Of all the teams chasing the New England Patriots in the AFC East, the Miami Dolphins have the best chance to catch them. They’ve got the coach, Adam Gase, who has soundly defeated Bill Belichick’s teams in the past (with the Denver Broncos) and they have some real weapons on both sides of the ball.
The Dolphins are coming off a 10-6 playoff season that ended abruptly because starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill was injured with three games to go in the season. Playoff teams are usually raided in the off-season. How did general manager Chris Grier and Gase do in building their 2017 roster? Let’s take a look.
Free Agents Kept
Andre Branch, Defensive End
Jermon Bushrod, Offensive Guard
Reshad Jones, Safety
Kenny Stills, Wide Receiver
Free Agents/Players Gained
Nate Allen, Safety, formerly of the Oakland Raiders
Anthony Fasano, Tight End, formerly of the Tennessee Titans
T.J. McDonald, Safety, formerly of the Los Angeles Rams
Lawrence Timmons, Inside Linebacker, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers
David Fales, Quarterback, formerly of the Chicago Bears
William Hayes, Defensive End, acquired in a trade from the Los Angeles Rams
Julius Thomas, Tight End, acquired in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars
Free Agents/Players Lost
Jelani Jenkins, Outside Linebacker, signed with the Oakland Raiders
Dion Sims, Tight End, signed with the Chicago Bears
Mario Williams, Defensive End, still a free agent
Brandon Albert, Offensive Tackle, traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars
2017 NFL Draft
Round 1: Charles Harris, Outside Linebacker/Defensive End, Missouri
Round 2: Raekwon McMillan, Linebacker, Ohio State
Round 3: Cordrea Tankersly, Cornerback, Clemson
Round 5: Isaac Asiata, Offensive Guard, Utah
Round 6: Vincent Taylor, Defensive Tackle, Oklahoma State
Round 7: Isaiah Ford, Wide Receiver, Virginia Tech
Proposed Offensive Starters
QB: Ryan Tannehill
RB: Jay Ajayi
WR: DeVante Parker
WR: Kenny Stills
WR: Jarvis Landry
TE: Julius Thomas
LT: Laremy Tunsil
RT: Ja’Wuan James
LG: Anthony Steen
RG: Jermon Bushrod
C: Mike Pouncey
Offensive Outlook
Ryan Tannehill’s injury in game 13 probably cost him a trip to the Pro Bowl last season at the very least. Through 13 games, Tannehill had a terrific season, completing a career-high 67.1 percent of his passes for 2,995 yards and 19 touchdowns with 12 picks. His yardage was actually down, but that’s because of the emergence of running back Jay Ajayi, who averaged 4.9 yards per carry on his way to 1,272 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 27 catches for 151 yards. Expect that second set of stats to jump in his second year as a starter.
Jarvis Landry is the best wide receiver on this squad, but DeVante Parker actually showed some flashes last season. He slid into the starting line up officially halfway through the season and caught 56 passes for 744 yards and four touchdowns. Kenny Stills continues to show his value and nearly matched Parker’s yardage and catch totals while hauling in nine TDs. Julius Thomas will be a significant upgrade at tight end, a position Miami got practically nothing out of in 2016.
Up front, Laremy Tunsil takes over at left tackle from the departed Branden Albert. Anthony Steen started seven games last season and slides into Tunsil’s old left guard spot. The rest of the line remains the same, including center Mike Pouncey, one of the better centers in the NFL.
Proposed Defensive Starters
DE: Cameron Wake
DE: William Hayes
DT: Ndamukong Suh
DT: Jordan Phillips
OLB: Kiko Alonso
OLB: Raekwon McMillan
MLB: Lawrence Timmons
CB: Byron Maxwell
CB: Xavien Howard
FS: Nate Allen
SS: Reshad Jones
Defensive Outlook
On defense, newcomer William Hayes should slide right into a starting position at defensive end opposite Cameron Wake until Charles Harris takes his job midway through the season. Jordan Phillips started 11 games last season inside next to Ndamukong Suh and should find a forever home there this season unless they find a way to move Hayes inside. Suh is coming off another star season, finishing third on the team in tackles. with 72 to go with five sacks, one fumble recovery and six passes defended. That’s insane numbers for an interior defensive lineman.
Speaking of forever homes, Kiko Alonso didn’t get traded this off-season after leading the team with 114 tackles to go with one forced fumble, four fumble recoveries, four passes defended and two picks. Rookie Raekwon McMillan should start opposite Alonso with free agent acquisition Lawrence Timmons taking over in the middle for an improved unit all around.
After a solid season last year, Byron Maxwell too got to set a few roots in south beach. I’ve put Xavien Howard on the other side at corner, but he’ll be pushed by Tony Lippett and could lose that job. Either way, all three guys will see the field with one as a nickle corner. Reshad Jones returns after an injury-shortened 2016 to haunt the back end of the defense. In his one completely healthy season in the last three he had five picks, two defensive touchdowns and 10 passes defended. After losing safety Isa Abdul-Quddas to a possible career ending neck injury late in the season, Miami brought in Nate Allen from the Oakland Raiders.
Grade: B-
The Dolphins got better this off-season, but not by a wide margin. The best thing they can do to catch the Patriots is just improve with the players they’re bringing back. Depth on the defensive line is better and they should be solid all the way through the defense, with the weak links at linebacker finally solved.
O/U wins: 9.5
Preseason Schedule
Week 1: Atlanta Falcons
Week 2: Baltimore Ravens
Week 3: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 4: at Minnesota Vikings
Regular Season Schedule
Week 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 2: at Los Angeles Chargers
Week 3: at New York Jets
Week 4: New Orleans Saints
Week 5: Tennessee Titans
Week 6: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 7: New York Jets
Week 8: at Baltimore Ravens
Week 9: Oakland Raiders
Week 10: at Carolina Panthers
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: at New England Patriots
Key game: As the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair used to say, to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man and this will be Miami’s first crack at the Patriots in 2017. Unfortunately it will be at Foxboro, where New England is all but unbeatable. So a win there will be doubly impressive, especially since both teams should come into this game with winning records.
Week 13: Denver Broncos
Week 14: New England Patriots
Week 15: at Buffalo Bills
Week 16: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 17: Buffalo Bills
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