Miami Dolphins
2019 Record: (5-11) 4th
AFC East
2019 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 19.1 (25th)
Yards: 310.0 (27th)
Pass Yards: 237.8 (12th)
Rush Yards: 72.2 (32nd)
Defense
Points: 30.9 (32nd)
Yards: 397.8 (30th)
Pass Yards: 262.4 (26th)
Rush Yards: 135.4 (27th)
Realistically, what was the expectation for the Miami Dolphins
when they entered the 2019 off-season? Changing the approach in hiring former
Patriots defensive coordinator Brain Flores, the first step in adjusting the
culture appears to be the correct one. Flores came to this team and it was
clear from day one that everything would be under evaluation and potential
change to fit how he views it should be.
The season as a whole was as predictable as it could’ve been with
a team constructed to lose in hopes to garner better draft placement. Adding
Ryan Fitzpatrick screamed tank season as his ability is just to keep the team
competitive, while losing majority of his contests. Josh Rosen was an
interesting addition on draft day as the low risk trade with the Cardinals
would create a situation where they could see what they have in the young
quarterback. Outside of that, the Dolphins began to ship out and release all
the talent they had on this roster in hopes for a true tear down and rebuild.
Moving on from players like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Kenyan Drake, Kiko
Alonso, Kenny Stills and Laremy Tunsil – the complete fire sale was in effect
leaving the Fins with a multitude of picks at their disposal. While it’s
difficult to endorse any positives for what transpired over the course of the
2019 season, the excitement in Miami will come at the hands of the 2020
off-season.
2020 Offseason
WorkBook:
The Offense
Beginning on the offensive side and
primarily the quarterback position, the Dolphins will again roll with Ryan
Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen as we enter the early stages of the off-season.
Releasing one of these men isn’t out of the question, but their roster spot is
contingent on which direction Miami goes in the NFL draft. All indication has
Miami choosing their franchise quarterback in this draft, which is likely
between Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert. No matter which passer is chosen, we
could see Miami carry three quarterbacks this season to cover their bases.
Moving toward the running back position,
the room is littered with limited skill sets and will undoubtedly be upgraded
this off-season. After trading Kenyan Drake to the Cardinals - Kalen Ballage,
Patrick Laird and Myles Gaskin remained. Still viewing as the only viable
runners on this roster, could we see player come from the open market as well
as the draft? Perhaps Melvin Gordon could be the appropriate solution for this
team’s long term running needs, while adding a player like Dandre Swift to form
a fantastic tandem that would change the entire landscape of the Fins ground
attack. Everything is on the table and we fully expect a number of additions
here.
Jumping into the wide receiver room,
this could be the only positional group that doesn’t witness a great deal of
changeover this off-season. Staying the course with DeVante Parker and locking
up his services on a new four year pact worth 30.5 million, we don’t hate this
move based on his elevated performance last season. Having last years rookie
Preston Williams come back from injury while he showed good levels of flash –
the two looked the part of potentially being a sound one-two punch. Adding
Isaiah Ford to the mix to round out this core, we can say with some level of
confidence that this group could see good levels of production with an upgrade
at quarterback. Snagging another receiver isn’t out of the question, but should
be viewed with lesser urgency.
As for the tight end and offensive line,
more upgrades should be had but more so on the line. Mike Gesicki hasn’t been
what we thought he would be thus far, but did take giant steps in his
progression to be the second leading pass catcher on the team. Consistency is
our largest concern with him and we hope he will take another leap in 2020. The
offensive line is a group which allowed a whopping 57 sacks of Dolphin quarterbacks
last year and should see a complete overhaul in the next couple off-seasons.
With massive amounts of free dollars on
the books and draft capital they hold, this offense should be vastly improved
with boat loads of depth coming their way.
The Defense
Much of the same can be said for a
defensive unit that was dismantled at the start of the season all the way to
the trade deadline. Ranking out as one of the leagues bottom feeders in most
all statistical rankings – there aren’t many positives to go around from this
unit either.
Starting with the defensive line,
Christian Wilkins and Taco Charlton should be viewed as the primary pieces in
their new roster construction. All other pieces could turn into sound depth
players but will never turn the corner and become something viable to promote.
If we know the way coach Flores plans to operate – building the team in the
trenches is the way they will move and the defensive line will receive a
massive uptick in talent and ability.
