Tidbits on what the Dolphins are getting with Patrick Paul and their new offensive linemen
Nuggets on two new Dolphins offensive linemen and second-year left tackle Patrick Paul, who is poised to replace the retiring Terron Armstead:
▪ James Daniels, who will start at one guard spot, arrives in Miami with exceptional pass blocking stats. In his three years and 37 games (all starts) as a Pittsburgh Steeler (after four seasons with the Bears), he has allowed just two sacks in 1,367 pass blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
That’s extraordinary, and the 49 pressures allowed in those 1,367 snaps during his Steelers tenure also is very good.
As perspective, Liam Eichenberg (who was re-signed by Miami last month) allowed 29 pressures and two sacks in 644 snaps at right guard for the Dolphins last season alone.
Daniels allowed just one sack and five pressures on 105 pass blocking snaps in 2024 before rupturing his Achilles tendon in Week 4. Incredibly, he didn’t allow a single sack in 686 pass blocking snaps in 2022.
▪ Daniels’ run blocking was very good in the four games last season (second in the league among all guards when he played) but middle of the pack (per PFF) in the two previous seasons.
Overall, PFF said Daniels was the best guard in football last September before the injury. The Steelers informed him before last season that he wasn’t going to be offered an extension. Daniels expects to be healthy and back on the field by training camp.
▪ You’ll need to deal with some penalties with Daniels. He had nine for Chicago in 2021, five with Pittsburgh in 2022, three in 2023 and none last year in the four games.
▪ There will be growing pains as Paul takes over for Armstead.
Among 81 qualifying tackles, PFF rated Armstead third last season, Paul 79th.
As a run-blocker, Armstead was rated fourth; Paul was rated 81st and worst.
Armstead yielded three sacks (all late in the season) and 16 pressures in 501 pass blocking snaps in 2024.
Conversely, Paul permitted three sacks and 15 pressures in 229 pass blocking chances. So Paul relinquished the same number of sacks and just one less pressure in 272 fewer pass blocking snaps than Armstead played.
So Miami likely isn’t going to be as good at left tackle, at least not immediately.
Paul said last season that he believes he has improved as a run blocker.
“That was a big emphasis during the predraft process,” he said. “There were a lot of questions about it. In college I wasn’t very productive in the run.”
Paul earned PFF’s highest pass-blocking grade among all FBS tackles in his final year at Houston. He allowed just two sacks in 1,053 pass-block situations during his final two college seasons, after allowing three sacks in 2021.
What could Paul, at 6-7, get away with at Houston as a pass protector that’s harder to get away with now?
“In college you can just body people [and get away with] lack of technique,” Paul said. “When I went back and watched my college tape in the predraft process, it was like I was beating people on sheer size. In the NFL, they’re technicians. These people are paid to rush the passer. They’re not going to stop once you get your hands on them. They’re going to counter a second time and get there whatever way is possible. It’s a big change.”
▪ Larry Borom, the Dolphins’ new No. 3 tackle, was a puzzling pickup because there’s nothing particularly impressive in his body of work.
His pass blocking grades were among the worst in football last season: seven sacks and 22 pressures yielded in just 237 pass blocking snaps. The 20 sacks and 93 pressures permitted over four years is among the worst among players with comparable playing time.
His PFF run blocking grades have been mediocre. He has twice missed substantial time with ankle sprains.
Last season, PFF rated Borom 70th of 81 qualifying tackles – 70th as a pass blocker (Paul was 71st) and 70th as a run blocker (Paul was rated last).
▪ At least there’s position versatility with Borom. He has played 788 snaps at left tackle, 1045 at right tackle, 42 at left guard and 20 at right guard. The Dolphins view him primarily as a tackle who could play some guard if needed.
▪ Daniels also has position versatility. He has taken all of his snaps at right guard in three years with the Steelers. In four years with Chicago, he played no right guard at all, lining up only at left guard and taking 508 snaps at center in 2019.
Daniels said the Dolphins will tell him what side he will be playing during the offseason program in May, after the team sees how the draft and next wave of free agency play out.
Miami could add another guard in the first three rounds of the draft or in free agency; agent Drew Rosenhaus mentioned his client, veteran free agent guard Dalton Risner, during a conversation about the Dolphins offensive line in his weekly WSVN-Fox segment on Sunday. Risner was PFF’s No. 22 guard last season and played for Dolphins offensive line coach Butch Barry in Denver.
▪ Fun fact on Daniels: He was fourth in the NCAA discus championships while at Iowa, where he majored in biology and earned academic honors.
▪ Pro Football Focus listed Daniels among its five perfect fits of free agency, with this comment:
“Before tearing his Achilles in Week 4, Daniels was on track to produce the highest-graded season of his career. His 92.9 PFF grade was the highest generated by a guard through September. Should he recover well from surgery and rehab, the former Steelers offensive lineman profiles as one of the best scheme fits of the 2025 free agent cycle.
“Introducing Daniels into the Dolphins front should make for a simple transition. Miami’s running game features a heavy dose of outside zone, running the seventh-highest rate (43%) in the NFL this past season. The former Steeler has excelled in outside zone-heavy schemes, producing a 72.4 PFF run-blocking grade on those looks throughout his career.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 1:53 PM.
