Two years ago, if you wanted to start a passionate argument in the Dolphins locker room, all you had to do was go up to a player from Florida or Texas and ask which state has better football players.

Laughs and insults, all expressed at a high volume, were guaranteed to follow.

For the 2026 Miami Dolphins, there can’t be a debate. The Texas players must be better.

Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, speaking to local reporters at the annual NFL meeting in Phoenix on Monday, referenced a trio of Texans — Pro Bowl running back De’Von Achane, All Pro linebacker Jordyn Brooks and All Pro center Aaron Brewer — as foundational players.

I’ve written that Achane, who grew up in the Houston area and attended Texas A&M, deserves a contract extension. And I’ve written that Brewer, who grew up in Dallas and attended Texas State, and Brooks, who grew up in Houston and attended Texas Tech, are also worthy of contract extensions.

To some extent, it sounds as though Sullivan agrees.

“Those are going to be the three kind of pillars that we build around it: Achane, Brew, Brooks,” Sullivan said. “They understand where they are, what we’re trying to get done. There’s an order that we’re going to handle the business in, but they know where they are and how important they are to us.”

If you’re a Dolphins fan, that’s music to your ears. Achane, Brewer and Brooks are solid building blocks.

In the spirit of transparency, I’ll admit that I consider myself a Texan. I was born in Chicago and lived there until I was 10 years old. Most of my relatives still live there. But I lived in Texas for the next 20 years, including my high school and college days.

So, yeah, there might be a bias. Set that aside. This isn’t about Texas vs. Florida.

The main point here is that it should give you confidence in Sullivan to know that after only a few weeks on the job he’s correctly identified Achane, Brewer and Brooks as core players.

That Texas-bred trio (actually, I’d add a fourth Texas-bred pillar to that mix — left tackle Patrick Paul, who grew up in the Houston area and attended Houston) forms a solid foundation for the Dolphins because they give a damn, they’re good-character guys and they’re good football players.

As a testament to their attitude and mentality, there’s one thing that you’ll notice about all three when watching game tape — they finish plays.

Achane, who had 1,838 yards from scrimmage last season (1,350 yards rushing, 488 yards receiving) falls forward, not backward, at the end of plays despite weighing 191 pounds.

You often see Brewer, who combines athleticism with smarts, delightfully driving defenders into the ground. The same goes for Brooks, who had a league-leading 183 tackles last season and regularly takes on ball carriers and would-be blockers with equal violence. You’ll recall Brooks, who is both soft-spoken and outspoken, is often the guy giving the fiery on-field pregame speech as the team gathers around him.

All three “pillars” — Achane, Brewer and Brooks — play the game the right way.

On top of all of that, they’re all good locker room guys. And despite their postseason accolades, they’re all blue-collar guys who bust their butts every day in practice and in games.

They won’t be concerned with social media likes and touchdown cellys. They’re concerned with winning. They’re guys who, as Sullivan would say, are “wired right.”

And that’s what winning teams have in big numbers. I’ve seen it with some of the most successful teams I’ve covered, including the champion 2006 and 2012 Miami Heat, the 2000 Miami Dolphins, the last team in franchise history to win a playoff game, the 1996 Texas Rangers, who made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and the 1997-99 University of Miami football teams, who laid the foundation for the 2001 national championship team.

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Having guys who are “wired right” is crucial.

“I just think you’ve got to infuse that locker room with the right kind of dudes,” Sullivan said. “And the best teams are player-led teams. They’re always player-led teams. And when you’ve got a locker room full of guys that want to do it the right way, it’ll take care of itself.”

At one point late last season I was talking to Achane in the locker room. I mentioned to him that the offense had a decidedly Texas feel among himself, Brewer, Paul, quarterback Quinn Ewers, who grew up in Austin and attended Texas, and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who grew up in the Houston area and attended Alabama.

“If we had 11 Texans,” Achane cracked, “we’d be undefeated.”