The Miami Dolphins are relying on their young players to grow during a rebuilding year. Nonetheless, this plan brings growing pains for some of these players, as they will make mistakes.
Chris Johnson is one of the young players that the Dolphins are leaning on to learn and grow this season. However, after Week 1, the first-round pick from the 2026 NFL Draft received a learning lesson.
On Sept. 19, the NFL announced its Week 1 fines, and Johnson showed up on the list as the cornerback fined for a play deemed unnecessary roughness in the loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Johnson issued a hip-drop tackle, and for that the league is fining him $17,911. Ahead of the game against the San Francisco 49ers, the rookie will have to make sure that he doesn’t make the same mistake, or it could lead to a bigger fine.
Dolphins DC on Chris Johnson’s Performance in Week 1
In the loss to the Raiders, Johnson played 68 snaps, leading to a 47.6 overall PFF defensive grade. Moreover, he recorded two pass breakups, eight solo tackles in run support and open-field situations, and one stop, per PFF.
Nonetheless, the Dolphins rookie will look to improve his play when the team faces the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2. Dolphins defensive coordinator Sean Duggan shared what he saw from the rookie in Week 1 that gives him encouraging signs for growth.
“I think really it’s a lesson for all of our guy,” Sean Duggan told reporters on Sept. 17 (h/t Dolphins.com). “You got to challenge guys, you got to trust your training. You could say he targeted Chris, I think he put the ball where we allowed him to and maybe we weren’t clean on all those calls or we could have been better, whether it’s technique or execution of a call. But one thing I did like about him, and you can see it this week in practice, is he’s responded. He hasn’t gone in the tank.
“He’s a confident player who knows he’s good, knows he has ability. So that’s been good to see, especially at DB where everyone knows who the ball gets caught on. They don’t know the ins and outs of the call, or maybe this guy should have been here, or maybe his leverage is this because of this in the call, they just go, ‘oh, he caught the pass.’ I think Chris has done a really good job and he’s a really good player. He’s going to continue to get better as this year goes.
Miami Looks to Improve After Week 1 Loss to Raiders
The young players aren’t the only ones who need to improve; even veterans like quarterback Malik Willis are saying they need to do better after the mistakes they made against the Raiders.
“I mean situational awareness as far as just making critical mistakes and whatever situation we is, whether it was me taking a sack or somebody else and me in there or whatever, it doesn’t matter, we’re all one team,” Willis told reporters on Sept. 16 (h/t Dolphins.com). “But at the same time, we got to understand that’s how people get beat, and I think taking care of the ball, obviously.
“[Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley] says it in every meeting, that’s always going to be important. It’s not to make us shy or anything, but just to understand the situations of when we want to push it down the field. I think just executing at every position, executing at every position, every play that we can. Obviously, if you lose, you lose, but making sure we’re doing the right things, going to the right people, giving ourselves a chance. And that’s it, really.”
NFL Announces Punishment for Dolphins Player After Loss to Raiders