Super Bowl LX offers the Miami Dolphins a blueprint for how to build back better in 2026 and beyond
The best parts of both New England and Seattle should serve as a launch point for the Dolphins future.
Here’s hoping the Miami Dolphins were paying attention last night.
The Super Bowl was won by a rabid Seattle Seahawks defense, an effective running game led by RB Kenneth Walker, and effective coaching on both sides of the ball by the Seahawks. Yet there was inspiration to be found from both the Seahawks and the Patriots for Miami. These two teams got to this point thanks in part to a common strength. The good news for the Dolphins is that they appear to have a head start in their pursuit of something similar after this past offseason.
Interior pressure rules the roost for both Seahawks & Patriots in Super Bowl LX
New England Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams led both teams with four total pressures (1 sack) on Super Bowl Sunday. Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Byron Murphy II tied for the Seahawks’ team lead with three total pressures (2 sacks). There’s plenty of focus on star pass rushers on the edge in the NFL these days, but both Seattle and New England had their pass rush this season fueled by interior rushers.
Seattle had three pass rushers with 50+ pressures when the regular season came to a close this season. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams (58) and Murphy (50) were both among them. New England had just two, with defensive tackle Christian Barmore (50) finishing second on the team. Williams, a star free agent signing this past spring, had 36, but he was more disruptive on a per-snap basis and missed five games this season.
The Dolphins had zero pass rushers with 50+ pressures this season. But they did have defensive tackles in two of their top four spots, as Zach Sieler (32) and 2025 first-round rookie Kenneth Grant both came alive after a horrible first month of the season. Miami has plenty of reason for hope that Grant will become a persistent disruptor inside, especially under the direction of new head coach Jeff Hafley. Hafley’s Packers defenses were much more penetration-oriented, as compared to controlling the line of scrimmage to read blocks.
Grant and Sieler both ranked 28th among 206 defensive tackles in total pressures in the back half of the season. In Weeks 12 through 18, they both ranked in the top 20 among defensive tackles. Grant, in particular, should have that much more growth potential as a former top-15 pick — it was great to see Grant in the building during the introductory press conference for both general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley last month. The physical ability is there. Harnessing his time and effort this offseason will obviously be key.
But beyond Miami’s top two, the rookie combo of Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers appears to be more promising as run defenders. Either (or both) could make major strides as a pass rusher. But with the league-wide trend of defending the field from two-high safety shells, disruptive and disciplined defensive tackles who can do it all have never been at a higher premium. At the very least, it’s probably a safe assumption that Miami will, at some point, need one more pass rusher inside (and a dominant one) to build out their defensive tackle room with enough pass rush horsepower to challenge the rooms we saw help carry both Seattle and New England deep into the postseason.