Plans the Miami Dolphins have for the offensive line. And what needs to be addressed
A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Thursday:
▪ During his media briefing this week, new Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel wasn’t ready to reveal his vision for the right side of his offensive line.
But we’re hearing that the Dolphins want to take a look at former 18th overall pick Austin Jackson at right tackle. That would be his third position in two-plus seasons with the team.
Jackson showed some potential as a left tackle during an uneven rookie season; struggled at left tackle last September and moved to left guard, where he played well at times but not well enough at other times.
But Connor Williams, the free agent pickup from Dallas, is now in place at left guard — alongside new Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead — and the Dolphins want to give Jackson a chance to compete for a starting job elsewhere.
The fact the Dolphins are eager to see Jackson at right tackle by no means assures he will be the right tackle.
Liam Eichenberg is expected to provide strong competition at the position. After giving up a 2022 third-round pick to move up eight spots to draft him, Miami is certainly not ready to give up on the idea of Eichenberg being a starter again, whenever that time comes.
And there’s always the possibility that Robert Hunt, the most advanced of the Dolphins’ young linemen, could move back to right tackle, where he played effectively during the final two months of the 2020 season.
But the Dolphins were pleased with how Hunt played last season at right guard, and there’s some sentiment internally to keep him there.
All of this is fluid. If Jackson and Eichenberg don’t seize the right tackle job, then Hunt at right tackle would become a possibility.
But the Dolphins believe there’s potential for Jackson to become an effective right tackle. Same with Eichenberg.
If one of those two players can become a reliable player protecting Tua Tagovailoa’s blind side, that would solve one of the two remaining questions on the offensive line.
This much is clear: This Dolphins coaching staff likes the upside of these three young players, something general manager Chris Grier has repeatedly noted.
▪ The other offensive line question? Who will challenge Michael Deiter for the starting center job.
It’s telling that Grier said the team will seek “competition” at center, as opposed to a clear-cut starter.
Miami, to this point, has been disinclined to spend much money at the position. That makes J.C. Tretter, the top available free agent center, not a likely option at this point. But that could change if the Dolphins change their thinking and if Tretter accepts less than market value.
One interesting option, Ethan Pocic, signed with Cleveland on Tuesday after starting 40 games for Seattle.
There are only a couple of remaining free agent centers with considerable starting experience: former Carolina center Matt Paradis (there had not been a Dolphins pursuit as of late last week) and former Las Vegas center Nick Martin (who was the Raiders’ starter from 2017 through 2020 but not last season). Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith coached Martin.
There are another half dozen players who have started at least a few games but weren’t starters last season.
There are two NFL center draft prospects who were coached by new Dolphins offensive line coach Matt Applebaum at Boston College: guard/center Zion Johnson and Alex Lindstrom.
Johnson won’t be available with Miami’s first pick at No. 102; Mel Kiper Jr. projects him as a late first-rounder.
But Lindstrom could be. Here’s how NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein assessed the two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference center:
“Gritty, competitive center with below-average NFL size and athletic qualities. Lindstrom has a good feel for landmarks but doesn’t play with enough bend or lateral quickness to consistently get to where he needs to go. He will turn base blocks into wrestling matches but needs to play with more accurate hands to help improve his win percentage.”
Lindstrom has been training in South Florida with noted trainer Pete Bommarito.
Other centers who could be available at No. 102: Arizona State’s Dohnovan West (could go earlier), Kentucky’s Luke Fortner, Nebraska’s Cameron Jurgens, Wake Forest’s Zach Tom, Utah’s Nick Ford and Illinois’ Doug Kramer.
▪ We hear that if the Dolphins had not gone to four years and $65 million for Emmanuel Ogbah, another team was ready to sign him to a deal very similar to that.
If Ogbah had left, one edge player of interest to the Dolphins would have been Derek Barnett, who has 21.5 sacks in five years for the Eagles. He recently re-signed with Philadelphia.
▪ Besides center and punter, the Dolphins also will look for another nickel cornerback to back up Nik Needham. There was no effort made to re-sign Justin Coleman, who played very well during the winning streak and signed with Seattle.
Miami also needs another backup nose tackle to protect itself if Raekwon Davis is injured.
These needs can be filled in the draft or with free agents at the minimum.
The Dolphins have essentially no space at the moment, according to the NFL players union. But they have the ability to sign players to minimum deals because only the top 51 salaries count against a team’s cap.
They could create some by releasing Cethan Carter or restructuring contracts or trading DeVante Parker or releasing Eric Rowe or Adam Butler (which isn’t ideal because both veterans will play and losing them would create holes on the roster).
▪ According to a league source, the Dolphins ranks among the teams that have sold the most new season ticket packages, even before free agency started. Demand has picked up further since the team’s free agent spending spree. The Dolphins have sold out all available suite and luxury product inventory and expect to sell out every home game.
Dolphins’ executive Jeremy Wall declined to specify number of season tickets sold overall — or sold since the acquisition of Tyreek Hill — but said the team has been proactive in the area of investment in technology around customer data.
▪ The Dolphins appear to be the second-best team in the AFC East, at least on paper.
The Jets were disappointed about not landing Hill, who signed with the Dolphins. Jets coach Robert Saleh said the Jets took a “big swing” and that “you win some and you lose some.”
A high-ranking Jets official said “if you have a once-in-a-lifetime chance like that, you’ve got to go for it.”
Meanwhile, Patriots owner Robert Kraft admitted Tuesday that “it bothers me that we haven’t been able to win a playoff game in the last three years. And I’m happy that we had, I think, a great draft last year, and it made up for what happened the previous four years or so.”
Since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay, the Dolphins are 19-14 and the Patriots 17-16.
Here are the projected AFC East win totals, courtesy of Caesar’s Sportsbook: Buffalo: 11.5; Dolphins and Patriots 8.5; and Jets 5.5.
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 5:47 PM.
