No position on the Miami Dolphins roster was re-gutted this offseason than the offensive line. Last year the Dolphins traded away their best offensive lineman in Laremy Tunsil and after that played guys who were inexperienced or veterans playing out their contracts. The line was a mess as a whole and the Dolphins needed to add more talent and depth.
The Dolphins added Erik Flowers and Ted Karras in free agency and they bring in some experience. Then they loaded up in the draft selecting Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt, and Solomon Kindley. All of them have the talent and high ceilings. I can’t really remember the last time the Dolphins added multiple players on the offensive line in the draft early other than in 1990 when they drafted Richmond Webb and Keith Sims. Those two helped anchor the left side of the offensive line and protect Dan Marino for years. Jackson, Hunt, and Kindley have a chance to be a foundation for years to come with the Dolphins. The Dolphins have veteran Jesse Davis returning and he’s pretty much the only one returning assured of starting. The Dolphins have Julian Davenport, Michael Deiter, and Shaq Calhoun coming back and hopefully will show improvement to improve the depth overall even if there is an injury or two.
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The problem for the Dolphins this year like a lot of teams is the lack of an offseason because of the coronavirus epic and with all of the changes on the offensive line, there won’t be a lot of practice time. On top of that with the competition and open positions, there won’t be a lot of time to create the continuity on the offensive line. When the season starts, it’s possible the offensive line will take its lumps while everyone figures out their position. The line should get better as the season goes along, but how quickly they come along could be the key.
The Dolphins have a good set of skills position players and a veteran quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick returning. They also have a rookie quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa, but starting him might not be the best option right away until the line starts to come together. An offense with good skill players will do well and can make big plays, but if the offensive line doesn’t come together they could get exposed at some point. The biggest key to a good offense is the play of the offensive line. If the line comes together the Dolphins may have a chance to do somethings on offense.
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You forgot to mention the “new” OL coach Marshall. Is he the one that can turn our OL around? What skills does he have to transition the rookies from college to the difficult and drastically different NFL game? I’ve been waiting year after year for the Dolphins to have a top 15 OL. We will never have a great offensive team without the OL unit performing at least to par.