Pull the quarterback out of Miami’s 2026 equation and the most important player on the roster becomes a harder call. PFSN’s Football Debate Club put the question to NFL analysts Simon Clancy and Jacob Infante. They gave different answers. Both held up.
Clancy went with Chop Robinson. Infante went with Patrick Paul. Host Cam Mellor handed the tiebreaker to Paul. The argument behind it is more interesting than the verdict.
Why Chop Robinson’s 2026 Season Will Define the Miami Dolphins’ Pass Rush
Clancy framed Robinson as the player whose 2026 will decide whether Jeff Hafley has anything resembling a pass rush.
“It’s got to be Chop Robinson, a first-round pick from a couple of years ago who had a pretty decent first season, really fell off in year two,” Clancy said on Football Debate Club.
“Chop Robinson has got to prove that he’s more than just a sub-package pass rusher who almost gets home. He has got to be somebody that can get after the quarterback because the Dolphins, especially on the defensive line, I suspect they’ll push Zach Sieler out to defensive end, but Robinson has got to be able to do more. Whether that’s on first and second down in terms of playing the run, it’s got to be getting pressure on the quarterback, especially with the lack of talent they’ve got in the [edge] position.”
The roster context behind that quote is even more brutal than he let on. Miami traded Jaelan Phillips to Philadelphia at the November 2025 deadline and released Bradley Chubb on Feb. 16. The Dolphins’ 2025 sack leader is gone. The pass-rushing trio that defined Miami’s recent defenses no longer exists.
That leaves Robinson, the 21st pick in 2024, as the only first-round edge rusher on the roster. His rookie year produced 6 sacks, a spot on ESPN’s All-Rookie Team and a Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist nod. His 2025 was a sophomore slump: one sack through the first three weeks, lingering injuries, and a quiet stretch that had reporters writing reset-expectations columns by September. Clancy’s argument is that Hafley’s defense doesn’t function unless Robinson reverses the slide.
Why Patrick Paul’s 2026 Season Will Decide the Miami Dolphins’ Offense
Infante’s pick centered on what happens if Miami’s $67.5 million quarterback gets hit on every dropback.
“I’m going to go with Patrick Paul, their left tackle coming into this season,” Infante said.
“He’s someone who didn’t start too much as a rookie in 2024, but played in all 17 games in 2025. Coming out of Houston, it’s pretty clear he’s going to be raw. And you saw that last year. He ranked just 55th among all offensive tackles in PFSN’s OL Impact scoring. Now you bring in Kadyn Proctor as a potential threat at left tackle. If Paul doesn’t perform well, he could be kicked inside or he could be moved. Paul still has a lot to prove going into this year. As a blindside protector for Malik Willis, there’s a lot at stake there.”
Infante’s PFSN OL Impact figure sits in tension with what beat reporters covering the team saw. Miami’s own preseason internal ranking placed him at No. 22 entering the year. PFSN’s metric captures something other measures don’t, but the gap suggests Paul’s floor isn’t as low as the raw number reads.
What’s true in both versions: Paul still has unfinished business. The 6-foot-7 second-year starter is a former second-round pick whose ceiling is what the Dolphins are betting on, not a proven product. Drafting Proctor at No. 12 created competition pressure. If Willis is going to validate the $45 million guaranteed, the blindside has to hold up.
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The tiebreaker Mellor cited was market scarcity. Left tackles who can protect a starting quarterback are nearly as rare as the quarterbacks themselves. If Paul plays at the level Sullivan and Hafley hope, Miami has one half of a quarterback-tackle pairing locked in through 2027. If he doesn’t, none of the other questions on this roster get easier.
That’s the case for Paul as the higher-leverage bet. The case for Robinson is simpler. He’s the entire pass rush. Both might be right at the same time. Only one of them gets to be the lead story.
