{"id":871416,"date":"2026-04-21T20:39:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871416\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T20:39:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:39:23","slug":"dolphins-kenneth-grant-has-key-second-season-ahead-of-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/871416\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolphins’ Kenneth Grant has key second season ahead of him"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the NFL draft starting Thursday night<\/a>, it\u2019s almost a year to the day the Miami Dolphins made defensive tackle Kenneth Grant their first-round pick in the 2025 draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was somewhat of a surprising move, as Grant was selected earlier than many projected, at No. 13 overall, by previous general manager Chris Grier.<\/p>\n

At times, Grant didn\u2019t appear to be living up to the first-round billing in his rookie season. He showed flashes as the year progressed and finished with 33 tackles, a pair of sacks and a pass bat-down at the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n

With a season under his belt and taking part in his first full offseason with his NFL team, Grant is looking to prove himself worthy a year later.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what to expect now,\u201d Grant said on a web conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon. \u201cI\u2019m not a rookie anymore, so I kind of know what the deal is and how things are going to be operated.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the Dolphins are now two weeks into their offseason workout program under new coach Jeff Hafley, Grant finds himself in a new situation with a change in leadership. That begins with new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan calling the shots for the roster instead of the GM who drafted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re kind of, right now, on ground zero,\u201d Grant said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s on a clean-slate playing field right now. So, he treats me just like everybody else in the building. So, just being accountable and being a guy that wants to show that I can do good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant, who played at 6 foot 3, 335 pounds as a rookie, was part of a rookie class that had three defensive tackles selected. Fifth-round pick Jordan Phillips impressed and started all but one game. Zeek Biggers, a seventh-round choice, is also in that mix on a defensive line led by veteran Zach Sieler.<\/p>\n

Under Hafley, the Dolphins will transition to a base of four down linemen but still incorporate looks with three.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to grind blocks, we\u2019re going to provide that violent mentality, and we\u2019re going to make plays,\u201d Grant said of what he\u2019s noticed for defensive linemen in Hafley\u2019s scheme.<\/p>\n

Grant said he has focused this offseason on having quicker hands and getting off blocks. Those are things that can help him pivot back to being a true football player, as opposed to training for the scouting combine last year when prospects are measured in drills instead of on-field combat against an opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis offseason, I just really focused on being more of a football player,\u201d Grant said. \u201cTraining for the combine last year is different when you\u2019re in football shape rather than combine shape. So, I just tried to be in football shape this year, focusing on my techniques and getting stronger in the weight room.\u201d<\/p>\n

With new looks on the defensive front, the Dolphins are expected to bring in edge rushers in the draft and possibly another defensive lineman at some point.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be really tremendous for the incoming rookies, whoever we get or whoever we pick,\u201d said Grant, who can now be one to guide rookies along the journey of their first year instead of experiencing it all first-hand. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be a lot of things they\u2019re not going to be expecting, but it\u2019s my job and everybody else\u2019s jobs in the building to make them feel comfortable and know that we\u2019re here for them and it\u2019s time to play football.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just all about sharing that wisdom, sharing different experiences that I went through, just letting guys know that I\u2019m there for them and anything is possible and they can do whatever they put their mind to.\u201d<\/p>\n

This offseason, the Dolphins added two fellow Michigan alumni to their defensive front in edge rushers Josh Uche and David Ojabo. Grant revealed Tuesday that Ojabo hosted him on a recruiting visit, and Ojabo previously mentioned the same with Uche as they\u2019re all now reunited in Miami Gardens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the NFL draft starting Thursday night, it\u2019s almost a year to the day the Miami Dolphins made…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":871417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2049],"tags":[217,7,1494,216,251,2087,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-871416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-dolphins","8":"tag-dolphins","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-kenneth-grant","11":"tag-miami","12":"tag-miami-dolphins","13":"tag-miamidolphins","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116444631172490005","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871416","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=871416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/871416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/871417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=871416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=871416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=871416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}