DOLPHINS FILL MANY NEEDS

Besides the popular pick of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailo in the NFL Draft’s first round, the Dolphins went meat and potatoes with their other selections. A little sizzle, a lot of steak.

The narrative after this Miami Dolphins draft will be about bulking up the lines on offense and defense and getting the right kind of guys that fit the Chris Grier vision and Brian Flores way. And all that is fair and important and interesting.

But let’s not forget the overarching reason for this exercise: It’s about closing the gap. About climbing the standings.

And it’s not just about catching — but also passing the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots and New York Jets.

Because what good is a behemoth set of linemen if you have no playmakers? Or the quarterback isn’t capable? Or the secondary is a slice of Swiss cheese?

So I look at what the Dolphins did this draft and feel like a significant step has been taken toward closing that gap between last place and every other place in the AFC East. It’s impossible to remember what the Dolphins looked like on that cold, final day of the 2019 season and not say the Dolphins have improved dramatically. They’ve improved, like, maybe more than any other team in the AFC East.

In all seriousness, it might not even be close.

The Dolphins are the division’s most improved team. And that’s a double-edged sword because it will feel good and make you believe excellent work has

been done the last four months. And most of that is true.

But we must maintain perspective that the Dolphins — cellar dwellers with a 5-11 record last season — had the furthest to go of any AFC East team before they could even be relevant.

Understanding those dual truths, here we are. The Dolphins are relevant now.

“We tried to improve the team in every area,” Flores said.

The Dolphins have a potential franchise quarterback on the roster that they didn’t have last week. And Tua Tagovailoa brings the promise of great performances in future but he also brings great attention immediately.

Everyone wants to see if his great promise will translate from NFL feeder Alabama to the big leagues. And I have to tell you, the scrutiny is going to be intense.

Hot.

That alone will make the Dolphins relevant. And depending on how Tagovailoa performs — I’m not expert enough to call it either way without seeing him on a practice field first — it will be the kind of relevance that leads to a championship parade...

Or the kind that leads to a continuing parade of firings and new hirings atop the Miami organization.

One thing I can tell you about how the Tagovailoa experience is likely to go: The Dolphins did a lot during this draft to tip it in his favor.

They took a starting offensive tackle in the first round.

A starting offensive tackle or guard in the second round.

They’ve signed a starting left guard in free agency.

And they drafted another potential starting guard or top backup in the fourth round.

The Dolphins have for years — maybe for a decade — been promising to address their offensive line. And for years, maybe for a decade, that has not been done.

Well, Grier and Flores are trying to address the roster’s foundation inside and out. They finally seem to have done that.

The Dolphins built the wall.

Promises made. Promises kept.

Or something like that. I would say to you this project is not exactly in its infancy. Last year was the infancy and that Dolphins team, lacking talent and discipline, was like a teething, fussy, baby that too often soiled itself on Sunday afternoons.

I know everyone thinks that bunch was fun and won five of their final nine games and they were plucky. And I think that bunch won five games, which is an utter disaster. But that stage is past. This team as currently constructed for camps and the offseason has loads of talent. And potential. And a future.

They’re not going to say so.

“Games aren’t won in March and April,” Flores said Saturday.

So I also cannot make predictions about wins and losses this coming season. Because as much as this team has improved, there is still miles to go.

Because even if Tagovailoa is eventually a baller, it’s probably not going to be right away.

Even if the wall is big and beautiful, it will have early technique, cohesion and experience glitches. This is not a prediction. This will happen.

And even if the defense Flores has asked for and received from Grier comes together quickly, I still see deficiencies.

In fact the deficiencies everywhere are pretty obvious:

The Dolphins did very little work with the wide receiver corps this offseason, electing instead for that inside-out construction. That’s fine. DeVante Parker and Albert Wilson and others should serve well enough.

But everyone already sees over that horizon when the Dolphins are addressing the receiver position next offseason. That, too, is definitely going to happen.

The running back room got a boost Saturday when the Dolphins traded a fifthround pick for restricted free agent Matt Breida.

This guy ran a 4.38 time in the 40 at his pro day in 2017. And he’s averaged five yards per carry during his time in San Francisco. So his speed and Jordan Howard’s 225-pound size suggest a perfect duo in the backfield.

But here, too, more upgrade is required — especially since Breida, an unrestricted free agent in 2021, may not be around long.

You know, it’s funny that the positions the Dolphins have to worry about, namely running back and receiver, are spots where they have talent in the short term. They have guys.

That beats past seasons when this space outlined positions on the Dolphins were it was obvious there was no talent or there was deficient talent. That’s not the case now.

That’s progress. That means something.

If half the 11 players the Dolphins added in this draft live up to the vision the team has for them — including Tagovailoa, of course — this is going to be some team.

The rest of the AFC East’s teams are now squinting at that fast-approaching object in their rearview mirror. It’s the Miami Dolphins.