Trying to find some level of positivity
for this defense, we can throw some support to their line backers with Jerome
Baker and Raekwon McMillan. Both players were leaned upon to be tackling
machines with little support coming from the defensive line. Baker led the club
with 126 tackles and looks to be improving year-over-year. McMillan was well on
his way to gaining over 100 tackles again this season but couldn’t manage to
reach that mark with lost time to injury. Nevertheless, these two youthful
players should continue to hold a place on this roster with the potential for
greater talent coming to assist them after this off-season. Alec Ogletree
screams free agent addition for the Fins as big dollars could be given while
seeing his sound ability added to a defense in hopes to get better.
Moving right along to the secondary the
Dolphins house, recent news report have broken to inform Reshad Jones has been
released off the roster. This literally leaves Xavien Howard the lone wolf on a
crew that can’t stop the pass to save their lives. While Eric Rowe was leaned
upon this past season more so than any other time in his career, he isn’t a
quality starter and has proven that in the past. In terms of Howard, we still
love what he brings to the table and we’ll preach his skill set any day of the
week. He has shut down potential written all over him and should again excel
with added weapons to this back-end.
Much like the offense, this group
requires a complete repair and we shall begin to see how it unfolds after this
off-season.
Team Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
Keeping up with the narrative in how
Miami planned to operate this past season and into this off-season – trades to
secure more draft capital, cutting players that no longer fit the system and
increase free dollars on the salary cap was the result. As we stand today, the
Fins hold a mammoth 98.4 million dollars in free money to spend where they see
fit. While we don’t envision a massive spending spree on the open market this
season, this is all part of the process to fully rebuild a roster properly.
In terms of their current team free
agents vying for new contracts, their aren’t many names that will give the
general manager and coaching staff pause to consider bringing back to the club.
Outside of placing a tender on exclusive restricted free agent Isaiah Ford,
Miami will undeniably be comfortable in letting the remaining players walk to
the open market.
While attempting to find more money on
the books in bad contracts might seem ridiculous for a team with nearly 100
million in free space, there is one player we could see get the axe before free
agency opens. Albert Wilson and his grossly overvalued 10.8 million dollar cap
hit should be removed, especially with all the potential talent they currently
hold. Cutting Wilson would only send 1.3 million to dead funds which is an
absolute no brainer move in our eyes.
Outside of that – general manager Chris
Grier has done a good job in reloading every aspect of this roster in terms of
money and draft capital. The fun will begin on March 18th as we
could finally see the Miami Dolphins take a turn for the better and compete in
meaningful football games.
The NFL Draft
Doing things the right way normally
comes at a cost, but Miami has stockpiled their 2020 draft board to hold a league
high 14 draft selections in 2020. Holding three first round picks, two second
round picks, three fifth round picks and three seventh rounders is the full
arsenal of ammunition they carry. Having six selections in the top 70, while
sitting with three in the top 26 – Miami could change the direction of their
franchise in one fell swoop.
Obviously, the primary objective rests
in finding a new franchise quarterback to lead this team for many years to
come. To reiterate, with Joe Burrow likely headed to the Bengals first overall,
the choice will be between Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert. For our appetite,
we would greatly prefer Tagovailoa to be the quarterback for Miami, but health
concerns are a risk with that injured hip. It may take a trade up to snag Tua as
teams may be willing to leap frog the Dolphins for him – this will be something
to watch on draft day.
Heading down the first round to pick 18,
Miami will have a number of options but that should move toward taking one of
the top running backs in the draft. Deandre Swift or Jonathan Taylor appear to
be the correct moves for a first round runner, but we would be encouraged with
Swift being the guy. Its not that we don’t like the skill set of Taylor, Swift
simply appears to be the better overall product in our eyes. Finishing off the
first round (if they keep all their current picks), Miami could select
offensive line, defensive line, or defensive back help. Taking the top talent
on the board should be the move here, regardless of position, as many spots
will be filled with the remainder of their 14 draft choices.
For the long run of this club, this
draft is supremely important to the eventual success over what could be the
next five plus years. One would have to believe that Miami will have every
aspect covered to secure the players they covet. This is a very exciting time
for Dolphins fans and we encourage all of them to enjoy the ride.
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