked up 131 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, and 11.5 sacks.

PFSN’s Ian Cummings says Young is “a picture-perfect combination of linear explosive athleticism, lean mass, and proportional length,” adding that Young “proves effective at acquiring initial leverage, resetting the point, and staying engaged in pursuit,” but needs development as a pass rusher. Teams picking in the back half of the first round have shown interest, which puts him in range for Miami at 30.

Young is PFSN’s 41st-ranked draft prospect, while NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has Young ranked 45th overall.

There's also a red flag to note. Young was arrested for DWI in December 2025, which is going to matter to some front offices more than others, especially in a draft cycle where the Rueben Bain story is fresh on everyone's mind.

Young is the latest in a growing line of defensive linemen the Dolphins have hosted. R Mason Thomas, Rene Konga, Christen Miller, and Kayden McDonald have all come through the building. After trading Jaelan Phillips, cutting ties with Bradley Chubb, and watching Chop Robinson take a step backward last season, the pass rush is one of the biggest holes on this roster.

Bottom line: Young fits the mold of a Sullivan pick if you believe the GM is going to prioritize big, physical, high-motor defenders. The pass rush ceiling is a question mark, but the floor as a run defender is solid. He's a Day 2 candidate who could sneak into the late first round if a team falls in love with the tools.

The Dolphins brought in Iowa's Mark Gronowski and Kansas' Jalon Daniels for pre-draft visits, per ESPN's Jordan Reid and the Miami Herald. That makes five quarterbacks Miami has hosted so far, joining Alabama's Ty Simpson, Arkansas' Taylen Green, and UM's Carson Beck. For a team that just gave Malik Willis $45 million guaranteed, that's a lot of tire-kicking at the position.

Gronowski is the more intriguing story. He went 49-6 as a starter at South Dakota State and won back-to-back FCS championship game MVPs in 2023 and 2024. His one season at Iowa was rougher (10 touchdowns, seven picks, 63% completion rate), but he led the Big Ten with 16 rushing touchdowns and was named MVP of the East-West Shrine Game. At 6-4, he's got the size NFL teams want, and he wasn't even invited to the Combine, which means he could be available in the seventh round or as an undrafted free agent. That's a low-cost swing with some upside.

Daniels is a different profile. He's a six-year college starter with 67 career touchdowns and 9,282 passing yards across 49 games at Kansas. He's also got 23 rushing touchdowns on 420 career carries. The talent was obvious early. He was second-team All-Big 12 in 2022 and named the conference's Preseason Player of the Year in 2023 before a back injury limited him to three games.

But the production never lived up to the promise. He threw a conference-leading 12 interceptions in 2024, and Ian Cummings’ scouting report is blunt: a slower clock on layered reads and a noticeable cap on maximum arm velocity limit his ceiling, but he's worthy of a camp spot and could carve out a career as a backup in a scheme where he can utilize his dual-threat appeal. It’s also worth noting that Chris Kouffman of the 3 Yards Per Carry podcast loves Daniels as his favorite QB to back up Willis in this draft class.

With Willis, Ewers, and Cam Miller already under contract, neither of these guys is walking into a starting job. But Sullivan keeps bringing in quarterbacks, and that tells you something about how this front office views the position. They want competition, they want depth, and they're clearly open to stashing a developmental arm.

Bottom line: Gronowski feels like the kind of late-round flier that could quietly stick on a roster. Daniels has the resume but not the tape to match. Either way, five documented QB visits are not a coincidence. Sullivan is building a roster from scratch, and he's not treating Willis like the unquestioned answer just because he's the highest-paid guy in the room.

Jeff Hafley hasn't coached a single on-field practice yet, and players are already talking about the energy shift. The Dolphins are in Phase One of the offseason program, which is just conditioning and meetings, but the early read from the locker room is that Hafley is setting a tone.

Tight end Greg Dulcich called him "dialed" and said the standards are high. "It's easy to do it in the first week," Dulcich said, "kind of listening to what he has to say because he's always gonna bring the juice." Edge defender David Ojabo went further, saying Hafley told the team he's not going to talk about what he's about. He's going to show them. "Chatter won't do us any good," Ojabo said. "We have to go out and prove to the rest of the league what we're about."

The more measured take came from veteran safety Lonnie Johnson Jr., who's been around enough coaches to know that the real evaluation starts when pads come on. "He's a cool coach," Johnson said. "But I have to see how he is on the field when it's time for us to get on the field for me to really analyze what type of personality he really has."

Fair enough. The Dolphins conclude Phase One this week before voluntary minicamp runs April 21 through April 23, which also happens to be the day round one of the NFL Draft begins. Rookie minicamp follows May 8-9, and OTAs start May 18. That's when Hafley gets to actually coach football instead of just talking about it.

Bottom line: Two weeks is nothing in the grand scheme of a rebuild. But culture is built in these early moments when nobody's watching, and the fact that players are already echoing Hafley's language about actions over words is a good sign. The Mike McDaniel era had plenty of rah-rah energy, too, so the proof will come on Sundays. But for now, the vibe check is passing.

Here's the funny thing about this offseason: the Dolphins are clearly in a full-scale rebuild, but nobody in the building has actually used that word with the players. Troy Aikman, the Hall of Famer who helped hire Sullivan and Hafley, compared it to "stripping a house down to the studs." But the guys suiting up? They weren't briefed on the demolition plan.

Guard Jamaree Salyer, a four-year vet signed this offseason, said nobody told him this was a rebuild. "Truth be told, it doesn't matter to me as a player," he said. "I'm a competitor. I want to go out there, put my all in, and the idea would be for it to result in a win." Safety Lonnie Johnson, who's been in the league eight years, put it even more directly: "If it's a rebuild in their eyes then it's a rebuild. But we're going out there trying to win football games."

And honestly? That's probably the healthiest mindset this roster could have. Most of these guys are on one-year deals. They're not thinking about three-year plans and draft capital accumulation. They're thinking about film, reps, and their next contract. Greg Dulcich said the locker room is full of young players who checked their egos at the door and showed up ready to learn.

The more interesting angle is what this rebuild means for guys like Aaron Brewer and Jordyn Brooks. Both are 28 and entering the final year of their contracts. If they buy in and this thing works, they don't just get paid. They become foundational pieces of whatever comes next. That's a different kind of opportunity than being a rotation player on a contender.

Bottom line: Rebuild or not, these players see playing time, a fresh coaching staff, and a chance to prove something. That's enough motivation for a roster full of guys with chips on their shoulders. Label it however you want to. The players simply don’t care, it seems.