Breaking Down the Dolphins Captain Selections

The Miami Dolphins have three repeat captains in 2021

The Miami Dolphins will have five team captains in 2021, down from eight last season, and who did and did not make the cut certainly represented an interesting list.

Let's start with the five captains: tackle Jesse Davis and wide receiver Mack Hollins for the offense; linebacker Elandon Roberts and DB Jason McCourty for the defense; and Clayton Fejedelem for the defense.

Head coach Brian Flores indicated the team captains were selected by their teammates.

Among those who might have come to some as surprises for not being selected would be, of course, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and linebacker Jerome Baker.

This is not to suggest that Tagovailoa and Baker don't possess leadership qualities, but rather that maybe the notion of Tua becoming a great leader in his second season was a tad overblown by the media, with comments from teammates responding to questions about his leadership skills.

Think about it, if a player at a podium is asked about the signs of leadership he's seen from Tua in his second season, the answer automatically has to include praise about his leadership qualities because that's what football teammates are supposed to do.

Among the five captains, Davis, Roberts and Fejedelem are repeat choices from last year, so their selections really shouldn't be considered surprising.

And maybe the same goes for McCourty, considering he's the only player on the team and the one with the most experience.

The truly eye-opening pick was that of Hollins, though Flores was quick to point out that maybe it was surprising to the media but not inside the team facility.

"He works hard," Flores said of Hollins. "He brings energy. It's important to him."

What stands out about the five team captains is that none of them entered the NFL as high draft picks. Hollins was the highest-drafted as a fourth-round pick of the Eagles in 2017; Roberts was a sixth-round selection of the Patriots in 2016; McCourty was a sixth-round pick of the Titans in 2010; Fejedelem was a seventh-round pick in 2016; and Davis entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent.

For the record, the eight team captains in 2020 were — along with the three repeat choices for 2021 — Bobby McCain, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ted Karras, Kyle Van Noy and Kavon Frazier.