Which Dolphins Player Could Be Ready for a Year 2 Breakout?

Miami Dolphins edge rusher Chop Robinson had an excellent finish to his rookie season and is expected to be one of the Dolphins best defensive players this coming season.

Before he can live up to that hype, hell need to have a Year 2 breakout onto the national stage.

Well, NFL Medias Marc Ross named Robinson as one of his top eight Year 2 breakout candidates .

The Dolphins' defensive front should improve after adding first-round DT Kenneth Grant and getting back a healthy Jaelan Phillips, who is coming off an ACL tear, Ross wrote.

With a year of experience under his belt, Robinson looks poised to become a major presence for the unit as a potential double-digit sack performer.

Why A Robinson Breakout Is Important As Ross notes, the Dolphins should get Phillips back this season.

However, this is the second year in a row that Phillips is returning from a season-ending injury, so relying on him to be 100% early in the season is risky.

Bradley Chubb also is slated to return this season, but hes also coming off a season-ending knee injury that he suffered back in December of 2023 against the Baltimore Ravens.

Chubb and Phillips are high-quality players, but their extensive injury histories make it hard to bet on them staying healthy all season.

The rest of Miamis edge rushers include unproven names like Quinton Bell, William Bradley-King, Mohamed Kamara, and Grayson Murphy.

That leaves Robinson as the only high-end pass rusher the Dolphins can safely say will be 100% at the start of the 2025 season.

This shouldn't be an issue if Robinson can carry the momentum from the end of his 2024 season into 2025.

Robinson had just 11 quarterback pressures during the first eight weeks last season, but he turned the corner in the seasons second half.

From Week 9 on, Robinson posted 45 quarterback pressures, including 10 in the Dolphins Week 12 win against the Patriots.

The young pass rusher also recorded all six of his sacks from last season during that stretch.

What a Robinson Breakout Means Long Term The Dolphins spent most of the 2025 NFL draft retooling the interior of their defensive line.

They spent the 13th pick on Michigans Kenneth Grant and added Marylands Jordan Phillips in Round 5 and Georgia Techs Zeek Biggers in Round 7.

Plus, the team already had Zach Sieler, who has developed into a budding star.

If Robinson makes a significant jump this coming season, the Dolphins defensive line could go from an underwhelming group to one of the best groups on the roster.

That would require Grant and Phillips to be solid rookie contributors, but that seems somewhat realistic.

Having young, developing stars like Robinson and Grant paired with a veteran mainstay like Sieler would go a long way toward changing the Dolphins identity from a team too focused on speed to a team with a strong, tough defensive line.

Given how successful teams like the Eagles and Chiefs have built consistent competitors, that is a smart approach for the Dolphins.

But itll only work if Robinson continues building on last seasons success, which he seems primed to do..

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