No Matter What, Continue To Build In The Trenches

No Matter What, Continue To Build In The Trenches

The Miami Dolphins head into the offseason with a ton of needs. They are going to have a lot of tough decisions to make this offseason with their salary cap constraints. To say new general manager Jon Eric Sullivan has his work cut out for him is an understatement. This is his chance to reshape and rebuild this roster, especially if he chooses to do a complete teardown, which I think he should. With this being a weak quarterback class, it would be wise for Sullivan not to reach for one early in the draft and maybe take a chance on one starting in the 3rd, since they have 3 third round picks.

This is also a weak free agent class of quarterbacks, and you must pay to get one, which the Dolphins probably won’t be in a position to do. The Dolphins last year started investing in the trenches, and if I were them, I would continue down that route. 

Sullivan, in a statement upon accepting the job, said he wanted to build a tough, physical, and resilient team. Well, building in the trenches fits that mold for being tough and physical.

The Dolphins’ trenches improved in the 2nd half of the season, but they need to keep adding. 

The offensive line going into the season was considered by many to be a weakness for the Dolphins because they had a new starting left tackle in Patrick Paul, who underwhelmed in his part-time action as a rookie, and a rookie at left guard, Jonah Savaiinaea, who had never played the position before. They had a new right guard in James Daniel, who signed as a free agent and was coming off an Achilles’ tear the previous season.

They also had returning starters Aaron Brewer and Austin Jackson. Early in the season, the Dolphins struggled and lost Jackson and Daniels to injury. Daniels suffered a season-ending injury after 3 plays. Jackson missed half of the season.

The Dolphins started Cole Strange at right guard and Larry Borom at right tackle. Both of those guys were free agent signings. Strange signed just before the season started, while Borom signed early as a free agent and was considered a backup with the worst PFF grade ranking the year before. The Dolphins’ line struggled for a good month with those guys, but the group got better as the season went on. 

Paul played so well that he looks like a potential All-Pro if he keeps his play up. Brewer played like one of the better centers in the league. Barom proved more than capable at right tackle to fill, and Strange seems to have rejuvenated his career after being a 1st round bust with the New England Patriots.

Savaiinaea struggled and went through his growing pains, but played better down the stretch as the season went on. The Dolphins’ offensive line was the catalyst for the team, turning the team into a running team, especially during their 4-game winning streak. 

However, as well as this unit played, there are some problems going into the off-season. Strange and Borom are both free agents. Borom is more of a backup and utility player than he is a starter, so he might not command a lot of money on the market.

For Strange, it’s possible his play might help earn him a pretty nice offer in free agency since he is in his mid 20s, and this might be his chance to get a good deal elsewhere. Jackson is a possible cap casualty as the Dolphins have an out in his contract and frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he is let go because, since he signed that contract extension at the end of the 2023 season, he has missed half of the games he has played and a new regime might want a more durable player and one with more upside.

Brewer is going into the last year of his contract, and at age 29, might be looking at his last chance at a big payday, and he played like one of the best centers in the league this year. With the cap problems, an extension could benefit the Dolphins as it would lower his cap number and give the team financial relief.

Paul is a building block at left tackle. Savaiinaea could use this off-season to bulk up and work on his game, like Paul did last year, and the results were tremendous. Then, Daniel is coming off another season-ending injury, and there is an out in his contract, but it’s a reasonable salary, so maybe the Dolphins should keep him around. It will come down to what the new regime thinks of the group. 

 On the defensive side of the ball, the Dolphins last year drafted Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips, and Zeke Biggers. They all got off to slow starts, but they played better as the season went on. Zach Seiler is the incumbent veteran, and he signed a contract extension before the season, which was well deserved, but he had a down year and did play better down the stretch. Seiler is in his early 30’s and still productive, but the Dolphins should also keep looking for help on the interior.

The Dolphins also have decisions to make with their edge rushers, as they traded Jaelan Phillips during the season. Bradley Chubb took a pay cut last year to stay around after missing all of 2024 recovering from a late-season knee injury in 2023. He led the team in sacks, but he is 30 years old and has a hefty contract that the Dolphins can move on from, since I don’t think he will take another pay cut this year. 

The Dolphins also have 2024 top pick Chop Robinson, who, after a promising rookie season, had a subpar second season. With a new regime, he must remember they didn’t draft him, and the Dolphins need him to perform or else.

The Dolphins need an influx of talent on the interior of the defensive line, especially edge rushers, to add depth and talent.  

Sullivan has his work cut out for him. I don’t know who the Dolphins will hire as a head coach, but with a new GM and coach, there will be roster turnover due to the cap, and players not chosen by them will most likely be shown the door slowly. Sullivan needs to do what the team did last year, and that is continuing to build in the trenches because that is where it all starts in the game of football.

You have a great quarterback, skilled position players, and a secondary, but if you don’t have the players to block for your quarterback or skill players or players on the defensive line to collapse the pocket and clog up the running lanes, you will only go so far.

The Dolphins need the new regime to start building a tough, physical team, and it starts at the line of scrimmage, because that is where the Dolphins have been lacking over the last couple of years and beyond.