Tua’s ceiling, Waddle’s potential and 8 other questions that will define Miami’s season
After the Miami Dolphins jumped from five wins in 2019 to 10 wins last year, it’s playoffs or bust in South Florida.
Whether it can happen, will depend on these 10 questions.
How good can Tua Tagovailoa be?
Tagovailoa took his fair share of criticism as a rookie last season, and it was largely deserved. In a year when rookie quarterbacks across the league looked fantastic, Tagovailoa regularly got benched and the Dolphins played better when Ryan Fitzpatrick was on the field.
With a new offensive coordinator and a better group of weapons, Tagovailoa is poised to break out in Year 2 and looked more confident throughout the preseason. Miami will go as far as he takes it in 2021.
Can the Dolphins make do without a traditional workhorse running back?
For the second year in a row, the Dolphins opted not to take a running back until the later rounds of the NFL Draft. It’s a clear signal of general manager Chris Grier’s and coach Broan Flores’ philosophies: Miami, they believe, does not need a star running back to make its offense work.
Running backs Salvon Ahmed and Myles Gaskin both flashed at times in 2020, and another year could could help both take another step forward. The Dolphins also brought in running back Malcolm Brown to add a little more experience and did ultimately draft a running back in the seventh round when they picked Gerrid Doaks from the Cincinnati Bearcats. Miami hopes those four can combine to form an effective run game.
Can the wide receivers stay healthy?
The Dolphins certainly have talent at wide receiver — DeVante Parker has averaged 99.8 yards per game the last two years and Will Fuller has averaged 73.3 per game in the last three — but neither has exactly been able to stay on the field. Parker was in and out of the lineup throughout last season, and Fuller has played in just 28 games in the last three seasons.
Preston Williams falls into the same sort of category, albeit with less of a track record. As an undrafted rookie in 2019, the wide receiver had 428 yards in eight games before tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament. If they stay healthy, they give Tagovailoa an interesting cache of receivers and there won’t be any room left for excuses.
Can Jaylen Waddle prove he’s a future No. 1 wide receiver?
Waddle is the ultimate X-factor at wide receiver. Miami took him with the No. 6 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft with the expectation he could develop into a future No. 1 wide receiver. He doesn’t have to be one yet — both Parker and Fuller have the potential to be Tagovailoa’s go-to option — but he needs to at least show signs.
The rookie can be the difference between a merely good receivers corps and a great one.
Is this the year the offensive line comes together?
It has been a constant shuffle on the offensive line since Flores arrived ahead of the 2019 season.
Austin Jackson, the likely starting left tackle, was a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Solomon Kindley, the left guard, was a fourth-round pick in 2020. Michael Deiter, the center, was a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and flamed out as a guard before reinventing himself as a center this year. Robert Hunt, the right guard, was a second-round pick in 2020. Jesse Davis, the right tackle, is the closest thing Miami has had to a constant as a swing tackle with 30 starts at multiple positions in the past two years.
There are a lot of young pieces in the mix — and rookie tackle Liam Eichenberg is pushing for playing time, too — the new-look line is probably the most talented in Flores’ tenure.
Will Christian Wilkins finally start to live up to his first-round billing?
Wilkins started training camp as a second-team defensive tackle before reclaiming his starting job ahead of the preseason games. The Dolphins are still waiting on him to look like the first-round pick he was in 2019.
Despite making 26 tackles in his first two seasons, Wilkins has just seven career tackles for loss and 3 1/2 sacks. He remains Miami’s best bet at a disruptive defensive tackle if the 25-year-old can put it together in Year 3.
Can Emmanuel Ogbah build on his breakout year?
Ogbah set a new career best with nine sacks in 2020 and is now entering the final season of a two-year deal. After starting just four games for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019, Ogbah emerged as a borderline star for the Dolphins in 2020 and he’ll now try to prove he’s more than a one-year wonder.
The preseason has been encouraging. The defensive end dominated the Atlanta Falcons in joint practices last month.
Will Jaelan Phillips be ready to go after missing time in training camp?
Phillips was the Dolphins’ other first-round pick and it could take him a little bit more time to become comfortable.
The linebacker, who was an All-American for the Miami Hurricanes last year, battled an injury in August and it left him behind when preseason games began. Phillips missed the preseason opener and only played 27 snaps against the Falcons in Game 2, notching just two tackles.
He’s playing a new position — he was a defensive end at Miami — and will need to do a lot of learning during the regular season.
Do Xavien Howard and Byron Jones form the NFL’s best cornerback duo?
The Dolphins know what they have, so they had no choice but to restructure Howard’s contract when he asked for it in July.
Howard and Jones may form the NFL’s best cornerback tandem, and they’re arguably Miami’s two best players. The Dolphins are ready to make the playoffs now, which meant they couldn’t let discontent fester.
The cornerbacks are the foundation of Miami’s defense, too. The Dolphins can afford to send extra blitzers when they know Howard and Jones have the back end locked down, and Miami will still probably have to win with defense while Tagovailoa comes into his own.
Is this finally the year Brian Flores gets the Dolphins to the playoffs?
Flores has checked off virtually every box so far. He came into a seemingly hopeless situation in 2019 and somehow guided the Dolphins to five wins. In 2020, he led a 10-win season and Miami only missed out on the 2021 playoffs because of how deep the AFC was.
The next step is to actually get to the playoffs. Now, leading a team with expectations, Flores’ coaching will finally come under further scrutiny. The Dolphins are past moral victories.
