Who Was the Dolphins' Most Underappreciated Player in 2024?

Breaking down the Miami Dolphins players who didn't get their proper recognition this season
Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane (28) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets with teammates during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 14.
Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane (28) celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets with teammates during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 14. / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
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The Miami Dolphins' 2024 season overall was disappointing, but that doesn't mean it was without some solid individual performances.

Some of them were expected to one degree or another, such as Zach Sieler duplicating his breakout season of 2023 to earn team MVP honors or Jason Sanders delivering in the clutch and from long distance.

But which performance didn't get the attention it deserved?

It's a question that NFL.com writer Kevin Patra tackled this week not only for the Dolphins but for every team around the league.

His choice for the Dolphins was rookie first-round pick Chop Robinson on the basis of his strong second-half showing when he was among the most productive pass rushers in the NFL.

"Given his first-round pedigree, it’s a surprise that Robinson could be so overlooked," Patra wrote. "A slow start to the rookie campaign will do that. Those who didn’t bail on the Dolphins watched Robinson’s production surge down the stretch. From Week 8 through the end of the regular season, Robinson generated 44 QB pressures, seventh-most among all edge rushers. For the entire season, Robinson earned a 17.2 QB pressure percentage, tops among all rookies (even better than presumptive Defensive Rookie of the YearJared Verse's mark of 16.8 precent) and the fifth-highest rate by a rookie edge defender with at least 200 pass rushes in a season since at least 2018, per NGS (Micah Parsons, 25%; Josh Hines-Allen, 17.8%, Nick Bosa, 17.3%, Will Anderson Jr., 17.3%). The foundation has been laid for a massive second season in South Beach."

Overlooking the extraordinarily tired idea of Dolphins playing in South Beach (for the 73rd time, they don't), Patra's criteria for choosing his overlooked or surprise contributor was that the players couldn't have been selected to the Pro Bowl. Based on that, though, the clear choice here would have been Sieler because he clearly was the team's best player. But he did get team MVP honors, so he was recognized if maybe it wasn't to the degree he should have been.

Robinson also did get some recognition, earning All-Rookie honors.

THE MOST UNDERAPPRECIATED DOLPHINS PLAYERS OF 2024

If the vote is purely for the best performance that didn't land any postseason accolades, the choice here would be Calais Campbell.

But he hardly went unnoticed.

In the same vein, it's not like the work of De'Von Achane went unnoticed and Jonnu Smith eventually made the Pro Bowl as a replacement for Travis Kelce.

So the choice here just might land on linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who wound up finishing with more tackles than any Dolphins defender since Zach Thomas in 2006 and proved a force as a defender after arriving as a free agent pick-up from the Seattle Seahawks.

Honorable mention would go to cornerback Kader Kohou, who turned in a very good performance after a rough 2023 season, highlighted by his key interception late in the Week 16 victory against the San Francisco 49ers.


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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.