Patrick Paul, Aaron Brewer bullish on Kadyn Proctor’s Dolphins debut

The Miami Dolphins will be playing football on Sunday in Las Vegas against the Raiders. Not preseason football, not exhibition football, but real-life, regular season NFL football. As such, their starting left guard — rookie Kadyn Proctor — will be making his National Football League debut.

When the Dolphins traded out of selecting safety Caleb Downs and bypassed adding EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to instead select Proctor out of Alabama, the internet exploded with consternation over the selection. But, Miami’s new general manager, Jon-Eric Sullivan, targeted the big lineman for a reason — he wants Miami to be tougher and more physical at the point of attack on offense, and not just reliant on smoke and mirrors like past regimes succeeded with. He also wanted his big investment — quarterback Malik Willis — to be protected at all costs.

Throughout the summer, many Dolphins fans continued to bemoan the Proctor selection — but those in the buildings in Miami Gardens are instead singing his praises.

Dolphins veteran center Aaron Brewer met with the South Florida media following Monday’s practice and was asked about Proctor’s potential and what makes the young player special. “His size. His speed. That’s an athletic big dude,” said Brewer.

Miami’s third-year left tackle, Patrick Paul, also had good things to say about Miami’s starting left guard. “He’s been ready. He’s ready. He’s a different kind of rookie,” spoke Paul of Proctor.

The words have been spoken. Now it’s time for Proctor to quiet the lips of his doubters with action. He’ll get that opportunity on Sunday when the Dolphins take on the Raiders in the late afternoon window of the inaugural NFL Sunday of the 2026 season.