With the NFL Draft less than a week away, I have one message to Chris Grier, Mike McDaniel, and everyone involved in the decision-making process. Draft Defense!
That’s right, draft defense. Draft it early and draft it often.
This Miami Dolphins roster has a few big holes that need to be filled, and yes, some are on offense with offensive line and wide receiver depth. But the biggest holes that need to be filled are on defense.
We need at least one starting defensive tackle (probably two).
We need another healthy pass rusher and someone to take over for Chubb in a year or so.
We need depth at safety.
If the Miami Dolphins have any hope of getting back to the playoffs in 2024 and actually winning a playoff game for the first time in 24 years, they need to build up the defense next week during the NFL draft.
I know I hear some of you screaming right now as you read this, “… but we need offensive line help.” I hear you. We can sign another free agent once we get that $18 million off the cap after June 1st.
I hear others screaming, “… but we need another legitimate wide receiver behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.” Again, I hear you. Hopefully, we can sign Odell Beckham to fill that spot for one season, then kick the can down the road for another year and push it off until the 2025 draft.
But this Miami Dolphins team lost many (yes, many) players on defense this past offseason and has yet to replace them at an adequate level.
I know the Dolphins fan on social media who lives in a bubble and thinks everything is sunshine and rainbows may not be clear-eyed enough to see that, but its true.
BACK IN REALITY, THE DOLPHINS DEFENSE TOOK A HUGE STEP BACK!
First, going from Vic Fangio to Anthony Weaver is going from a proven commodity to a coach who is totally unproven as a defensive coordinator.
Chrisitan Wilkins, Raekwon Davis, Jerome Baker, Andrew Van Ginkel, Xavien Howard, DeShon Elliott, and Brandon Jones are all gone.
We replaced them with a soon-to-be 33-year-old Jordan Poyer and 32-year-old Shaq Barrett, whose best days are behind them and may be playing in their final season in the NFL.
On the defensive line, we signed six guys who weren’t as good as Raekwon Davis and could only dream of being 1/8th as good as Christian Wilkins.
Jordyn Brooks is a nice player, and Kendall Fuller has had a solid but up-and-down NFL career. Are they as good as the players they are replacing? That can be debated, but if they are, it isn’t by much.
The point is that this Dolphins team has an offense good enough to compete at the highest level. It was the #1 offense in the NFL during the regular season last year. Miami’s issues on offense have more to do with depth and playcalling/decision-making. You can fix those issues in free agency by adding depth pieces and just being smarter about how you call a game. Like sticking to the running game more, don’t be so Tyreek Hill-centric with your passing game, and on simple 3rd and 4th and 1 and 2 yards, run the ball instead of these goofy, overthought pass plays.
The Dolphins’ defense is not good right now, in April. This is especially true when you factor in that we have no earthly idea when Jalean Phillips or Bradley Chubb will be ready to play in 2024.
Yes, Jalean Phillips said he will be ready for Week 1. Great. HE SAID THAT! He is probably aiming for that. But we know the timetable for people with this injury, and what he is saying may be a bit unrealistic. Could Phillips be ready by mid or late-September? Sure. Or may it take until October? Probably more likely.
The point is we don’t know, and Phillips’s super-optimistic outlook may be just that. Super-optimistic. And I wouldn’t read into that just because he is walking around going out and about to Miami Heat games. It’s not like his leg was amputated, and he is probably healthy enough for everyday life. But being a top-flight athlete on a football field? That is a totally different story.
So, in Round 1, if it’s Byron Murphy, Johnny Newton, Jared Verse, Laiatu Latu, or Chop Robinson….TAKE ON OF THEM!
In Round 2, if its Braden Fiske, Jaden Hicks, Adisa Isaac, Michael Hall, Maason Smith, or Javon Bullard….TAKE ONE OF THEM!
The draft is a way to help replenish what we lost on defense this offseason, and we lost a lot.
I know the offense isn’t perfect, but Miami can sign multiple free agents on offense to fill some holes: Tyler Boyd, Dalton Risner, Odell Beckham Jr., Hunter Renfrow, Phil Haynes, and DJ Chark.
The available players on the open market on defense, yeah, that list is scary, and not in a good way.
So, my plea to Chris Grier, Mike McDaniel, and all of the decision-makers in the Miami Dolphins front office is draft defense.
NFL.com Columnist Thinks Miami May Get One of the Draft’s Biggest Steals
NFL.com Columnist thinks Miami May get One of the Drafts Biggest Steals
