It's no secret the Miami Dolphins have had to go into rebuild mode on their offensive line this offseason, particularly in the interior. With Robert Hunt signing a mega-deal with the Carolina Panthers and Connor Williams being an unrestricted free agent with an uncertain status due to his recovery from an ACL tear in December, there are some significant questions to be answered.
Perhaps a potential answer will be visiting the Dolphins in short order. According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson will visit with the Dolphins as part of the pre-draft process as one of his "Top 30" visits.
Powers-Johnson is considered to be the top center and overall interior offensive lineman in the draft by many outlets. The 6'3" 328-pound lineman out of Oregon won the Rimington Trophy last season as college football's best center.
While some pundits frown on taking an interior offensive lineman in the first round, Powers-Johnson possesses an intriguing combination of size and quickness. He's a physical blocker but also showed the speed and agility to get out in space and block outside the hashes and down the field.
He'd also come at a far less expensive option than re-signing Williams, despite the fact the latter was very good when he was on the field last year. Williams should get some looks in free agency once some teams - including the Dolphins - get some post-June 1 cap relief. Spotrac gives a market value for Williams at around $13.5 average annual salary per year.
Miami has a legitimate option at center in former Tennessee Titans IOL Aaron Brewer, who signed with the Dolphins in March. However, Brewer also played guard in Tennessee, so he likely isn't penciled into the starting center spot at this point. Adding a player like Powers-Johnson at center to go with Brewer at one of the guard spots could be a viable strategy. Miami also has Week 1 left guard starter Isaiah Wynn back on a one-year deal.
We'll see what happens when the Dolphins are on the clock on Thursday, April 25 when the NFL Draft gets underway.
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