Dolphins have more depth than in previous seasons
Team building and roster management will be more important to NFL teams than in recent seasons because of the impact the coronavirus pandemic could have on each team’s roster.
All it takes is one player contracting COVID-19, and it could mean an entire offensive line, or defensive line is sidelined for a few weeks.
The uncertainty of what is to come means depth on rosters, and position flexibility is more important than ever. And it doesn’t just stop with the 53-man regular-season roster. The expanded practice squad, which can now hold 16 players instead of 10, should help teams deal with possible losses due to COVID-19 or injuries.
Here is an updated look at the Miami Dolphins’ roster heading into Tuesday’s first day of training camp:
QB (3): Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tua Tagovailoa (R), and Josh Rosen
Coach Brian Flores has publicly stated that the Dolphins are Fitzpatrick’s team, and it’s fair praise for the a 15-year veteran who led Miami to its five victories last season, led the team in rushing, and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2019. Miami’s hiring of Chan Gailey, who worked with Fitzpatrick while they were both with the Bills and Jets, as the team’s offensive coordinator only strengthens Fitzpatrick’s hold on the team in 2020. However, Fitzpatrick’s 55-83-1 career record as a starter, his aging body and arm, and the fact Miami has two young quarterbacks ready to be groomed in Tagovailoa and Rosen means Fitzpatrick must produce points and wins to keep his starting spot.
RB (7): Jordan Howard, Matt Breida, Kalen Ballage, Patrick Laird, Myles Gaskin, Malcolm Perry (R) and Chandler Cox (fullback)
Howard, a free-agent addition, has played in 57 games during his career, accounting for 3,895 yards with 30 touchdowns and has a 4.3 career yards-per-carry average. Breida, who the Dolphins traded a 2020 fifth-round pick to acquire during the draft, has gained 623 rushing yards, averaging 5.1 yards per carry on his 123 attempts in three seasons with the 49ers. They should complement one another as a thunder and lightning style rushing duo. Ballage has ability, but must prove he’s better than last year’s 1.8 yards per carry he averaged. Laird (3.0 yards per carry), Gaskin (3.9 ypc), Cox and Perry, the team’s 2020 seventh-round pick, are all developmental players who could be stashed on the practice squad.
WR (10): DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, Albert Wilson, Allen Hurns, Jakeem Grant, Gary Jennings Jr., Mack Hollins, Isaiah Ford, Kirk Merritt (R), Matt Cole (R)
This is the one position that seems fairly stacked from a talent standpoint on the roster if Parker replicates last year’s 1,000-yard season, and Williams, who was sensational as a rookie, doesn’t have a setback during his recovery from the ACL injury he suffered in early November. Wilson will likely be pushed by Hurns, Grant, Jennings Jr. and Ford for the slot receiver role. This unit has been ravished by injuries over the years, so expect the Dolphins to keep six receivers on the 53-man roster. And their contributions on special teams will likely determine which backups stick around on the roster and practice squad.
TE (5): Mike Gesicki, Adam Shaheen, Durham Smythe, Chris Myarick, Bryce Sterk (R)
Gesicki’s had a solid 2019 season as Miami’s pass-catching specialist. He was second on the team with 51 receptions, which he’s turned into 570 yards and five touchdowns. But Gesicki was primarily used as a slot receiver, and has typically struggled working on the line of scrimmage. Miami traded a conditional sixthround pick to Chicago to acquire Shaheen, a 2017 second-round pick, who has started 13 of the 27 games he’s played in. If Shaheen can establish himself as an effective in-line blocker, he could unseat Smythe for the No. 2 role.
OL (15): Jesse Davis, Julien Davenport, Ereck Flowers, Ted Karras, Michael Deiter, Danny Isidora, Adam Pankey, Shaq Calhoun, Keaton Sutherland, Durval Queiroz Neto and rookies Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt, Solomon Kindley, Donnell Stanley, Nick Kaltmayer
The Dolphins struggled to open up running lanes, and produced the worst rushing attack in franchise history last season. Miami was also tied with the Panthers when it came to allowing the most sacks (58) in a season. That explains why this unit was given a massive makeover in free agency and the draft, which delivered seven newcomers. Karras replaces Daniel Kilgore as the starting center. Flowers, who has started 71 NFL games in five seasons, will compete with Deiter, Isidora, Calhoun, and draftees Hunt and Kindley to determine who starts at both guard spots. Jesse Davis and Julien Davenport will compete with Jackson, the draft’s 18th overall pick, to determine who starts at both tackle spots. And it’s possible Hunt, who played tackle at Louisiana-Lafayette, gets in the mix too.
