As
we are just days away from the first OTA session and essentially the kickoff of
this upcoming NFL aeason it is time to look at the Miami Dolphins roster and
give it a last glance to see where things sit as they begin the long journey
that is the 2018 NFL season.

While
looking at this roster any reasonable minded Dolphins fan must admit the depth across
the board at most if not all positions has improved and is better than what it
has been in recent years. With that said though there are still a couple areas
where depth is a big issue and I am going to dive into this today. One injury
to a key player at a spot can derail an entire season and send a franchise into
a downward spiral fast and ensure you have a very high draft pick in 2019. Who
are the few key players the Miami Dolphins cannot afford to lose to injury in
2018.

Laremy
Tunsil

(Back
Up’s: Sam Young, Sean Hickey, David Steinmetz, Eric Smith, Zach Sterup)
After
a spectacular rookie season at guard Laremy Tunsil was not a very good player
in 2017 at left tackle for the Miami Dolphins. 2018 is a big year for Tunsil as
he must improve his level of play or else media, fans, and the experts will
start to look at him as a first round miss with his draft selection just a few
years ago. With that said though, Tunsil, even if he isn’t living up to his
pre-draft hype, must stay healthy in 2018 or else the Miami Dolphins will have
a big problem on his hands. There isn’t a quality back-up behind him currently
on the roster and replacing Tunsil should he miss multiple games or more would
be a nightmare. Sam Young is very hot and cold and has looked OK (just OK mind
you) at times and looked lost on the field at others. And players like Hickey,
Smith, Sterup, and Steinmetz are borderline NFL quality players.  Miami must have a healthy Tunsil for 16 games
in 2018.


Josh
Sitton
(Back
Up’s: Ted Larsen, Jesse Davis, Isaac Asiata)
We
all know the Dolphins offensive line was downright horrible in 2017 and most of
the same faces are coming back. Yes, Daniel Kilgore replaces Mike Pouncey which
many experts think is a lateral move at best, but the only big difference in
this line is the addition of Josh Sitton. But what if Josh Sitton were to go
down to injury? We would be back with essentially the same group that failed in
2017. Either Ted Larsen or Jesse Davis will start at right guard leaving the
loser of that battle to be the primary back-up at both guard positions and neither
of those players are on the level of a Josh Sitton. Miami’s offensive line
today on paper is as deep and good as it has been in recent years (that isn’t
saying much I know) but really the key factor is Josh Sitton and if he were to
go down to an injury Miami for the most part would be hoping the same guys who
couldn’t get the job done in 2017 find a way to magically play better in 2018.

Ryan
Tannehill

(Back
Up’s: Bryce Petty, Brock Osweiler, David Fales)
While
some “experts” already think Miami is the worst or one of the two or three
worst teams in the NFL heading into 2018, if Ryan Tannehill were to go down to
injury and miss multiple games or be lost for the season again, the Dolphins without
a shadow of a doubt would be the worst team in the NFL. I know, I know for most
if not all NFL teams if you lose your starting quarterback it is very tough to
replace them. Only a couple teams have capable #2 quarterbacks on their roster.
All true, but with the Dolphins the drop-off from their starter to #2 quarterback
might be the biggest drop-off in the league. The big question of this offseason
is, did the Dolphins do enough to improve the quarterback position; both
starter wise and back-up wise. While we could have an endless debate about Ryan
Tannehill being “the man,” what is not up for debate is the Dolphins organization
did little to nothing to improve the back-up quarterback position. Bryce Petty,
Brock Osweiler, and David Fales are bad football players, and should Tannehill
go down Miami is looking at an awful 2018 season.

Kiko
Alonso

(Back
Up’s: Terence Garvin, Jerome Baker, Mike Hull, Chase Allen, Quentin Poling)
Some
of you are probably saying to yourself don’t you mean Raekwon McMillian? NO, I
mean Kiko Alonso and here is why. We still have no idea if McMillan is a good
NFL player or not, so I can’t say if he goes down Miami will be hurting at
linebacker. And Stephone Anthony who is penciled in as the other starting
linebacker is an average player on his best day. The one linebacker Miami
cannot afford to lose to injury believe it or not is Kiko Alonso. Yes, we know
Alonso struggled at times in 2017 but overall on paper he is still Miami’s best
linebacker. And the linebacker unit overall has no depth. If Alonso went down
to injury Miami would be right back to where they were last year with one of
the if not the worst linebacker groups in the NFL. You can make a case that Miami
cannot afford to lose any of their top four linebackers to injury this year or
else they will be back to where this group is just awful. Right now, with two
promising youngsters in Raekwon McMillian and Jerome Baker there is hope this
unit will be better in 2018. With that said though, if Kiko Alonso goes down
then this unit becomes very inexperienced and young and the little depth they have
goes away quick.


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