{"id":849966,"date":"2026-04-02T20:38:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/849966\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T20:38:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:38:24","slug":"wed-be-wise-to-change-our-perception-of-the-dolphins-team-needs-after-jeff-hafleys-remarks-at-the-annual-nfl-owners-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/849966\/","title":{"rendered":"We’d be wise to change our perception of the Dolphins’ team needs after Jeff Hafley\u2019s remarks at the annual NFL owners meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeff Hafley\u2019s comments this week seem to elevate one position on the Miami Dolphins\u2019 list of team needs. <\/p>\n

The Miami Dolphins<\/a>\u2018 new leadership group wasn\u2019t shy this week<\/a> when talking about what they\u2019re looking for or how they\u2019re going to go about their business. <\/p>\n

The harmony between Jon-Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hafley\u2019s comments is a promising trend. It underscores the cohesive mindset they\u2019re bringing to building the Dolphins. They\u2019ll need it if the tide in Miami is going to turn quickly \u2014\u00a0as there\u2019s a lot of work to be done. But one comment in particular made by Jeff Hafley this week has caught my eye. It would seem to underscore just how important addressing one need in particular is for Miami\u2019s new head coach. <\/p>\n

\"\"Mar 31, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

\u201cMy last couple years I had guys moving all over the place based on what their skill set was and where we wanted to put certain players. I think at that position, intelligence and instincts are very important for me. I want guys who can think, think on their feet. I want guys who, as I call the game through those guys, can kind of react and communicate with me and tell me what they see and I kind of play the game within the game with the opposing quarterbacks with those guys. I want guys that understand the game, can think on their feet because they\u2019re out there alone at that point and have good instincts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2013 Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t necessarily breaking news. Hafley\u2019s Green Bay Packers defenses were fueled on the back-end by some heavy investments in the safety<\/a> room. The Packers, in Hafley\u2019s first offseason, spent big in free agency on veteran Xavier McKinney. They subsequently double-dipped in the draft with Javon Bullard and Evan Williams within the first four rounds. <\/p>\n

But to hear Jeff Hafley so plainly state their importance to how he calls a game defensively? It\u2019s eye-opening. And all it takes is one quick glimpse of the depth chart identify that there\u2019s a missing link (or two) in the room. <\/p>\n

We could interpret Hafley\u2019s comments as an indicator of just how important safety is to the functionality of the defense overall. If that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s our biggest breadcrumb yet on the pecking order of items on Miami\u2019s shopping list. There\u2019s no shortage of needs. And the Dolphins would be foolish to draft exclusively off need in the first year of a multi-year reload. But if all things are equal? A tie for players under consideration for a pick could go to a safety.<\/p>\n

You can read between the lines for yourself. I can\u2019t help but wonder what it would mean to see Ohio State\u2019s Caleb Downs on the clock at No. 11 overall. Or, alternatively, if any number of safeties are on the board when Miami\u2019s early second-round pick comes on the board at No. 43 overall. That could include LSU\u2019s AJ Haulcy, Toledo\u2019s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, and others. <\/p>\n

The position is key to Hafley\u2019s ability to call a game the way he wants. That\u2019s straight from the head coach\u2019s mouth and no longer speculation. Accordingly, it is probably safe to assume they won\u2019t be skimping. That\u2019s And boy, is it light as we roll into April. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"\t\t<\/p>\n

Miami Dolphins News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jeff Hafley\u2019s comments this week seem to elevate one position on the Miami Dolphins\u2019 list of team needs.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":849967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2049],"tags":[4955,217,26926,7,8628,216,251,2087,6,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-849966","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-dolphins","10":"tag-dolphins-news","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-jeff-hafley","13":"tag-miami","14":"tag-miami-dolphins","15":"tag-miamidolphins","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-nfl-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116337046119596585","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}