The Miami Dolphins have released their first official depth chart of the 2020 NFL season and, generally speaking, there weren’t too many surprises along the way. The Dolphins’ offensive line appears to be set — with rookies Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley locking down starting jobs entering Week 1 against the New England Patriots. Add in Ryan Fitzpatrick commandeering the starting quarterback position and everything appeared to remain fairly in line with what training camp reports seemed to indicate for the Dolphins.
But that isn’t to say this depth chart didn’t offer at least some surprises. Here were the three biggest curveballs that Miami’s depth chart provided entering Week 1.
Mike Gesicki as TE2
Durham Smythe, starting tight end of the Miami Dolphins? This was a bit of a surprise, but then again you have to consider the format of the depth chart. The Dolphins’ depth chart was listed in a traditional ’21 personnel’ presentation: with a tight end, running back and fullback all getting credited with a “1st-string” role. The Dolphins aren’t going to run a lot of 21 personnel (or maybe they will, but we shouldn’t expect it). Durham Smythe is also a better blocker than Gesicki, so traditional tight end reps will rightfully go to Smythe this his hand in the dirt over Gesicki.
But if you think that means Gesicki won’t play on Sunday, guess again. We’d be willing to bet Gesicki gobbles up more reps than Smythe in Week 1 despite what the depth chart reads.
Shaq Lawson at OLB
Lawson was always going to start. But the question was whether or not he would play inside when the Dolphins committed to playing odd front defenses. Now we know (or at least we think we do) that Lawson will be given stand-up duties along with his reps with his hand in the dirt as a base end. We shouldn’t expect to see too much of Lawson dropping into coverage or moving away from the line of scrimmage, but we can definitely expect to see Lawson on the field a ton for the Dolphins’ defense.
Patrick Laird RB4
‘The Intern’ appears to be losing ground in the Dolphins’ backfield. It should surprise no one that Laird was behind Jordan Howard and Matt Breida — but to fall behind Myles Gaskin was a bit of a surprise when you consider the quality of tape both players put forth last season. Opportunities for the depth of Miami’s backfield figure to be limited unless injuries arise, but never the less Laird figured to have a role as a third-down player. And maybe he still will, but it was surprising to see him at the bottom of the pecking order for the Dolphins’ running back room.
