The Miami Dolphins‘ defense has found its footing. After a slow start to the 2025 season, the Dolphins’ defense ranks in the middle of the pack or better in most statistical categories, a stunning turnaround from a team that was among the league’s worst for the first month of the season. One area, in particular, is still a work in progress, however.

The good news for Miami is that they should consider themselves to have the pieces needed to get more productive in this area. Their pass rush pressure against opposing quarterbacks should be firmly under the microscope for the final seven games of 2025, starting this Sunday against Washington. Who are the team’s top pressure producers according to Pro Football Focus, and how much more productive can they be in the right conditions?

Dolphins pass rush lingers as a major area of focus in the final two months of 2025 season

Jaelan Phillips (Now in Philadelphia) – 32 pressures

You know who isn’t going to help the Dolphins pressure the quarterback anymore? Jaelan Phillips. Despite being traded ahead of Miami’s Week 10 contest versus Buffalo, Phillips still holds the team lead in pressures by one over Bradley Chubb. Phillips’ biggest issue in Miami this season was finishing those pressure opportunities and converting them into sacks — but the law of averages typically evens that out over time. We’ll never know if it would have in Miami down the stretch.

Bradley Chubb – 31 pressures

Here’s what you need to know about Bradley Chubb. For the first month of the season, he looked like a player who hadn’t played at all the year prior. But he’s found life, particularly rushing the passer, the last two weeks. 16 of his 31 credited pressures to date have come in the last two weeks against Buffalo and Baltimore.

If he can maintain that pressure pace for the rest of the season, Chubb will give the Dolphins a difficult decision for the 2026 season regarding his contract. But keep an eye here — he’s coming on in a big way.

Zach Sieler – 17 pressures

Sieler, who entered this season with consecutive 10-sack seasons, is on pace for his lowest pressure total since 2021. If you’re looking for a silver lining beyond seeing Sieler post his first sack of the season in Week 10 against the Bills, he’s also someone who is trending in the right direction as he learns to play with all the youngsters beside him at defensive tackle. Sieler averaged one pressure per game in the first four weeks of the season — that number has more than doubled in Weeks 5-10.

Kenneth Grant – 13 pressures

Rookie growing pains are real here. Grant is yet another player who has seen his ability to generate pressure turn up after a slow first few weeks. He has yet to post more than two pressures in a single game this season — but he has logged two in three of his last five games. Can he find more juice? Can he continue to hone the balance between playing with power to collapse the pocket alongside his counters to uncover at the quarterback? This is one that the coaching staff certainly hopes to see turn in their favor, given that player development is a huge piece of the current evaluation of Miami’s football operation, and Grant was a premium investment.

Jordyn Brooks – 11 pressures

There’s not a whole lot that Jordyn Brooks can’t do these days. Perhaps the only complaint here is that he hasn’t been asked to rush the passer more. He’s got a 20% pressure rate when brought on a blitz, but defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver probably feels limited in his ability to do so with the coverage ability of the other linebackers on the roster on any given play. Brooks’ career high in pressures is 20. He should make a run for that this year, even if the rest of the personnel in Miami this season handcuffs just how frequently he can be let loose on the quarterback.

Chop Robinson – 9 pressures

This is really where the Dolphins need to start seeing some growth. Chop Robinson had 56 pressures as a rookie in 2024. He has nine pressures entering into Week 11. Robinson missed most of Week 9 against Baltimore and all of Week 10 with a concussion — but he’s still had over 110 pass rush opportunities this season with hardly anything to show for it. The move to trade Jaelan Phillips has opened the door for Miami’s 2024 first-round draft selection to play more and, you know, provide a first-round impact. We know he’s capable of it.

Here’s the subplot: He had just 14 pressures after his eighth game of 2024 and proceeded to terrorize opposing quarterbacks, starting with a Week 10 performance against the Rams. Can he put together a repeat back-half of the season run? Let’s hope so.

The Rest

Linebacker Tyrel Dodson has more pressures (seven) than Matthew Judon (five). Nose tackle Benito Jones (4) has more than linebacker Willie Gay (2). You want a few first-class tickets to a better pass rush? Those two need to figure out a way to make more plays. Judon played a season-high 44 snaps against Buffalo without Jaelan Phillips (trade) and Chop Robinson (concussion) at the team’s disposal. He failed to log a single pressure. Gay logged a sack while logging just double-digit sacks for the second time this season.

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