Who’s going to make the cut?

Trying to project the 53-man roster

DAVIE — The one thing NFL cut day has revealed recently is to expect plenty of surprises from the Miami Dolphins, who are embarking on the second year of their franchise rebuild.

Miami’s training camp activity shows that the franchise will continue to churn the back end of its roster and push to find younger and cheaper talent, so don’t be surprised if the Dolphins continue to feast on the waiver wire this season.

Here is a look at how we project Miami’s 53-man regular-season roster, which must be sent to the NFL by 4 p.m. on Saturday. That means Dolphins players on the outside looking in have one week to impress.

Who makes the cut?: Quarterbacks (3) — ON:

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tua Tagovailoa (R), Josh Rosen

Fitzpatrick’s experience level, mastery of the offense and his leadership should allow him to begin the regular season as Miami’s starter. But don’t be surprised when Tagovailoa makes his first start around mid-season because Fitzpatrick isn’t delivering victories, or his arm strength fades. Tagovailoa seems to be fully recovered from the hip procedure he had last November, but he’s learning Chan Gailey’s offense slowly, which is normal for a rookie. Rosen sticks around as a break-incase-of-emergency option unless another team makes a decent (fourth-round pick should do it) trade offer.

Running backs (4) — ON: Jordan Howard, Matt Breida, Myles Gaskin, Patrick Laird; OFF: Chandler Cox, Salvon Ahmed (R)

The Dolphins intend for Howard and Breida to share the backfield when healthy, with Howard likely being the primary runner and Breida serving as the big-play weapon. Gaskin’s improvement has been one of the more pleasant surprises of training camp, and it’s possible that the 2019 seventh-round pick could carve out a role for himself in this offense. Cox, a fullback Miami selected in the seventh-round of the 2019 draft, and Ahmed, a tailback claimed off the waiver wire last week, are solid practice squad options.

Tight ends (3) — ON: Mike Gesicki, Adam Shaheen,

Durham Smythe; OFF: Chris Myarick, Nate Wieting (R)

Gesicki, who broke out in the second half of the 2019 season, will likely fill the flex tight end role, serving as a makeshift slot receiver in Miami’s offense while Shaheen and Smythe handle the in-line tight end responsibilities. Myarick has upside and deserves a spot on the practice squad, but the Dolphins need to search the waiver wire for a possible upgrade at tight end because the overall talent here barely meets NFL standards.

Receivers (6) — ON: DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, Jakeem Grant, Isaiah Ford, Malcolm Perry (R), Mack Hollins; OFF: Chester Rogers, Kirk Merritt (R), Matt Cole (R), Ricardo Louis, Gary Jennings

The Dolphins need to keep six receivers on the 53-man roster because that position has annually been watered down by injuries. Parker and Williams each have the talent to be 1,000-yard receivers if they can stay healthy. Grant, Ford and Perry each collectively bring something different to the unit. Hollins makes it onto the 53-man roster because of his special teams contributions. Miami desperately needs to upgrade this unit via the waiver wire because the lack of depth could be an issue that sinks this season if Parker or Williams suffer a serious injury.

Offensive line (9) — ON: Austin Jackson (R), Ereck Flowers, Ted Karras, Solomon Kindley (R), Jesse Davis, Robert Hunt (R), Michael Deiter, Julien Davenport, Danny Isidora, Durval Queiroz Neto (international exception); OFF: Adam Pankey, Keaton Sutherland, Shaq Calhoun, Jonathan Hubbard (R)

The Dolphins did a solid job of improving on the worst offensive line in franchise history this offseason via the draft and free agency. But we won’t find out how good this group is until we see their run blocking and pass protecting ability when the season starts. Hunt, Davenport and Deiter are likely the primary backups, and Isidora the last offensive linemen on the 53-man roster. But don’t be surprised if Pankey gets the final spot because of his versatility. Pankey, Sutherland and Calhoun are all practice squad worthy. Queiroz Neto, the

Brazilian import in his second season with the team, has an international exception for a roster spot. But don’t expect him to be a contributor because he remains a raw football player.

Defensive line (8) — ON: Shaq Lawson, Davon Godchaux, Christian Wilkins, Emmanuel Ogbah, Raekwon Davis (R), Jason Strowbridge (R), Zach Sieler, Avery Moss; OFF: Tyshun Render (R), Brandin Bryant, Benito Jones (R)

The Dolphins have a solid rotation of defensive tackles and defensive ends, but would benefit from adding one more proven pass rusher to enhance the team’s pressure packages. Moss, who started eight games last season, is adequate. But Miami might benefit from finding a better defensive end on the waiver wire, which is exactly where the Dolphins acquired Moss last season. Render, Bryant and Jones are all practice squad possibilities, and one could sneak onto the 53-man roster.

Linebackers (7) — ON: Kyle Van Noy, Jerome Baker, Elandon Roberts, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Andrew Van Ginkel, Sam Eguavoen, Trent Harris; OFF: Calvin Munson, James Crawford, Kylan Johnson

The Dolphins’ defensive base primarily utilizes two linebackers on every snap, and it appears that will be Van Noy and Baker. However, it doesn’t help that both starters are nursing injuries. Roberts has the versatility to play every position on the linebacker unit, and will also likely handle Miami’s fullback workload, so consider him a starter. Like last season at this time, trading Raekwon McMillan to the Raiders opened up a roster for spot Eguavoen, a former CFL standout who started six games last year but has fallen out of favor this training camp. That means Miami could easily claim another linebacker and put Eguavoen or another young linebacker on the practice squad.

Cornerback (5) — ON: Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, Noah Igbinoghene (R), Nik Needham, Jamal Perry; OFF: Ken Webster, Tae Hayes, Breon Borders, Deatrick Nichols

The Dolphins have four viable starters in Howard, Jones, Igbinoghene and Needham, but need to find a nickel cornerback better than Perry (formerly Jamal Wiltz), who started six games for Miami last season. Don’t be surprised if someone claimed off the waiver wire makes it onto the 53-man roster because Miami typically needs six cornerbacks to make it through a season. Miami will likely develop two cornerbacks on the practice squad.

Safety (5) — ON: Bobby McCain, Eric Rowe, Brandon Jones, Kavon Frazier, Clayton Fejedelem; OFF: Nate Brooks, Nate Holley, Jeremiah Dinson

Booby McCain is in his second season of making the conversion from nickel cornerback to Dolphins free safety. His leadership and solid practices lock him into a starting spot. The auditions to determine who is the best fit as the starting strong safety are still ongoing, but Rowe, another converted cornerback, seems to be holding off Jones, Frazier and Fejedelem. The backups in this unit will need to serve as core special team contributors. Brooks, Holley and Dinson are all options for the practice squad.

Specialists (3) — ON: Jason Sanders (kicker), Matt Haack (punter), Blake Ferguson (LS)

None of Miami’s specialist had competition during training camp, so it would be unrealistic to expect any of them to get released. But there’s always a possibility someone gets waived by another team that intrigues the Dolphins.

Omar Kelly