Dolphins fans will always remember the 2020 NFL Draft for drafting Tua Tagovailoa fifth overall after a whole year of fans and commentators clamoring, “Tank for Tua.” But with their second first-round selection, the Dolphins drafted an offensive tackle from USC, Austin Jackson. Jackson was the third tackle taken in 2020 and began his career struggling at left tackle before being moved over to left guard in 2021.

Last season, Miami brought in Terron Armstead to anchor the left side of the Dolphins’ line and planned to kick Jackson over to right tackle. Unfortunately, the plan was derailed when Jackson suffered an injury that shut him down after just 14 snaps into the 2022 season that kept him out until week 12 against Houston. Then during that game, he was injured again and shut down for the remainder of the season. In total, he played under 100 snaps all last year. When combined with his underachieving performances during his first two seasons, it makes sense why many consider right tackle one of the Dolphins’ biggest concerns heading into 2023. 

But General Manager Chris Grier vouched for Jackson and said he was expecting him to start at right tackle this year. He reiterated that the Dolphins like what they see in him and cited his hunger to rebound from his injuries and being mentored by Armstead as positive factors for him this offseason. Clips from earlier this year have shown Jackson working hard on his footwork, and offensive linemen do tend to improve with age as they refine their skill sets. 

This could all be one big smokescreen. Grier also discussed the possibility of trading up into the back half of the first round. That would put Miami in a prime position to draft a top-shelf tackle prospect from this year’s class. And while almost every pre-draft comment has some ability to be misleading, I tend to take the Austin Jackson statement as truthful and will be left to nervously trust the Dolphins’ coaching and front office on this issue for now.