One answer to the Miami Dolphins’ 2026 defensive puzzle may be staring us right in the face
The Miami Dolphins were among the top teams in one personnel trend in 2025 — and they may be even more so in 2026 under Jeff Hafley.
Jeff Hafley’s Miami Dolphins defense is full of intrigue.
Who will emerge at a number of spots across the depth chart? How will the Dolphins choose to attack this season from a scheme perspective? Some recently compiled data from the 2025 NFL season may offer a clue to refining the defensive picture. And it suggest that Miami may end up doubling down on something they did a lot in 2025.
Expect more ‘Big Nickel’ from the Miami Dolphins this season despite a high-usage in 2025
The data, as complied by Ryan Paganetti through Sumer Sports, logs the Miami Dolphins as one of just eight teams last season to use “big nickel” on at least one-third of their defensive snaps last season under Anthony Weaver. Nickel is the personnel grouping featuring five defensive backs on the field. Standard nickel is three cornerbacks, while “big nickel” calls for three safeties. The usage of a third safety allows teams to blur the lines between linebackers and a safety — and match the physicality teams are now putting on the field with multiple tight ends.
But if last year’s usage is any indication, the Dolphins are about to graduate into a totally different stratosphere of the personnel group. There were just two teams in the NFL last season to use “big nickel” on over 50% of their entire defensive package. The Seattle Seahawks and…Jeff Hafley’s Green Bay Packers defense.
Consider the questions at cornerback for Miami this season. If you knew that Miami would roll with three safeties on the field at once, would it make you feel better? Perhaps not while considering Miami’s current situation at safety. But we can expect second-year pro Dante Trader Jr. to be one safety. And 2026 rookie draft choice Kyle Louis could, very easily, be another. Miami’s defensive build is a work in progress — but this will be trend to keep an eye on. Because “big nickel” was already a major part of the equation for the Dolphins. And it appears it’s only going to get bigger.
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