Miami Minicamp Confidential: LB Tyrel Dodson heads into first full season in South Florida
The Miami Dolphins start mandatory minicamp this week. It will be the first in South Florida for a returning signee from the middle of last season, linebacker Tyrel Dodson.
Playing eight games for the Dolphins after claiming him off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks, Dodson will stay in Miami Gardens after inking a two-year contract in the offseason, worth $6.25 million
Dodson played outstanding football in his appearances, which included three starts. The coverage aspect of his game was on display, tallying three interceptions from Week 11 through Week 18.
The trio of picks was the most from a linebacker during the 2024 season, and in the timeframe with the Dolphins, just five other defenders overall recorded at least three interceptions. He also was able to rack up four passes defended with Miami and six total on the season.
In addition to his coverage skills, Dodson showed he could get to the quarterback as well, notching a pair of sacks back in Seattle in the first half of 2024.
As a tackler, Dodson racked up 15 against the Cleveland Browns in a 20-3 Week 17 Dolphins victory. That performance featured the most single-game tackles by a Miami player since 2020 when linebacker Jerome Baker had 16 against the New England Patriots in the season opener. With his interception against the Browns in that same game, Dodson became the first Miami player to record 15 tackles along with a pick since 1994.
Dodson put together a very respectable season across his play with both teams, finishing the season with a career-high 107 tackles along with five tackles for loss and four quarterback hits in addition to his work in coverage.
Dodson held quarterbacks to a career-best 66.7 passer rating through his eight games with Miami, and 77.2 on the season when factoring in his work in Seattle. His previous seasonal best in this metric was his rookie season at 87.2.
Entering his sixth year in the NFL, Dodson was undrafted in 2020 out of Texas Tech and signed with the Buffalo Bills as a rookie. Mainly a special teamer in Western New York across his four seasons with Buffalo, Dodson showed sparks of his potential in the Pacific Northwest with Seattle, playing 98% of the defensive snaps in his nine games with the Seahawks.
His first games with Miami last year plus a multi-year contract should send him into the 2025 season with momentum. However, the Dolphins also signed veteran free agent linebackers K.J. Britt as well as Willie Gay, Jr. this offseason, so Dodson still has some work to do to solidify a starting spot, or at worst, significant snaps.
At this moment, you can pencil in Dodson to pair with Jordyn Brooks as inside linebackers, who also was a standout player in his first season in Miami.
The middle of the second phase of defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver's unit will be crucial this season. Weaver's defense is a group that on paper is superior in talent within the front-seven as opposed to the secondary.
Dodson and the Dolphins hold mini-camp on Tuesday, June 10 through Thursday, June 12.
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