The Miami Dolphins’ offensive line overhaul is one of the team’s best developments through the first three games of this young 2020 NFL season. Despite the fact that the Dolphins are starting four new players on their line, the Dolphins have seen better protection for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and logged 59 points over their last two games while seeing the team’s rushing total improve in three consecutive weeks.
There’s a lot of improvement and work to still be done, but the fact that Miami’s offensive line has already turned the narrative about the unit on its head after just a handful of games (including two against sturdy defenses in New England and Buffalo) is a testament to the potential of the group as the season continues to evolve.
Two of the primary players are both rookies for Miami — left tackle Austin Jackson and right guard Solomon Kindley are making a difference. And their teammates are starting to take note. Dolphins center Ted Karras met with the South Florida media yesterday and was asked specifically about the rookies on the line and how they’ve been able to impress.
“Both work extremely hard and want to do the right things. I think they have great attitudes and just really a willingness to try to get better every day. I think Solomon (Kindley) is a mauler. It’s fun to play next to a guy like that – a guy that can come in and really move bodies and clean out the pocket on certain things. And then Austin Jackson, 21 years old playing left tackle in the league, that’s very, very impressive and I told those guys last night that I am very impressed with them, proud of them and they’re doing just a lot of great things,” said Karras.
“We’ve got to keep moving forward going into Week 4 now and we’ve just got to keep getting better.”
So far, so good. If the Dolphins can have a chance to score 24+ points per game over each game this season (they currently average 23.3, even after an abysmal 11-point performance in the opener thanks to three Ryan Fitzpatrick turnovers), Miami will have plenty of chances to win some football games. The youth of Miami will be a double edged sword all season long, but the new talents on the line for Miami have succeeded in giving Miami a much improved offensive line, which was clearly a top priority based on how much the team invested there this offseason.
