Dolphins Name Six Captains for 2026 as Jeff Hafley's New Era Heads Into Week 1 at Las Vegas
Malik Willis, De'Von Achane, and Patrick Paul earned their first captaincies as Miami's locker room reshapes itself under a new head coach and a roster that's two-thirds turned over since last season.
The Miami Dolphins named six team captains for the 2026 season: quarterback Malik Willis, running back De'Von Achane, and offensive tackle Patrick Paul earned the honor for the first time, joining repeat captains inside linebacker Jordyn Brooks, center Aaron Brewer, and defensive lineman Zach Sieler. The vote, decided by the players themselves, is one of new head coach Jeff Hafley's first real markers of how his locker room has taken shape.
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It comes at a genuinely unusual moment for this roster — 35 of the 53 players active for Miami's Week 1 game weren't on the team's Week 1 roster a year ago, a two-thirds turnover that makes this captain class more than a formality. Achane, 24, entering his third season, is the closest thing this group has to an established building block on offense — a real Pro Bowl year in 2025 with 1,000-plus rushing yards and 65-plus catches for the second straight season. Willis, 27, is a first-time starter signed to a three-year, $67.5 million deal, taking over after Miami traded Tua Tagovailoa away this offseason. Sieler's selection extends a real streak of his own — this marks his third consecutive year as a Dolphins captain, giving the defensive line a steady voice even as so much else around him turns over. Paul's own captaincy comes on the back of a genuine breakout: after a rough 44.9 PFF grade as a rookie, he moved to left tackle following Terron Armstead's retirement and allowed just four sacks and 25 pressures across 17 starts in 2025, good enough that ESPN analyst Benjamin Solak has already named him a real breakout candidate for 2026, entering a contract year that could determine whether he's part of Miami's long-term plans.
I don't know how you can have a conversation with a competitive player or a competitive coach and have it sit right with them where we're just going to say, "We're just going to rebuild this year."— Jeff Hafley, Dolphins head coach
Our take: Hafley can call it whatever he wants, but trading away your franchise quarterback and your best receiver in the same offseason is a rebuild by any honest definition — the captaincy vote is real leadership, but leadership doesn't fix a roster this thin. Expect a genuinely rough season even if nobody in the building says the word out loud. Hafley himself framed the vote simply after the announcement: "The players voted for those guys, and I think they deserved it" — a real vote of confidence in a locker room he's still getting to know, even if the results on the field this year won't come easily.
Week 1 Prediction: Score, Spread & Player Prop
Raiders -3.5 home favorites at Allegiant Stadium (moneyline -185, Dolphins +154), per multiple sportsbooks.
Total sits at 39.5, one of the week's lowest — two offenses both drawing real questions. Our pick: Raiders 20, Dolphins 16 (Under).
De'Von Achane OVER 85.5 yards from scrimmage. With a first-time starter at quarterback, expect Miami to lean on its one proven weapon early and often.
Odds and props reflect market consensus across DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM as of this week — lines move, so check your own sportsbook before kickoff.
How Miami's 2026 captain class came together
The Jeff Hafley era begins in Miami, ushering in a roster overhaul that turns over roughly two-thirds of the 53-man group.
Players vote Willis, Achane, Brooks, Brewer, Paul, and Sieler as the six 2026 team captains.
Dolphins open the regular season at the Las Vegas Raiders, 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX.
Six captains, a new coach, and a locker room that barely resembles last year's — Miami finds out what it actually has in five days.
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Sources: Miami Dolphins, The Phinsider, NFL.com, Athlon Sports