One of the biggest stories of the start of training camp for the Miami Dolphins has been the two rookie linemen Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley. Both guys have been given shots to earn starting positions on the line and at the moment it doesn’t look like the spotlight is too big for them. The Dolphins have been looking and looking for many years with no success to find some young linemen to build a solid foundation around on offense. The offensive line for the past decade has been getting worse. They would sign players like Brandon Albert, Josh Sitton, and Mark Columbo who were past their prime or injury prone and didn’t get anything in return on their investment. The Dolphins also drafted guys like Jonathan Martin, Dallas Thomas, and Billy Turner who never panned out and were total busts.
This offseason was about getting better players up front and it appears the team is heading in the right direction. Yes, the Dolphins brought in free agents Erik Flowers and Ted Karras which was a good start, but drafting and developing players on the offensive line is the way to go. The Dolphins had done a poor job of this for the past decade finding players on the offensive line. To the point the went from one of the toughest units a decade ago to one of the weakest units. With the Dolphins investing a top pick in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the team had to make investments in the draft to protect their future franchise quarterback.
— DolphinsTalk.com (@DolphinsTalk) August 24, 2020
Austin Jackson was their second pick in the first round. He is only 21 years old and is considered to have a lot of upside entering the league. Some feel he needs some time to develop considering how young he is to the position, but considering the only player ahead of him is Julien Davenport, who is so inconsistent, the Dolphins feel it’s best to have him play and see how he does right away. I know it’s very early, but so far he has more than held his own. Most of the time when you hear an offensive lineman’s name it’s not good, but he has done nothing so far to hurt himself and holding his own against guys like Shaq Lawson. He does have his moments where he gets beat, but it’s part of the learning curve as a rookie. Frankly, he is probably the best option at left tackle because as a fan I don’t like watching Davenport. He’s horrible and the Dolphins should let the rookie sink or swim.
In the fourth round, the Dolphins traded up to get guard Solomon Kindley. He came in to compete at the right guard position which is his natural position. Not only is he competing, but he appears to be way ahead of everyone else. Kindley is a big physical presence at 6’4″ 340 lbs and like Jackson is only 21 years old. When is the last time the Dolphins drafted a guard who came in and played right away? Probably not since Keith Sims and that was some 30 years ago. Kindley, just like Jackson, has been given every opportunity to play and had more put on his plate the first week and appears to be accepting the challenge. Just like Jackson, he has his rookie moments getting beat, but the moment doesn’t appear to be too big for him.
The Dolphins drafted another lineman in the second round in Robert Hunt, but he needs more time because he has to adjust to the speed of the game coming from a small school in Louisiana-Lafayette and he is being cross-trained at both right tackle and guard so that could complicate things right away for him. When you have a rookie trying to learn two positions it will take time, especially without a true offseason with the COVID pandemic.
Jackson and Kindley are both playing their natural positions that they played in college so that does help them out as compared to Hunt and the transition isn’t as bad other than getting used to the speed of the game. If Jackson and Kindley can keep this up the Dolphins could have two rookie starters and the start of a good foundation along the line moving forward. Maybe it could be like Sims and Richmond Webb 30 years ago and if that’s the case I’ll take it. The Dolphins look like they have finally found themselves a couple of players on the line. They will be put to the test this year playing against good defensive front in the New England Patriots & Buffalo Bills twice, as well as the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Chargers. That will be a big test this season going up against some of the better defensive lines in the league. There will be ups and downs, but from the looks of things, it appears Jackson and Kindley are up for the challenge and won’t be fazed. That’s a great sign for the Dolphins in their rebuilding process moving forward.
