Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Offseason watch: Defensive line possibilities
The Miami Dolphins are embarking on the second phase of a full-scale rebuild and have nearly $100 million to spend and 14 draft picks to upgrade the roster.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel will break down a different position each day until the start of free agency Wednesday, examining which route — free agency, the NFL draft or both — would be the best avenue to improve last year’s 5-11 team. Today, we look at the defensive line position in the third of a 10-part series.
Dolphins perspective: The Dolphins were one of the NFL’s least effective teams when it came to stopping the run and producing sacks — and that won’t change until the defensive front is reinforced. Miami, which allowed 2,166 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns last season, desperately needs two edge-setting defensive ends who are upgrades over Avery Moss and Taco Charlton. Miami needs dominant pass rushers who can beat an offensive tackle one-onone and pressure opposing quarterbacks. In 2019, the Dolphins had just 23 sacks, which averages out to 1.43 per game.
Free agency: There will be a handful of top-tier defensive linemen available in free agency, but most of them will receive the franchise or transition tag — meaning it would require sending a draft pick to land Baltimore’s Matt Judon, Jacksonville’s Yannick Ngakoue, Kansas City’s Chris Jones, San Francisco’s Arik Armstead, Tampa Bay’s Shaquil Barrett or New York’s Leonard Williams. If any of those players become unrestricted free agents, don’t be surprised if they land contracts that pay them $12 million to $15 million a season.
Draft Watch: Miami, which has three firstround picks, two second-round picks and a total of seven picks among the top-70 selections, will need to use at least one of those selections on a defensive lineman. Ohio State’s Chase Young will likely be taken No. 2 and will be out of the Dolphins’ range unless they trade up. But Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa, Auburn’s Derrick Brown, South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw and Alabama’s Raekwon Davis and Terrell Lewis need to be given serious consideration by Miami.
Teams in need: More than half of the 32 NFL teams need to fortify their defensive front, but only a half dozen utilizes a similar hybrid scheme — which features a 3-4 base — the Dolphins. That means Miami likely will be jockeying with the Lions, Patriots, Ravens, Seahawks, Texans, Giants and Cardinals for a limited amount of three- and five-technique defensive linemen that fit this scheme. The Falcons, Cowboys, Colts, Rams, Vikings, Redskins and Eagles also need to find 300-pound run stuffers and edge setters.
Ideal Strategy: The Dolphins would benefit from addressing the position in both the draft and free agency. Miami needs to add a pair of edge-setting defensive ends and a pair of defensive tackles to fortify the defensive front. Signing a free agent like Matt Judon, Leonard Williams or Arik Armstead would instantly make Christian Wilkins and Davon Godchaux better players because less of the load would be placed on their shoulders. Also, don’t be surprised if Miami targets a few of the cheaper edgesetting defensive linemen in the second round of free agency.