Much of the Miami Dolphins’ offseason has been focused on how the team is going to stack up against the competition on Sundays. There’s been a great deal of change amid the Dolphins’ ranks, both in the coaching ranks and among the players — which makes for some fascinating speculation about the team. But how do the Dolphins stack up against themselves?
Which position groups are the cream of the crop amid the Dolphins’ current ranks and which ones will probably require some development and/or additional reinforcements down the line?
Here are how we’d currently stack the Miami Dolphins’ position groups entering 2020 training camp.
1. Cornerbacks
Byron Jones. Xavien Howard. 1st-round pick Noah Igbinoghene. 2019 UDFA standout Nik Needham. And, when in need, Eric Rowe and Bobby McCain. The Dolphins will have plenty of options to align in man to man coverage this season and between head coach Brian Flores and new defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, the defensive backs are clearly the identity of this football team. Miami has invested a ton of money into the position between Jones, Howard and (eventually) Igbinoghene — expectations for this group will be measuredly higher as a result.
They’ve got the talent to rise to the occasion, too. It may just take a bit of time to gel.
2. Linebackers
Versatility is the name of the game with this group — as that is what the team struggled with the most last season. Raekwon McMillan is an early-down thud defender between the tackles. Jerome Baker is ideally suited to play “WILL” and be in space as much as possible. These don’t diminish their value, as Baker has the upside in coverage to continue to make splash plays. But their ideal roles make the arrival of Kyle Van Noy, Kamu Grugier-Hill and Elandon Roberts all that much more exciting — as these are versatile players with three down athleticism. And with more depth to work with on the second level now, the Dolphins can keep mixing and matching as necessary to be best aligned to shut down the middle of the field.
3. Defensive Line
If there is going to be a standout star among this group, Christian Wilkins has the best chance. The additions of Emmanuel Ogbah and Shaq Lawson should not be overlooked, though — they provide Miami with a fearsome group at the point of attack who is capable of building a firm wall in the run game. The Dolphins’ pass rush potential may not be among their best qualities, but they have a slew of competent rushers as compared to having a rookie in Wilkins last season and not much else to speak of.
The depth of this group is what ranks it so high for the Dolphins, as Wilkins, Davon Godchaux, Lawson, Ogbah, Vince Biegel and 2020 rookies Curtis Weaver and Jason Strowbridge provide Miami with a healthy group up front.
4. Running Backs
They may not be here for a long time, but the Dolphins’ new 1-2 punch at running back is a massive improvement to what the team illustrated last year between Kenyan Drake’s final stint with Miami, Mark Walton’s brief stay in the backfield, Kalen Ballage’s abysmal campaign and “The Intern” Patrick Laird’s rise to lead back. Jordan Howard is a young hammer between the tackles who was forced to serve as a square peg in a round hole during his third and final season in Chicago under Matt Nagy. The Dolphins will provide Howard with a better fit — like the one he held under former Bears coach John Fox when Howard rushed for 2,435 yards and 15 touchdowns in his first two seasons in the NFL.
Add in Matt Breida as an explosive home run hitter with a career 5.0 yards per carry average to serve as the “lightning” to Howard’s thunder and this pairing looks to be an effective duo for 2020.
5. Quarterbacks
Veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick is hard to place. He’s made a career out of flashing big production over periods of time before falling back and regressing with more time. Is he doomed to suffer the same fate in Miami? If he does, the Dolphins will have Tua Tagovailoa waiting in the wings — but he’s a rookie and despite all of the fanfare around his game we decided to be a bit conservative with ranking the QB group amid his lack of NFL snaps.
But if Tua is as advertised, this position group is probably a top three room on the Dolphins’ roster.
6. Tight Ends
Mike Gesicki took the needed steps forward in 2019 to prove the Dolphins right for investing a top-50 pick on him back in 2018. We were worried there for a while, mainly because Adam Gase thought it would be a good idea to use a flex tight end in pass protection nearly a quarter of the time during Gesicki’s rookie season. The improvement in Gesicki’s play makes for an exciting forecast in the long-term, even if new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey’s offense hasn’t been historically kind to tight ends.
And, because the Dolphins are likely to run a lot of “11 personnel”, the team will only need one tight end on the field — avoiding highlighting the lack of depth of legit receiving options in the room.
7. Specialists
The Dolphins drafted a new long-snapper in 2020, adding Blake Ferguson to the roster to serve as one of the three key specialists on the roster. Kicker Jason Sanders is a fine option and his big leg has produced four 50+ yard field goals over his first two seasons. Accuracy will be something to watch in the long run, but Sanders shouldn’t be considered a weakness. Punter Matt Haack punted nearly 20 times less in 2019 despite the team’s struggles — a testament to Brian Flores’ aggressive mentality. Haack is probably the biggest “on the bubble” player amid the specialists.
8. Wide Receivers
The Miami Dolphins’ wide receiver room is not a finished product despite the fact that the team didn’t bring in a single new receiver via free agency or the 2020 NFL Draft. DeVante Parker’s big breakout season last year was a breath of fresh air and saves the Dolphins’ receiving room from being a massive Achilles heel. 2019 UDFA standout Preston Williams looks like a diamond in the rough, but he suffered an ACL tear midway through the 2019 season and will need to prove himself healthy. Same can be said for Albert Wilson, who played the majority of the year but looked like a hollow shell of his former self after the catch — which is where he was best in 2018 and where the Dolphins desperately need him to thrive in 2020.
Jakeem Grant is a fun player but he needs to solidify his status as a high-volume target in the passing game and Allen Hurns doesn’t illustrate any notable traits that are unique to offer. From there, the Dolphins have a collection of names (Gary Jennings Jr, Mack Hollins, Isaiah Ford) who are going to fight to make the roster — which one can help create the most explosive plays?
9. Safeties
Eric Rowe should be considered a viable long-term option at one safety spot — his transition to strong safety and manning up opposing tight ends was a fun subplot of the second half of 2019. With cornerback experience, both Rowe and free safety Bobby McCain provide flexibility on the back end — but McCain was injured in the second half of the year and wasn’t overly impressive when he was on the field. That position lingers as a big question mark for the Dolphins. The team’s third safety is likely to be assigned to Brandon Jones, a top-75 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft who figures to project into a “Patrick Chung” role in Brian Flores’ defense. Rowe instilled confidence throughout 2019 about his ability to be competent in playing his role in the back end — but the rest of the Dolphins’ safety group has unanswered questions.
10. Interior Offensive Line
We’ve entered into the area of the Dolphins’ roster where things could go nuclear in 2020 and serve as problem areas. Specifically on the offensive interior, who is playing center? Who is playing right guard? These are questions we don’t have yet, although you should probably expect to see the interior group look like this when the season kicks off:
Ereck Flowers — Ted Karras (or Michael Deiter) — Jesse Davis
Three players playing next to new teammates for the first time amid all of the 2020 offseason restrictions isn’t ideal. The Dolphins have needed depth in Solomon Kindley and Deiter — but the ceiling here doesn’t feel as high as it ideally would be with a finished product.
11. Offensive Tackles
The Dolphins invested heavily here this offseason, but there are still more questions than answers regarding how well this experiment can provide returns in 2020. The Dolphins drafted two tackles in the top-40 picks, landing Austin Jackson from USC at No. 18 and then Robert Hunt at No. 39 overall. Each figures to serve in a starting role, although Julie’n Davenport will look to stave off Jackson at hold down the starting left tackle gig to start the season.
This group was brutal in 2019 — so the silver lining is it is hard to envision the tackles being any worse than they were last year despite the inexperience.
