Despite overhaul, analytics site pans Dolphins’ offense

Pro Football Focus is rating every team at every position this offseason, and the evaluation of the Miami Dolphins is dismal.

Highlights of PFF’s assessment of how Miami stacks up at quarterback, receiver, tight end, running back and offensive line:

WIDE RECEIVER

PFF ranks Miami’s receiver group (including tight ends) just 29th in the league, ahead of only New England, Jacksonville and Washington, with this comment:

“The DeVante Parker breakthrough finally came late last season. Over the final weeks of the season, he was one of the top wide receivers in the entire league, ranking first in the NFL with 22 receptions of 15 or more yards from Week 10 through the end of the regular season.

“We’re not quite to the point where Parker can be relied upon as a true No. 1 option yet, though, and players like Preston Williams ... aren’t striking fear into opposing defenses any time soon. Mike Gesicki is the X-factor for this group heading into 2020. We saw flashes of what he could bring last season with his size and athleticism, but he needs to put it together more consistently in Year

3.”

OFFENSIVE LINE

PFF ranks the Dolphins’ group 32nd and last, with this comment:

“There wasn’t much debate about the worst offensive line in the league last year, as Miami ranked last in both pass and run blocking — only one of the seven linemen with at least 330 snaps graded above 60.0.

“We could see as many as four new starters this season, though question marks still swarm. Julien Davenport was the starter at left tackle last season after coming over from the Houston Texans, and his struggles continued. His 53.7 overall grade ranks 76th out of 81 tackles over the last three years.

“The Dolphins then used one of their three first-round picks on USC’s Austin Jackson, who has work to do to become a viable starter. Jackson has the footwork of a starting left tackle, but his hands need work in pass protection and he’s below average in the run game.

“Right tackle Jesse Davis could be the lone returning starter, and he’s yet to grade higher than last year’s 58.9 overall mark that ranked

67th among tackles.”

TIGHT END

PFF ranks Miami’s group 23rd.

“After a slow start to his career, Mike Gesicki came on strong in several games during the second half of 2019. There’s still room to improve after his 60.5 receiving grade ranked 32nd among tight ends last season, but Gesicki’s long frame, 4.54 speed and ball skills led to the 11th-most yards on 10-plus yard passes last year. While Gesicki’s development could elevate this group, there are question marks regarding both the No. 2 tight end spot and the unit’s overall depth. The top backup is Durham Smythe, who has graded in the 50.0s in his two years in the league.”

Adam Shaheen subsequently was added in a trade with Chicago; he will compete with Smythe for the No. 2 job.

RUNNING BACK

PFF ranks Miami 32nd and last, which seems way too low. Here’s what PFF said:

“The Dolphins have had the worst team run-blocking grade in four of the past five years, so it’s no surprise to see the lack of rushing production in recent seasons…. The Dolphins got just 829 yards from their running backs, the lowest total in the league, leading to the offseason additions of Jordan Howard and Matt Breida to revamp the run game.

“Howard is one of the league’s better zone runners, and he’s created a solid 2.8 yards after contact per attempt in his career. Howard does not add much as a receiver, but he should be an effective early-down runner.

Breida adds a big-play element, as he’s averaged 4.9 yards per carry in his three NFL seasons. The one caveat is that Breida averaged 2.4 yards before contact during that time, the second-best mark among 70 qualifiers . ... While Miami is still in the bottom tier of running back units, it has a unique group of skill sets that should help increase rushing production this season.”

QUARTERBACK

PFF puts the Dolphins in tier four, which is the lowest tier for QBs.

But PFF praises Ryan Fitzpatrick:

“Given his supporting cast, Fitzpatrick had one of the most impressive seasons of any quarterback this year. He elevated Miami’s offense despite facing the fourthhighest pressure rate, and his downfield aggressiveness led to the Dolphins turning into a pesky, competitive team down the stretch. This is now the best two-year stretch of Fitzpatrick’s career, as he finished as a borderline top-10 quarterback for the Buccaneers in 2018 and ranked in the top 15 in 2019.

“It’s also the second straight year that Fitzpatrick ranked among the league’s leaders in positively graded throws, showing that he can put his playmakers in position to make plays. He has an intriguing skill set for teams with playoff aspirations but is in ‘bridge quarterback’ territory.”

SLOT UPDATE

With Albert Wilson and Allen Hurns opting out of playing this season, the Dolphins believe they might have found their new top slot receiver in Chester Rogers, the undrafted former Colts player who signed Sunday.

Though Rogers will need to compete with Isaiah

Ford, Gary Jennings and potentially others, Rogers enters as a slight favorite because of his extensive body of work and decent production.

Undrafted out of Grambling State, the six-foot Rogers was primarily a boundary receiver in his first two NFL seasons but has played mostly in the slot the past two seasons.

So how did he do?

Per PFF, Rogers has 644 receiving snaps from the slot during the past two seasons. He has been thrown 104 passes on those slot snaps, caught 72 of them for 681 yards (291 of which have come after the catch) and two touchdowns, with 40 first downs and an 89.5 passer rating when targeted. So all of that is OK.

But here’s the bad news: Of the 104 passes thrown to him in the slot during the past two seasons, he has dropped 14 of them, per PFF. That means he has dropped 13.4% of his targets, which is frighteningly high.

At this point, the Dolphins appear inclined to use Jakeem Grant on the boundary, as opposed to the slot,

though everything is fluid.

ROSTER MOVE

The Dolphins claimed tight end Nate Wieting ,an undrafted rookie from Iowa, off waivers from the Cleveland Browns on Monday. That was Miami’s only roster move on Monday. Offensive lineman Ereck Flowers remained on the COVID-19 list for an eighth day.

Miami showed interest in Wieting after he went undrafted, but no money was discussed, according to a source. The Browns waived him over the weekend.

Wieting, a walk-on at Iowa, was a solid blocker for the Hawkeyes and had 13 catches for 185 yards during three seasons. He started nine games last season and had 10 catches for 117 yards. He was on the Big Ten’s All-Academic team three consecutive years.

Draft analyst Tony Pauline, of profootballnetwork.com, said of Wieting before the draft: “He possesses minimal upside, but he has a nice feel for the game and could catch on as a third tight end if he plays well on special teams.”

Miami has six tight ends under contract: Gesicki, Smythe, Shaheen, Wieting, Chris Myarick and Montana State rookie Bryce Sterk, who was a defensive end in college.