It’s been a week since free agency started, and the Miami Dolphins have signed some players to minimal contracts with no real big splash signing at this time. Every year, there are surprises when the team re-signs players you think will leave because of injuries, looking to upgrade the position, or money being a factor. The biggest surprise to me this year is that the Dolphins re-signed all of their free-agent linebackers in Elandon Roberts, Duke Riley, Sam Eguavoen, and Brennan Scarlett. All of these players re-signed to one-year contracts, and I was wondering why? 


No offense to these players, but linebacker is an area the Dolphins need to upgrade, notably inside linebacker, and to get someone to pair with Jerome Baker. Roberts has been the starting inside linebacker for the past two years, and the team obviously likes him, but only to keep him around on a one-year deal for the past three years now. He’s good in run defense but is a pass coverage liability and a two-down linebacker. The Dolphins need to find a three-down linebacker who can be on the field and diagnose running plays and pass cover. Some linebackers on the free agent market could be an upgrade, such as Bobby Wagner or Kwon Alexander. Wagner might be past his prime, but he is coming off a 170-tackle season, so he is still playing at a high level. Whether those players fit in this scheme is another story, but the Dolphins could use an upgrade. Riley, Eguavoen, and Scarlett, let’s face it, are more special teams players and are the last line of defense players that get on the field in case of injury.  

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The Dolphins have young players in their secondary, especially at the safety position in Javon Holland and Brandon Jones, but maybe they could add a veteran that can help mentor them. Yes, the Dolphins have Eric Rowe, but he is coming off an off-year and could get cut at some point this off-season. The Dolphins shouldn’t bank on Holland and Jones either. Sometimes players entering their 2nd or 3rd years have off years or struggle. Jones, in particular, struggles in coverage. He’s an excellent blitzer and tackler, but if he doesn’t improve in his coverage, it could expose this defense at some point if they don’t add someone with experience to help him out. The Dolphins are also reportedly looking to move on from cornerback Byron Jones, but that will not happen this year after his recent off-season surgery, and his contract is guaranteed from injury. This draft is deep with defensive backs, so maybe the Dolphins can look to find someone to groom to take Jones’ place in another year potentially. 


This off-season, it was positive that the Dolphins re-signed Emmanuel Ogbah because it would have been bad for this defense if they lost him. Ogbah has led the team in sacks in the last two years and has batted down more passes than anyone else in football. However, let’s say Ogbah got hurt; who picks up the slack? Sure, the Dolphins have promising rookie Jaelan Phillips, who had 8.5 sacks this past year, but let’s be honest, most of those sacks came in 3 games stretch where he had multiple sacks. He’s still an up-and-coming player and should continue to develop, but the Dolphins should look to add more pass rushers if they become available and more defensive tackles to add more depth. They also can’t just rely on their blitz packages to get to the quarterback. 


The strength of the Dolphins last year was their defense, but the defense had a tough start to the season and finished middle of the pack in total defense. This defense should continue to be the strength, but the Dolphins struggled last year against good quarterbacks in Josh Allen, Tom Brady, and Matt Ryan. The defense got better, in all honesty, because they had a soft schedule against teams with weaker quarterbacks. This year, the Dolphins will be playing better quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson, and Josh Allen twice. The Dolphins have many needs on offense, no question about, but that doesn’t mean they should bank on continued good play from the defense as it currently is constructed. There were times early in the season when they didn’t show up in a big spot, such as giving up a big pass play against Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons that set up the winning field goal, and the same thing happened against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The defense was a no-show against the Indianapolis Colts when they had a beat-up offensive line and missing key players at wide receiver. I know the offense did no favors as well, but if the Dolphins’ defense is going to get better, they have to keep adding talent on defense. 


Last year the Buffalo Bills were the number one ranked defense in the NFL, and I feel they were overrated because, just like the Dolphins, they had a soft schedule. Their defense was a no-show in their playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs, especially in the final 13 seconds of letting Patrick Mahomes go 40 yards and kick the field goal to overtime and eventually losing. In fact, their team just added Von Miller to shore up their pass rush because, frankly, they don’t have a consistent pass rush. They also added some new faces on their defensive line to make them stronger because they felt the need to get stronger, which is what the Dolphins should do.  


The defense isn’t perfect and has some holes in it. The Dolphins shouldn’t bank on the returning players and the return of defensive coordinator Josh Boyer. The Dolphins could use a difference-maker at the linebacker position to compliment Baker. They also could use a veteran presence in certain areas, especially the safety position to help mentor the young players. Don’t get me wrong, the Dolphins have an excellent foundation of players on defense, but with the caliber of quarterbacks this team plays this year and with the history of them not playing well against good quarterbacks, they should look to upgrade. Yes, the offense hasn’t helped them out, and most of this off-season should be focused on improving the offense, but don’t overlook the defense and some of their deficiencies.Â