The Dolphins appear to have stumbled onto a surprising solution at a critical spot amid an injury shuffle that could reshape Miami’s defense
One of the Dolphins’ 2025 rookies is entering uncharted waters as the regular season approaches…and it could change everything.
The Miami Dolphins have reached the cusp of the 2025 regular season. This year’s training camp has tested Miami in various ways. One way that each and every team across the NFL has been tested this summer is attrition — football is a brutal sport, and injuries are a real piece of the puzzle for every franchise the moment you step on the field.
Some teams, like the Baltimore Ravens, incurred a major loss in the spring. Safety Ar’Darius Washington was a meaningful hit to the Ravens’ safety room, and it happened in mid-May. Other teams, like the Los Angeles Chargers, lost a heavyweight cornerstone of their roster. Tackle Rashawn Slater went down with a torn patellar tendon in the first week of August, just days after signing a four-year, $114 million contract extension.
Miami’s loss came in the way of fourth-year cornerback Kader Kohou. Kohou was primed for a big season, finally in a position to play in the same scheme for consecutive seasons after entering the league as an undrafted rookie and serving as a prominent contributor in each of his first three seasons. It wasn’t meant to be.
But Miami appears to think it’s worked through the options and found a pivot — with promising early returns and an encore opportunity this Saturday against the Jaguars from an unlikely source.
Rookie cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. entering uncharted waters and growing confidence in the process
Fifth-round rookie Jason Marshall Jr. has never played the nickel before. He took just 62 snaps in the slot across four seasons at Florida versus nearly 2,200 snaps on the perimeter. This is, for all intents and purposes, uncharted waters. But Marshall seized the opportunity in a big way against Detroit during Miami’s second preseason game. He impressed with his execution of Miami’s run defense and offering the kind of physicality that could help give Miami some of what it lost with Kohou’s injury.
Marshall’s performance left a mark on star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, as well.
“You look at (Marshall Jr.) sometimes you think, ‘Oh man, this guy could be a linebacker, but he has the movement skills of a DB.’ I think Jason’s skill set gives you an opportunity to not only play him outside but inside as well,” Weaver said. “Then his physicality, again, that we weren’t really sure about until we put him in a game and we saw him make that TFL on the nickel pressure. I was like, ‘OK, it’s in there.’ Now let’s see, we’ll see if he continues to grow there.”
Fitzpatrick credited Marshall Jr. with correcting the errors from the week of practice into the game and making “all the right communications.” This week’s prep for the preseason finale against Jacksonville brought Marshall Jr. more experience in the role, and the team appears now committed to seeing this experiment through into the season. Marshall Jr. joins veteran Mike Hilton as the team’s coverage options from the nickel, plus a collection of diverse safeties that have experience playing in the overhang. If he’s a hit, it would unlock some coverage upside for the role as compared to the safeties and Hilton, who is a wily vet but has his best athletic days behind him.
To Marshall Jr.’s credit, it seems like it has clicked for him early, despite not playing the position before. In a year when Miami’s youth movement is particularly critical, finding opportunities for player development within the young core is vital.
“I’m able to move around more freely, tackling — that was a big question in my game coming into the NFL. And then just being more physical. I can be more physical (in the slot), especially with my size,” said Marshall on Thursday.
He gets his next chance to make an impact on Saturday against Jacksonville. If it all goes well, it could prompt some interesting 53-man roster decisions from the Dolphins early next week.
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