MIAMI — It was just one of a hundred plays without pads during the first week of Miami Dolphins training, but something that was so eye-opening, so surprising it dropped jaws.

The Dolphins were running the ball effectively during a red zone focused practice on Friday, and doing it primarily behind the right side of the offensive line.

On one particular play, Jonah Savaiinaea dug out the running lane so much he could be spotted picking up, and then throwing defensive tackle Kenneth Grant a few feet away from the play.

The play was so violent Savaiinaea looked like Uncle Phil throwing D.J. Jazzy Jeff out of the mansions during the popular 1990s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcom.

Again, it was just one play, but a welcomed sight from one of the team’s biggest mysteries, a player perceived to be the weak link of the offensive line, if not the entire offense.

“These past two or three days, I’ve been confident out there. I’ve been watching myself, and I was like, ‘Damn, I didn’t have this, this time last year,’” Savaiinaea said on Sunday, a day the Miami’s offense dominated the defense. “I was flying off the ball. I got guys that I’m working out with, like Brew (Aaron Brewer), and the rest of the guys that are pushing me to become the best version of myself. Just seeing myself on film, I completely changed.”

And change is good because Savaiinaea, a former Arizona standout the Dolphins traded up to select in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft, was a disaster last season.

He was rated by ProFootballFocus, an evaluation based website fueled by analytic, as the worst performing starting offensive guard in the NFL in 2025. And it’s hard for those who watched his play all season to dispute that considering he made horrendous mistakes at the worst possible moments.

According to Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley, there’s no need for Savaiinaea to dwell on what happened last season.

For his growth, the second-year offensive lineman needs to flush the 2025 season, grow from it, and let it serve as motivation.

“I want him to believe in himself and continue to progress and tune out everything that happened last year because every one of us in our lives has had a tough moment, a tough day, a tough year, and you got to put that behind you, man. You got to move on,” Hafley said, referring to Savaiinea’s rookie season, where he allowed eight sacks, 45 pressures, and committed five penalties in 893 offensive snaps. “I don’t want to hear anymore about Jonah last year just because it’s over.”

This season represents a fresh start, on a new (but old) side since Miami moved Savaiinaea from left guard and put him at right guard, returning the 22-year-old to the side he primarily played on in college.

Savaiinaea is playing for new coaches, and doing so with new teammates.

His experience level has improved courtesy of the 17 games he started last season. He supposedly has a better grasp on his technique and fundamentals, and as a result, the expectations are greater.

“Let’s judge Jonah on everything that he’s doing today, moving forward and see how he does,” Hafley continued. “I think that’s fair, but I hope he’s not worried about what anyone else has said about him in the past, and he can just move on from that.”

Hafley labeled Savaiinaea a “pleasant surprise” based on what he’s seen from training camp’s first week.

Savaiinaea calls this his “reset mode,” and the biggest thing he’s been focusing on is keeping his confidence high.

According to Savaiinaea, his biggest challenge is to shed the nervous energy he had last season, and begin to play with confidence, and conviction.

“It’s all in the mind. I have the physical attributes to go out there and become a professional football player, but at the end of the day, it’s all about how you attack everything mentally,” said Savaiinaea, who changed his number from 72, which he wore last season, to 71, the number he wore with the Wildcats, and in high school. “I’m a different person as far as mentally. So far, so good.”

The NFL is a game that requires confidence, and the minute that waivers the player has one foot out the league. That’s why this is a critical seasons for Savaiinaea, whose main challengers for the starting right guard spot are veteran off lineman Jamaree Salyer, rookie D.J. Campbell and Josh Priebe, a second-year offensive lineman who spent all of last season on Miami’s practice squad.

“Nothing changed because the side switched or the number switch. I don’t think so,” Savaiinaea said. “I feel as if I approach this game like I’m coming there to move somebody out of there and protect Malik [Willis] behind [the line], I feel like I’m going to be successful in this league.”

It’s about approaching the game with “that dawg mentality,” according to Savaiinaea.

“I’m going to hit bumps here and there, but that’s part of it,” Savaiinaea continued. “I feel like the biggest [change I’ve made] is mentally.”

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