Back at the beginning of the 2021 offseason, we profiled what we felt were the Miami Dolphins’ three biggest needs on each side of the football were. Offensively, the punch list for the Dolphins was painfully obvious down the stretch. But given the way the Dolphins attacked their rebuild during the 2020 offseason (with a heavy focus on defense), that wasn’t necessarily a surprise. But the time for upgrade opportunities is wearing thin. How have the Dolphins done?
Here were our three primary needs on offense:
The biggest area of improvement falls with the wide receivers. Miami tabbed two speedsters in Will Fuller (free agency) and Jaylen Waddle (NFL Draft) to help bolster the skill group and we have a feeling creating after the catch will be a little easier for Dolphins receivers this year as as result. Too many times we saw the Dolphins struggle to break big plays due to the presence of bigger receivers — that problem is alleviated to some degree with the addition of these two burners.
And the offensive line appears to be improved as well. Ereck Flowers’ departure is addition by subtraction and the free agent signing of DJ Fluker should not be overlooked. But Miami also exchanged Ted Karras for Matt Skura at center (a push?) and added Liam Eichenberg with a trade-up in the 2nd-round. Regardless of where Eichenberg plays, Miami can re-shuffle the deck and find improved play at a guard spot with him in the mix.
The running back position didn’t get the glow up that many fans wanted this season. It also didn’t get the investment attention that the other two needs on offense did. But the Dolphins did add Malcolm Brown in free agency and Gerrid Doaks in the 7th-round to bring more size and physicality to the group.
Miami’s investments, much like on defense, aligned with our assessment of the roster at the end of the 2020 season. Now comes the fun part: finding out who can fill what voids for the 2021 season and beyond.
