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Ranking the Most Important Dolphins, No. 7: What Can Brooks Do for an Encore?

The Miami Dolphins will head into training camp at the end of July with a totally different roster than the one that ended the 2025 season after an offseason overhaul that saw the departure of several significant veterans and the arrival of newcomers young and old.

The Dolphins have 91 players on their roster with the exemption they have for England-born rookie tight end Seydou Traore, a participant of the International Player Pathway Program.

As life goes in the NFL, not every player on the roster is equal, so we decided to rank all of them in terms of their importance to the Dolphins' success in the 2026 season. The list was determined on the basis of not just ability but also expected role and significance to the overall progress of the organization as it continues the rebuilding project that began with the hiring of Jon-Eric Sullivan as GMand Jeff Hafley as head coach.

This is part of a series that will run in the lead-up to start of training camp.

NUMBER 7: LB JORDYN BROOKS

How he joined the Dolphins

The Dolphins signed Brooks as an unrestricted free agent from the Seattle Seahawks during the 2024 offseason.

Contract status

Brooks is entering the final year of his three-year, $26.25 million contract that included a $16 million signing bonus, per Over The Cap. Brooks is scheduled to make $8.3 million in base salary and roster bonus in 2026, though none of the salary is guaranteed. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason and a potential contract extension is perhaps the biggest storyline heading into training camp.

His 2025 season

In his second year with the Dolphins, Brooks turned in the best linebacker performance the team has gotten since the days of Zach Thomas while earning first-team AP All-Pro recognition. Brooks led the NFL with 183 tackles, including 13 for loss, with 3.5 sacks, three passes defensed, one fumble forced and one fumble recovery. He reached double digits in tackles in 10 games, including a season-high 20 in the overtime victory against the Washington Commanders in Spain.

His projected role

The Dolphins will be using a different scheme under new head coach Jeff Hafley, and it will feature more use of off-the-ball linebackers. It shouldn't change Brooks' role very much, particularly in terms of usage because he figures to be on the field more than any other linebacker, assuming his contract situation gets worked out and he gets an extension. While Hafley said in the offseason he wants his defensive players to be somewhat interchangeable, Brooks likely will spend a lot of his time at the weakside position and the question is whether he can come close to matching his performance of 2025. The reason Brooks is only number 7 in our countdown has to do with significant to the team success and it not a reflection on player quality.

THE PREVIOUS PLAYERS ON THE COUNTDOWN

90. G James Ester

89. T Kevin Cline

88. QB Mark Gronowski

87. DT Keith Cooper Jr.

86. EDGE Seth Coleman

85. RB Anthony Hankerson

84. WR Donaven McCulley

83. FB D.J. Herman

82. C Jim Bonitas

81. LS Tucker Addington

80. DT Alex Huntley

79. T Marques Cox

78. EDGE Rodney McGraw

77. TE Cole Turner

76. DT Khalil Saunders

75. CB Miles Battle

74. S Major Burns

73. RB Carlos Washington Jr.

72. EDGE Robert Beal Jr.

71. WR A.J. Henning

70. RB Donovan Edwards

69. DB Omar Brown

68. EDGE Cameron Goode

67. WR Jalen Reagor

66. EDGE Max Llewellyn

65. WR Terrace Marshall Jr.

64. CB Ethan Robinson

63. G/T Josh Priebe

62. DT Rene Konga

61. WR Tahj Washington

60. QB Cam Miller

59. CB A.J. Green III

58. EDGE Mason Reiger

57. CB Alex Austin

56. P Bradley Pinion

55. LB Jackson Woodard

54. K Zane Gonzalez

53. S Louis Moore

52. DT Matthew Butler

51. CB Marco Wilson

50. CB Darrell Baker Jr.

49. LB Ronnie Harrison Jr.

48. T Charlie Heck

47. WR Chris Bell

46. CB Storm Duck

45. WR Theo Wease Jr.

44. TE Seydou Traore

43. G DJ Campbell

42. G/C Andrew Meyer

41. K Riley Patterson

40. S Michael Taaffe

39. CB Ethan Bonner

38. TE Ben Sims

37. EDGE David Ojabo

36. S Lonnie Johnson Jr.

35. Zayne Anderson

34. EDGE Josh Uche

33. WR Jalen Tolbert

32. EDGE/LB Trey Moore

31. LB Willie Gay Jr.

30. RB Jaylen Wright

29. WR Kevin Coleman Jr.

28. G Jonah Savaiinaea

27. DT Zeek Biggers

26. LB Kyle Louis

25. RB Ollie Gordon II

24. WR Tutu Atwell

23. G/T Jamaree Salyer

22. WR Malik Washington

21. DT Jordan Phillips

20. WR Caleb Douglas

19. LB Jacob Rodriguez

18. CB Jason Marshall Jr.

17. S Dante Trader Jr.

16. TE Will Kacmarek

15. QB Quinn Ewers

14. LB Tyrel Dodson

13. T Austin Jackson

12. CB JuJu Brents

11. TE Greg Dulcich

10. DT Zach Sieler

9. T Patrick Paul

8. DT Kenneth Grant

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