Three offensive categories that we should expect the Miami Dolphins to score dramatically different in for 2026
Three phases of the Miami Dolphins’ offense that we should expect to see differently starting this season.
Much of the focus as a of late around the Miami Dolphins‘ offense has been around the things that haven’t worked.
Understandably so. Yet it is worth acknowledging that the team said goodbye to a highly respected offensive mind in Mike McDaniel. That same coach brought new life to a Miami offense that felt like it was straight out of the stone age before he arrived. The fast-paced style worked for a while. What elements from McDaniel’s offenses should we expect to see less of in Miami starting in 2026? Forget if it’s for better or for worse. What’s probably going to look different?
Three offensive categories that we should expect the Miami Dolphins to score dramatically different in for 2026
Under-center rate
The Miami Dolphins were in the shotgun for more than three out of every four offensive snaps going back across the past few seasons. They lived out of the gun. This allowed the team to alleviate pressure on the offensive line, allow Tua Tagovailoa to quickly get set up to throw in the quick game, and accentuate his ball-handling ability.
The Houston Texans, in two seasons under Bobby Slowik in 2023 and 2024, ranked among the lowest shotgun usages of any team in the league. Green Bay was just outside the top-10 in under center rate for the 2025 season, too. That obviously influences QB Malik Willis as he arrives in Miami.
Time to throw
Pro Football Focus scored former Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as the NFL’s fastest ‘Time to throw’ king for his final three seasons in South Florida. Tagovailoa was timed on average between 2.3 and 2.5 seconds. For three straight seasons. Expecting other quarterbacks to execute in that timing across 500+ drop backs just isn’t likely.
Willis’ career time to throw in four seasons of limited NFL play is 3.29 seconds. That’s 0.85 seconds longer than Tagovailoa’s six year NFL average.
12 personnel usage
The Miami Dolphins have not liked 12 personnel under Mike McDaniel. Miami used the personnel grouping (one back, two tight ends), 100 times or less in three of McDaniel’s four seasons in South Florida. The Green Bay Packers used 300+ reps of 12 personnel in three of those same four seasons. Their “down” season featured 260 snaps with that group.
And offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s second season in Houston (2024) also surpassed 300 snaps of 12 personnel. It’s a common trend between both the Packers and Slowik that should be expected to be tapped into with the Dolphins.
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