South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Hyde: 10 simple steps for Dolphins’ offseason
Moves to consider that will keep rebuilding moving forward
What I like most about my annual 10 Simple Steps to Save the Dolphins This Offseason is they come with a meditative background music this year.
Breathe in, breathe out. Only the music is a sultry mantra in this case: trade for DeShaun Watson.
OK, that’s not sultry, but that’s the noise in the background to this column. Houston probably doesn’t trade him. But never underestimate how dumb franchises can be — you watched the Dolphins operate for years, right? — so a 25-year-old elite quarterback is traded in a manner that’s never been done.
What would it cost? The equivalent of four No. 1 draft picks? A package with Xavien Howard? I’d have that ready to go as general manager. It might be fantasy.
So here’s my offseason reality in 10 Simple Steps:
1. If a quarterback rates appreciably higher than Tua Tagovailoa this draft, pick him. Before going all-in on helping Tagovailoa this offseason, do due diligence on the available quarterbacks.
Zach Wilson? Justin Fields? Trey Lance? You could throw another dart of hope at the future. Let one fight it out with Tua. It’s been done before (San Diego with Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers; Dallas with Troy Aikman, Steve Walsh …) That said ...
2. If no draftable quarterback rates higher, and you can’t get Watson, go all-in on Tua. That starts with the offensive system.
The Dolphins changed coordinators for the third straight year; just don’t change the system. Don’t make Tua and the offensive linemen learn words and plays all over again. Hall of Fame coach Don Shula ran the same toss sweep play for Lenny Moore in Baltimore in the 1960s and Mark Higgs in the 1990s.
There’s a reward in consistency: a comfort for players. Sure, bend the playbook to things Tua does best, but the words, the calls, the full system — let Tua especially grow into it his second year.
3. If offered a good package for the No. 3 pick because Atlanta or Carolina or Detroit wants to draft a quarterback, trade down. More poker chips mean better odds.
Take Carolina. If it offers the No. 8 pick, a second-rounder (its No. 39) and a first-round pick next year, grab it. Let Carolina get a quarterback. And at No. 8 ....
4. Get Tua playmaking help with the top pick. Ja’Marr Chase will be gone in this trade-down scenario there — that’s probably the trade-down risk. But you might have the pick of Alabama receivers DeVonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle or Florida tight end Kyle Pitts. Maybe even grab Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman with the 18th pick. All this figures in because you …
5. ... Remake the receiving room. It’s a mess. Everyone’s hurt every year. You could cut the room, save more than $20 million off the salary cap and start anew.
DeVante Parker is a big, productive receiver if you have a sandlot offense — throw it up and he’ll get it. But as a route runner and someone to line up 16 games a year? So designate him as a postJune 1 cut and save $9.4 million. Albert Wilson ($2.9 million saving) had a severe hip injury and hasn’t played of late.
Keep Preston Williams because he’s talented and on a minimum salary. And I love Jakeem Grant as a return man. But you can take that money and …
6. Find veteran help from the NFL Salary-Cap Catalogue at a reduced rate this year. Just wait — it’ll seem crazy how many veterans are going to be on the streets in the wake of the pandemic cut of the salary cap. The $180 million cap is less than anyone planned when contracts were made last March.
So while teams like the Patriots and Colts have big money, others will be dumping veteran talent. The Dolphins need a veteran receiver to mentor the young room and a veteran quarterback to help Tagovailoa. If you still need more cap room, it’s NFL Bookkeeping 101 to restructure big-money deals to the likes of Byron Jones or Kyle Van Noy.
7. Keep the offensive line intact. It was just OK last year, but what did you expect with three rookie starters? You’re banking on the development of tackles Austin Jackson and Robert Hunt and guard Solomon Kindley in their second year. That’s the full idea of this rebuild.
8. Get a running back with power — and who can catch. That’s the game today, right? The Dolphins ranked 21st in rushing first downs and 24th on thirdand-short conversions for first downs (50%). Alabama’s Najee Harris and Clemson’s Travis Etienne are the hot names, but taking a running back at 18th?
You’d better see special. North Carolina’s Javonte Williams (5-foot-10, 220) runs inside, is a decent receiver and will be there in the second round. Is Williams’ running over the University of Miami still too ingrained on my mind?
9. Use the throwback uniforms in five games. I’m not a uniform guy. The ones that look good have winning teams in them. But this’ll throw a bone to those fans who go ga-ga every time the old uniforms come out.
10. Hope the Jets and the Patriots don’t get a quarterback. Each has the means and money. Part of the Patriots’ success for two decades was no AFC East team found a good quarterback. Buffalo already has Josh Allen. If the Jets get Watson? Nightmare scenario.
It’s all about quarterbacks, you see. If the Dolphins don’t get Watson or deliver a surprise by drafting a quarterback high, it’s all about Tua for the Dolphins.
Get him help. See where he goes.