Kelly: Dolphins’ rebuild is done. Now what?
Imagine this is one of those HGTV reveals, showing off the finished renovation of the Miami Dolphins’ rebuild under general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores.
The blindfolds are finally taken off and the first thing you see are two speedy receivers (Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller) clearing out the safeties for DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, Mike Gesicki, Myles
Gaskin and Lynn Bowden Jr. to work underneath.
You see a young offensive line, which features four firstor second-year players in the starting unit, and a defensive line that is anchored by four defensive linemen in their first, second or NFL third season. So this is it?
That’s the question I found myself asking after reading Peter King’s latest piece, which focused on the Dolphins and their 2021 draft.
In the column, Flores insinuated that the rebuilding phase is over, completed during the same time period as the franchise’s new facility, which is finishing up in Miami Gardens this summer.
After three drafts, three free agency cycles and three years of continuous changes made to the coaching staff and roster, the Dolphins are finally done building the foundation?
“The guys we got in ’19, the
guys we got in ’20, the guys we got in ’21, that we get in this draft, that’s the team,” Flores told Peter King. “You know what I mean?”
Actually, I don’t. So explain.
Make it crystal clear for this journalist who is covering his sixth regime change in Miami, and is on his fifth head coach since 2007.
“That’s the team moving forward,” said Flores, who has a 15-17 record after two seasons. “As we move forward, that’s going to be the crux, or the big chunk of our team. They’ll be the reason why we make noise, or don’t make noise.”
Christian Wilkins, Williams, Gaskin, Andrew Van Ginkel and Nik Needham, the 2019 draftees and undrafted players who became starters, were the first layer.
Tua Tagovailoa, Austin Jackson, Noah Igbinoghene, Raekwon Davis, Solomon Kindley, Bowden Jr., and Jason Strowbridge, the bounty from Miami’s 2020 draft, provided more framework.
And now this year’s draftees, Waddle, defensive end Jaelan Phillips, safety Jevon Holland, offensive linemen Liam Eichenberg and Larnel Coleman, tight end Hunter Long and tailback Gerrid Doaks, present the finishing touches for one of the NFL’s youngest rosters.
The rebuild is complete. And according to Flores, it is time to compete for the AFC East crown and become a perennial playoff contender, which is something the Dolphins franchise hasn’t been able to achieve since the late 1990s.
Based on Flores’ claims, there should be no more talk about the next cycle of free agents, or the next draft class providing the finishing touches.
Those future transactions and acquisitions will be about replacing old parts, fixing payroll problems, and fine-tuning what Grier and Flores have already done.
According to Flores, this team is supposed to have enough talent to compete with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
This is the third year in his defensive scheme, and most of the returning players have either played in the system before or in a similar scheme.
Tagovailoa is a young quarterback with upside, a rookie the Dolphins invested half of last season with him as a starter hoping that he’d begin to blossom on 2021. This offseason, the team provided him with offensive weapons he needed to deliver first downs, thirddown conversions and points.
Not every decision made during free agency worked out for the franchise. Miami spent most of this offseason undoing decisions and contracts made last offseason.
Not every player drafted paid dividends. Michael Dieter struggled as a rookie and hasn’t been able to work his way out of the doghouse. The three rookie linemen who played last season were average, and more is needed. Strowbridge sparingly played as a rookie, and Curtis Weaver didn’t make it out of training camp before getting injured, waived and claimed by another team.
But that’s part of a rebuild. Not everything is going to work, complications are to be expected and salary cap issues are certain to arise. Being able to adjust is critical to finishing the project on time, and making it look right.
The Dolphins, who finished last season 10-6, have seemingly excelled in that regard.
The only questions left to ask are:
Do you like what you see?
Does this renovation have staying power?
Was it worth all the sacrifices and patience?
And most importantly, will it produce the desired outcome of becoming a legitimate title contender?