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Where Dolphins rookie class ranks among play-time over last decade and how others fared

Three weeks into the NFL regular season, the Miami Dolphins are experiencing unprecedented participation from their newest athletes, putting the rookie cohort on track for the second-highest snap count in a decade with a projected 6,845 total plays. Five fresh faces have already surpassed the century mark in playing time: Kadyn Proctor, Jacob Rodriguez, Chris Johnson, Michael Taaffe, and Chris Bell, while Caleb Douglas reached 92 snaps despite missing more than a full game due to an injury.

Looking back at recent history, seven previous franchises since 2016 utilized first-year players for at least 6,000 snaps across all three phases of the game.

Among those historical comparisons, the 2025 Cleveland Browns logged 6,001 snaps from their rookies, though the heavy reliance yielded only five victories. That Cleveland class featured standout performers like Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger, alongside Offensive Rookie of the Year contenders Harold Fannin Jr.

and Quinshon Judkins, plus early-flashing defensive tackle Mason Graham and quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.

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