South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Still with something to prove in ’20
Improved talent raising expectations, but not with outsiders
With the 2020 NFL season fast approaching, the South Florida Sun Sentinel takes a look at 10 storylines to watch for in a 10-part series ahead of the Miami Dolphins’ first day of training camp, which is set for Tuesday, July 28, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A flurry of new free agents.
An influx of young draft picks at positions of need.
And some stability with coach Brian Flores entering his second season at the helm.
There’s certainly a lot more talent in tow for the Miami Dolphins in 2020 than there was the season before. Yet they are still being underestimated nationally among oddsmakers and league pundits heading into an NFL season that will surely be affected by COVID-19.
Many believe the Dolphins’ threshold this season is around the six-win mark. They have the worst odds to win the AFC East — if you made a $100 bet for the Dolphins to capture their division, you could win upwards of $750 to $900, depending on the sportsbook.
Such a bet could either be a major win or a blatant waste of money.
But the odds do not dictate how successful this Dolphins team could be in 2020.
Veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, cornerback Xavien Howard, receivers DeVante Parker and Preston Williams,
linebacker Jerome Baker, defensive tackles Davon Godchaux and Christian Wilkins, right tackle/guard Jesse Davis and tight end Mike Gesicki lead a large group of returning players looking to help the Dolphins make a greater leap in Year 2 under Flores.
The Dolphins added quarterback Tua Tagovailoa among 11 new rookies, spent more than $140 million in guaranteed money on 11 free agents and sprinkled in even more talent along the way.
Among them: the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback in Byron Jones; edge rushers such as Kyle Van Noy, Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah; talented running backs in Matt Breida and Jordan Howard; and two other first-round draft picks in left tackle Austin Jackson and cornerback Noah Igbinoghene.
Collectively, this group should win more than the five games the Dolphins unexpectedly did during the 2019 campaign.
The Dolphins were thought to be tanking for Tagovailoa, with eyes set on losing as many games as possible to land a higher draft pick. But they improved significantly throughout the season, winning five of their last nine games and selected Tagovailoa with the fifth pick in April’s draft.
ESPN’s Football Power Index has the Dolphins 27th among the league’s 32 teams with a 6-10 record, a 4.8% chance to win the AFC East and a 13.8% chance to make the playoffs.
The New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and the New York Jets (barely) have better odds to win more games and possibly the division next season. So the Dolphins will definitely have their work cut out for them.
Flores and his coaching staff, which has 10 additions, must work efficiently to acclimate their influx of new talent during a training camp that will also be affected by measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
Even then, the Dolphins are also thought to have the third-most difficult schedule thanks to several games against AFC and NFC West opponents.
Maybe the national pundits and predictors think this is too much for the Dolphins to overcome, but Miami surely has the franchise stability and new talent in place to potentially shake up the division this season.