The Phinsider
After PFF named Calais Campbell the team’s “secret superstar” we nominate five players to be the “super-secret superstar.”
The Miami Dolphins’ 2024 season came to a disappointing end as they failed to qualify for the playoffs despite huge preseason expectations. The focus for the team has to be figuring out what went wrong, how it can be fixed, and what changes need to be made during the 2025 offseason. Who starred, who is developing, and who disappointed?
Miami has to answer a lot of questions. Who was their “secret superstar” this year. Pro Football Focus released their list of “unheralded stars who fly under the radar” on Wednesday. Bradley Lockler put together a list of one player from each team who qualify for his list based on “how good their seasons were relative to the wider discussion.”
I think he got it wrong for the Dolphins.
Not because of how the player played, but because it is hard to say his selection was “under the radar.”
Lockler selected defensive tackle Calais Campbell as Miami’s secret superstar. He explained the pick, writing:
The Dolphins could be one of the poster children for a team chock-full of underrated players, leaving this a tough selection. It’s hard to go wrong with Campbell, who was still terrific at 38. His 85.9 PFF run-defense grade ranked 20th among qualified defenders, and he complemented it with a 10.8% pass-rush win rate and 39 pressures. Down Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips for most of 2024, the Dolphins relied on Campbell to defeat blocks as more than a stopgap signing.
I think the real reason Lockler picked Campbell was simply his age. Yes, at 38, Campbell is exceeding all expectations, and I am hopeful he is back next year with the Dolphins. He is a great player, but calling a six-time Pro Bowl, member of the NFL All-Decade team for the 2010s, and a future Hall of Fame player as a “secret” seems off.
If Campbell is Miami’s secret superstar, I nominate five other players as the “super-secret superstars” for the 2024 Dolphins:
For Ogbah, even his position is listed incorrectly. The Dolphins call him a linebacker, but he was a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end for much more of this season. If Ogbah was on the field (and even when he was not), Miami looked a lot more 4-3 than they did in a traditional 3-4 set. Ogbah’s career with the Dolphins seemed well over after his 2023 season, where he made one start in 15 appearances and seemed like a forgotten member of the defense under Vic Fangio. With Anthony Walker now the defensive coordinator and Ogbah returning as a late addition to the team, he provided a spark as a pass rusher. He totaled just five sacks on the year, but he definitely seemed to be a key player - especially with the in-season injury to Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb missing the entire year....