Pass rusher (7): Shaq Lawson, Emmanuel Ogbah, Vince Biegel, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jason Strowbridge (R), Curtis Weaver (R), Tyshun Render (R)
The Dolphins generated 23 sacks in 16 games, which was five sacks fewer than the second-worst team in the NFL last season. Lackluster play from the edge players were at the root of these issues because nobody on last year’s team could disengage from an offensive tackle’s block and hunt down quarterbacks consistently. Lawson (16.5 sacks in four seasons) and Ogbah (18 sacks in four seasons), the two free agents signed, should be viewed as immediate upgrades because both are forceful edge setters. Biegel and Van Ginkel serve as hybrid linebackers entering the game on passing downs. Expect Strowbridge and Weaver, two late-round picks in 2020, to be viewed as developmental players.
DT (5): Christian Wilkins, Davon Godchaux, Raekwon Davis (R), Zach Sieler, Benito Jones (R)
Only five teams were worse than Miami when it came to defending the run last season. The Dolphins allowed 2,166 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on 485 attempts, which averages out to 4.5 yards per carry. Wilkins and Godchaux collectively produced four sacks and seven tackles for loss last season. They were regularly driven off the line of scrimmage, which indicates that Miami needs to do a better job of anchoring in the trenches. Davis, a doubleteam eating defensive tackle at Alabama, who the Dolphins selected 56th overall, should immediately help the Dolphins run defense because he has the size to be a nose tackle, and the athleticism to play defensive end. Depth in this unit remains an issue unless Sieler and/or Jones become forceful players.
LB (9): Kyle Van Noy, Jerome Baker, Raekwon McMillan, Elandon Roberts, Sam Eguavoen, Kamu Grugier-Hill, James Crawford, Calvin Munson, Kylan Johnson (R)
Van Noy is the jack-of-all-trades piece Flores’ defense was missing last season. The former Patriot, who has started 52 regular-season games, can do everything needed to serve as the Swiss Army knife this hybrid defense needs in the front seven. His addition should lighten the load placed on Baker (124 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception) and McMillan’s (72 tackles) shoulders. Roberts, Eguavoen, GrugierHill and Crawford will likely compete for specific roles, and special teams jobs unless injuries deplete this unit.
CB (11): Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, Nik Needham, Noah Igbinoghene (R), Cordrea Tankersley, Ryan Lewis, Tae Hayes, Ken Webster, Jamal Perry, Nate Brooks, Javaris Davis
The Dolphins secondary features two upper-echelon boundary cornerbacks in Howard, who missed most of the 2019 season because of a left knee injury, and Jones, who the Dolphins signed to a fiveyear, $82.5 million contract as a free agent. If Howard comes back healthy, Miami should possess one of the most skilled cornerback duos in the NFL. Igbinoghene, who was drafted with the 30th overall pick, Needham, Perry, Lewis, Webster, Hayes, Tankersley and Brooks will compete to become the nickel cornerback, and one of the five or six cornerbacks that make it on the 53-man roster. All but Igbinoghene have NFL experience.
Safety (7): Bobby McCain, Eric Rowe, Clayton Fejedelem, Brandon Jones (R), Steven Parker, Adrian Colbert, Kavon Frazier
The Dolphins were forced to play most of last season without the team’s two starting safeties, which opened the door for Rowe to make the transition from cornerback to safety, and for Parker (20 tackles and two interceptions) and Colbert (22 tackles) to collectively start nine games. McCain’s return from the shoulder injury that limited him to nine games in 2019 should provide Miami’s secondary the leader it desperately needs. Jones, a former Texas standout Miami selected in the third round, could push for a contributing role if he can quickly master the playbook.
Special teams (3): Kicker Jason Sanders, long snapper Blake Ferguson (R), Punter Matt Haack
Sanders had a solid 2019 season, making 23-of-30 field goals and 29-of-30 extra point attempts. He’s also produced 49 touchbacks on kickoffs. Haack, who the Dolphins placed an exclusive rights tender worth $2.13 million on, needs to place a higher percentage of his punts inside the opponents 20-yard line and improve his net punt average (41.1). Miami drafted Ferguson, a four-year long snapper at LSU, in the sixth round this year and released Taybor Peppers a day later.