MIAMI GARDENS — If the Dolphins defeat the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday’s season opener there’s a good chance the Dolphins’ front seven, potentially one of the best in the NFL, made life difficult for a Colts offense led by one of the NFL’s best offensive lines.
Keep an eye on this matchup. It’ll be the biggest key to victory for each team, and especially for the Dolphins.
The Colts offensive line is led by left guard Quenton Nelson, the five-time All Pro, seven-time Pro Bowl selection and probable Hall of Famer, and left tackle Bernhard Raimann, who was the eighth-best offensive tackle in the NFL last season according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) and signed a four-year, $100 million contract extension in the offseason. PFF has the Colts’ offensive line ranked No. 5 in its 2025 preseason rankings.
Behind them is running back Jonathan Taylor, who rushed for 1,431 yards last season, fourth-best in the league.
The Dolphins’ front seven, which includes the defensive tackles Zach Sieler, Benito Jones and Kenneth Grant, outside linebackers Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, Chop Robinson and Matthew Judon, and inside linebackers Jordyn Brooks, Tyrel Dodson, Willie Gay Jr. and K.J. Britt is expected to be special.
The Dolphins’ front seven could be more special than their high-powered passing game that’s led by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and speedy wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
The Dolphins’ front seven is deep, talented, athletic and experienced.
“You can’t gameplan (against anybody) and if you’ve got to chip both ends, that’s great for us,” Judon said. “Then we have a guy in (Zach) Sieler that can go get it himself. The inside-outside is going to help.”
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The No. 1 job for the front seven is stopping the Colts’ run game, and that means clamping down on Taylor.
The Dolphins’ run defense was No. 9 in the NFL last season (103.7 yards per game). It’ll be counted on to be just as effective this season.
Once the Dolphins shut down the run game, if that happens, and make the Colts’ offense one dimensional, the pass rushers – Chubb, Phillips, Robinson and Judon – can feast.
“I’m a (defensive back),” said safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who played on a Pittsburgh defense with outside linebacker T.J. Watt, a six-time All Pro and seven-time Pro Bowl selection, and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, a five-time All Pro and seven-time Pro Bowl selection, “and I’m not afraid to admit that great defense starts with the front seven, and that starts with smashing the run game and affecting the quarterback.
“When you’ve got guys that can send heat at the quarterback, whether it’s off the edge or up the middle and disrupt that quarterback’s timing and disrupt that quarterback’s look, now instead of looking down the field at us, he’s looking at the front seven during his drop. That helps us make a lot of plays — you get overthrows, you get tipped balls, you get bad reads, stuff like that.”
Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, who won the starting job over Anthony Richardson, isn’t likely to scare the Dolphins’ defense. He’s thrown 70 touchdowns and 47 interceptions in 70 games in his previous six seasons with the New York Giants. But he’s capable of being good enough to win one game.
“He throws a really good deep ball,” Fitzpatrick said. “He can extend plays with his legs and get the ball down the field and get the ball to an open receiver or run the ball…we can’t allow the ball to go over our heads becuse he has the arm talent and the receivers to get it down the field. Those are his strengths and we’ve got to try to stop it.”
More importantly, the front seven must do its job and make Jones uncomfortable. Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver likes what he has among his front seven but also understands at this point they’re only a high-quality group on paper.
“We can do more from a disguise standpoint, we can move guys around just because they all understand the scheme and the jobs more,” Weaver said. “Really excited about what we could potentially be, but potential means nothing until we go out there and execute.”
