Dolphins season preview: 10 questions — from Tua to Sanders— that will define Miami’s season

With a new coach and a much-needed infusion of some star talent, the Miami Dolphins are one of the biggest unknowns of the 2022-23 NFL season.

Their 10 biggest questions, however, start with the player no one can seem to stop debating about.

1. Is Tua Tagovailoa a franchise quarterback?

After two seasons of injuries and mixed results, Tua Tagovailoa is still the elephant in the room for the Dolphins. Is he a franchise quarterback or just a decent-enough quarterback? The jury is still out, and it’s the franchise-defining question Miami needs to find an answer to this year.

If he’s the franchise player the Dolphins hope he is, Tagovailoa will be able to get Miami to the playoffs. If he’s not, the Dolphins will have to go back to the drawing board at quarterback this offseason. They can’t afford to keep waiting.

2. How much easier will Mike McDaniel make life for Tagovailoa?

Tagovailoa is also just about out of excuses, and there have been plenty to be made in the past few seasons. When Tagovailoa was a rookie, former coach Brian Flores yanked him around too much, sometimes pulling him in the middle of close games in favor of fellow quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. In his second season, Tagovailoa missed four games due to injury and played amid a cloud of rumors regarding quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was ultimately dealt from the Houston Texans to the Cleveland Browns in March.

Tagovailoa also has never played for an offensive-minded coach such as McDaniel. The new coach helped turn Jimmy Garoppolo into a Super Bowl quarterback when he was an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers. If Tagovailoa can’t be as good as Garoppolo, then Miami will have to be ready to move on from him.

3. How much easier will Tyreek Hill make life for Tagovailoa?

Another reason Tagovailoa is out of excuses is the addition of Tyreek Hill. The star wide receiver was a first-team All-Pro in three of the past six seasons and even in practice is a noticeable improvement from anyone Tagovailoa has had to work with so far in his career.

Hill’s game-breaking speed is going to mean Tagovailoa is going to get to throw to a lot of open receivers. It also could expose the quarterback’s greatest weakness, though: Tagovailoa’s arm strength remains a question and this year, playing with Hill, will settle whether it’s a totally crippling liability.

4. Does Mike Gesicki still have a role with the Dolphins?

Miami did not act in the preseason like Gesicki is a surefire starter, and then came trade rumors and a report from Pro Football Focus about the Dolphins exploring trade possibilities for their tight end. After franchise tagging Gesicki and guaranteeing the receiver $10.9 million for this season, the Dolphins are still trying to figure out just how they want to use the 26-year-old this year.

As Gesicki put it last month, he feels like he’s learning a new position, being asked to do more blocking in McDaniel’s offense after he was essentially a jumbo-sized slot receiver for the first four seasons of his career. After he racked up 780 receiving yards last season, Gesicki could be anything from an overqualified situational reserve to a potential Pro Bowler.

5. Can McDaniel fix the Dolphins’ rushing attack?

As much as McDaniel helped make Garoppolo into a solid NFL quarterback, the coach’s real strength is in scheming up a rushing attack. Garoppolo, after all, never put up eye-popping numbers, but rather was a steady game manager for an offense with a dynamic run game.

Miami, which hasn’t averaged even 4 yards per carry since 2018, was shaky at the start of the preseason, but finally broke out in the preseason finale. In those first two games, the Dolphins ran for just 86, before breaking out for 203 when running back Raheem Mostert suited up in Game 3 to go up against the Philadelphia Eagles’ backups. It was a glimpse of what Miami could look like this year, although those first two games leave some room for questions, too.

6. Will Terron Armstead and Connor Williams save Miami’s offensive line?

Miami’s offensive line was probably the worst in the NFL last year — historically bad, really — so it wasn’t much of a surprise to see general manager Chris Grier try to replace about half of it in the offseason.

Armstead, who will take over at left tackle, is the big addition and worth getting excited about after making the Pro Bowl in three of the past four seasons and earning second-team All-Pro honors in 2018. Williams, on the other hand, is still something of a question mark as he transitions from guard to center. Without a doubt, both will be upgrades from last season, but the Dolphins’ line had a long way to go to even be average last year.

7. Could Miami have the best pass rush in the league?

It’s not such a far-fetched idea. Last season, the Dolphins’ 48 sacks were tied for fifth most in the NFL, and no team knocked down opposing quarterbacks more frequently. Miami also ranked second in pressures and hurried opposing quarterbacks more than 10 percent of the time. It’s a statistical profile suggesting those big sack numbers were no fluke, and then Grier went out and bolstered the front seven by adding linebacker Melvin Ingram as a free agent.

Although they might not have one Pro Bowl-type edge rusher, the Dolphins possess the sort of depth of pass rush options to torment opposing quarterbacks — defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, Ingram, and fellow linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Jerome Baker have all had seasons with at least seven sacks in the last four years — and cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Byron Jones give them the flexibility to blitz essentially whenever they feel it’s necessary.

8. Can Phillips, Jevon Holland and Jaylen Waddle take the leap in Year 2?

Year 1 was a major success for Miami’s first three picks of the 2022 NFL Draft — Waddle set a rookie record for receptions, Phillips logged 8 1/2 sacks and Holland earned second-team All-Pro honors from PFF as a flex defender — and all clearly have star potential.

The Dolphins did a good job of upgrading their top-end talent in the offseason, but the best way for them to build a playoff- or championship-level roster is to develop players they draft, and these are three of their best bets.

9. How big a concern is the secondary depth?

Xavien Howard is the best player on Miami’s defense, fellow cornerback Byron Jones is probably second and Holland might even be third. Beyond those three, the Dolphins’ depth is shaky, though, and Jones’ health is also a concern as he will miss at least the first four games of the season after March ankle surgery.

Brandon Jones gives Miami a solid presence in the box as the safety opposite Holland, and cornerback Nik Needham is solid in the slot, and then the secondary falls off for the Dolphins. Noah Igbinoghene, a first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, has yet to become a reliable contributor, and a rash of preseason injuries took down fellow cornerbacks Trill Williams and Mackensie Alexander. In this age of pass-happy offenses, depth can sometimes be as important as top-end talent at defensive back and Miami lacks the former, even as the latter is a strength.

10. Is Jason Sanders back to All-Pro form?

If the Dolphins are going to hang around .500 again and find themselves fighting for a Wild Card, it will help to have Sanders back to his 2020 form.

In the 2020 NFL season, Sanders was maybe the best kicker in the league, earning first-team All-Pro honors for going 36 of 39 on field goals and leading the league in scoring. Last year, the kicker slipped and went just 23 of 31 and Miami lost three games by three points or fewer, with Sanders missing a kick in each one. If Sanders had been something closer to his 2020 self, the Dolphins might have sneaked into the 2021-22 NFL playoffs and the preseason was a return to form, as Sanders went 8 of 9 on field goals with four from 50 yards or longer.

This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 6:30 AM.

David Wilson

Miami Herald

305-376-3406

David Wilson, a Maryland native, is the Miami Herald’s utility man for sports coverage.