Another year spent rebuilding
How bad was the 2021 season? Dolphins’ grades, biggest disappointment and top performers
A three-year rebuild didn’t get the Miami Dolphins to the desired destination.
The Dolphins are virtually in the same spot they were when the latest overhaul began, and that stagnancy ultimately cost Brian Flores his job.
While some improvements were made during the rebuilding process, the offense continued to struggle. The biggest concern moving forward is how much of the roster is salvageable, and what’s the next step for this franchise?
Here’s a look at how the Dolphins performed in all areas, and some end-of-season recognition that will allow us to closely examine the 2021 season.
Passing Game: D
There are only nine teams in the NFL that had a worse cumulative passer rating (85.4) than the Dolphins, and four of those teams had a rookie quarterback at the helm, and another four lost their starting quarterback to an injury. It can be argued that Tua Tagovailoa had a decent second season (90.1 passer rating) as an NFL starter. Tagovailoa delivered a 7-5 record despite suffering two injuries, but there were four games where he threw for less than 200 yards. It’s abundantly clear Miami’s offensive line struggles handcuffed the offense, and limited playcalling.
Running Game: F
The Dolphins possessed one of the NFL’s worst rushing attacks no matter how its quantified. Miami ranked 30th in rushing yards per game (92.2), and 31st in rushing yards per attempt (3.55 per carry). Turning the backfield over to Duke Johnson and Phillip Dorsey in the final month of the season helped the unit improve, but it was too little, too late. The Dolphins’ decision makers need to re-evaluate how they address the tailback position, considering the failures they’ve had improving that unit the past three offseasons.
Defending the pass: B
The Dolphins ranked among the league leaders in sacks (48) and pressures this season. Miami’s defense ranked seventh in opponents’ cumulative passer rating (85.4), and four of the teams that finished ahead of them are in the playoffs. Miami forced 1.5 takeaways per game, tying it with Green Bay for eighth in the NFL. For the second straight season, Miami leaned heavily on the coverage skills of Xavien Howard and Byron Jones, which freed the defensive front and safeties up to blitz regularly. Both cornerbacks deserve more praise for making Miami’s scheme work.
Defending the run: C
The Dolphins had struggled defending the run all three of Flores’ seasons, and this year was no exception. Miami allowed opponents to gain 109.8 rushing yards per game and 4.4 yards per attempt. The Dolphins only held their opponent to fewer than 100 rushing yards six times. While Miami’s young defensive linemen — Emmanuel Ogbah, Raekwon Davis, Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler — began to blossom, the linebacker unit took a step back, struggling with consistency, coverage and run fits.
Special teams: D
Special teams had been one of Miami’s strengths the first two seasons of Flores’ reign, but this year’s unit was a massive disappointment. Jason Sanders missed eight field goals and one extra point. Michael Palardy’s punts were average (40.1 net, and 39 percent downed inside the 20-yard line). Miami’s return game was also non-existent for various reasons. Trading Jakeem Grant, the franchise’s leading touchdown producer on returns, to Chicago didn’t help. Jaylen Waddle never got comfortable with being a returner (17.6 yards on kickoff returns and 7.0 yards on punt returns), and Jevon
Holland was an automatic fair catch.
Coaching: D
Miami’s offense struggled in every area. The unit led by co-offensive coordinators George Godsey and Eric Studesville had to overcome offensive line issues, which eased up sparingly. But never enough for Godsey to call plays that required the quarterback to spend a longer operating time in the pocket without max protection. And, even then, it wasn’t safe. The Dolphins defense had identity issues early, and had to wait for a couple rookies (Jevon Holland and Jaelan Phillips) to gain their footing. But they eventually found it and the defense started to thrive in the second half of the season.
Top performing offensive player: Receiver Jaylen Waddle
The Dolphins gave up a future first-round pick to put themselves in position to acquire Waddle after trading down from the No. 3 pick with the San Francisco 49ers. The former Alabama standout’s productivity proved he was worth the move up. Waddle set a new NFL rookie record with 104 receptions, which he turned into 1,015 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. It’ll be interesting to see what Waddle can do when the Dolphins build a better offensive line, and put more playmakers around him.
Top performing defensive player: Cornerback Xavien Howard
Howard didn’t have a season worthy of the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honor like 2020, but he was undoubtedly the Dolphins top player in 2021 — a game changer who sealed wins by creating clutch turnovers and scoring points. More importantly, it was his second straight healthy season, contributing 50 tackles, five interceptions, one sack, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. The Dolphins will need to adjust Howard’s 2022 salary to keep him happy — and from demanding a trade like last July.
Biggest surprise: Flores got fired
Miami rebounded from a 1-7 start to win seven straight games, spending the final month of the season in the playoff mix. Flores ensured that the locker room stuck together, and that the team didn’t quit. Miami found a way to win eight of the season’s final nine games following his lead. Even though Flores delivered the franchise’s first backto-back winning seasons since 2002-03, the Dolphins fired him at the conclusion of his third season because of his challenging personality, which made him difficult to work with.
Biggest disappointment: Offensive line
Miami’s offensive line was the anchor weighing this team down all season. Everyone on the unit struggled at times, and while first-time offensive line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre could be used as the scapegoat for the group’s struggles, everyone involved has to take personal responsibility about how bad the unit looked. This unit’s failure isn’t just on Jeanpierre. It’s also on general manager Chris Grier, who picked the five linemen selected in the early rounds of the last three drafts.