Examining the Dolphins’ offensive linemen, the two spots in question and outside options
During the next 10 days, we will be offering thoughts, metrics and nuggets on all the Dolphins players, and exploring outside options heading into free agency and the draft.
Sizing up the offensive line, with general manager Chris Grier suggesting on Wednesday that Miami is inclined to leave Robert Hunt at guard, not move him to tackle.
TERRON ARMSTEAD
▪ The contract: Has four years remaining on a five-year, $75 million deal. He will make $9 million in base salary next season and another $8 million in roster bonus money. Miami likely will restructure his deal to clear out needed cap space — something that can be achieved by converting much of his $9 million 2023 base salary into bonus money.
▪ The metrics: Pro Football Focus rated him 14th among 81 tackles last season. He was exceptional in pass blocking, allowing just one sack and 15 pressures in 435 pass blocking snaps. …PFF rated him 29th as a run blocker, which was also well above average.
▪ The future: Armstead has never played a full season in 10 years in the NFL; he dealt with four injuries last season and ended up missing four of Miami’s 17 regular season games. The odds of that changing, as he moves into his 30s, seem slim.
But when he’s healthy, Armstead continues to give the Dolphins very good play. At 31, there’s no sign of any decline. And his leadership is invaluable on a young line; Armstead gathered teammates every Tuesday to work on technique. The Dolphins’ biggest priority at left tackle is finding a reliable backup.
CONNOR WILLIAMS
▪ The contract: Has one year remaining on a two-year, $14 million deal. Will make $6.5 million in base next season.
▪ The metrics: PFF ranked him fourth of 40 NFL centers, including third as a run blocker. He allowed three sacks but just 15 pressures in 676 pass blocking snaps. And after committing 17 penalties at guard for the Cowboys in 2021, he committed only four at center for Miami.
▪ The future: Though he had a handful of high snaps, the Dolphins made the right move by shifting Williams from guard to center. He gave the Dolphins their best play at the position since Mike Pouncey, and he appears to be a long-term solution at that spot.
ROBERT HUNT
▪ The contract: Has a year left on his rookie deal; will make $1.7 million next season. The Dolphins assuredly will try to keep him beyond that.
▪ The metrics: PFF ranked him ninth among 78 guards, including seventh as a run blocker. He allowed three sacks and 21 pressures in 675 pass blocking snaps. He was called for three penalties.
▪ The future: The Dolphins believe he has Pro Bowl potential at guard, and he moved a step closer to that this past season with a very solid year. Grier said even though the Dolphins know he can play tackle (as he did in one late season game), they believe he can be a special player at guard.
LIAM EICHENBERG
▪ The contract: Under contract for two more seasons; will earn $1.4 million and $1.7 million the next two seasons.
▪ The metrics: Pro Football Focus rated him 75th among 78 guards last season. He allowed two sacks but 27 pressures in 409 pass blocking snaps.
▪ The future: Eichenberg’s chance to prove that he was the long-term solution at left guard was foiled by two injuries: an Oct. 30 knee injury that sidelined him seven games and a Jan. 8 hand injury that kept him out of the playoff game.
He will likely need to compete with Robert Jones and perhaps a veteran player for a starting guard job next season.
Grier suggested after the season that Eichenberg will again have an opportunity to compete for a starting job, and coaches said he was playing the best football of his career before the Oct. 30 knee injury.
I would be surprised if the Dolphins spend considerable money on left guard; they seem inclined to give Eichenberg another chance.
AUSTIN JACKSON
▪ The contract: A year left on his rookie deal; will make $2.5 million next season. The Dolphins likely will decline his $14.2 million option for 2024, a decision due by May 2.
▪ The metrics: He allowed no sacks, but six pressures, in 58 snaps of pass protection. Two major ankle injuries (one in the opener, one in his first game back in December) limited him to two games and 84 snaps for the season, and the Dolphins still can’t be sure whether they were correct in their conviction that he can be a good NFL right tackle.
▪ The future: He’ll likely get another year to compete for a starting job. Even though the Dolphins almost assuredly will decline the option, they could keep him in 2024 if he can stay healthy — and plays well — in 2023.
ROBERT JONES
▪ The contract: Under contract through 2023. Will make $940,000 next season.
▪ The metrics: Pro Football Focus ranked him 41st among 78 guards, including 37th a run blocker. He allowed three sacks and 11 pressures in 280 pass blocking snaps.
▪ The future: Jones has earned an opportunity to compete for a starting job, with left guard the obvious spot. The only question is whether Miami adds a cheap veteran to battle Eichenberg and Jones at left guard.
BRANDON SHELL
▪ The contract: Unrestricted free agent.
▪ The metrics Pro Football Focus rated him 52nd of 81 tackles. But PFF rated him 14th as a run blocker. And while he allowed a sizable number of pressures (40), he permitted only two sacks in 472 pass blocking chances.
▪ The future: Shell, sidelined for the playoff game by ankle and knee injuries, likely will be invited back, from what we hear. The Dolphins remain eager to see Jackson at right tackle, but Shell could provide depth. Another cheap veteran also could added.
GREG LITTLE
▪ The contract: Unrestricted free agent
▪ The metrics: PFF rated him 81st and last among NFL tackles. He permitted four sacks and 35 pressures (too many) in 352 pass rushing snaps.
▪ The future: Little played well at times (including the season finale against New York) but struggled in the first Jets game (allowing three sacks), and the Dolphins could opt for Kendall Lamm and Shell — or outside options — as their top backup tackles next season. It would be somewhat surprising if Little returns.
MICHAEL DEITER
▪ The contract: Unrestricted free agent
▪ The metrics: He didn’t play at all on offense.
▪ The future: Deiter was the only player on the 53-man roster who didn’t play a snap on offense or defense; he logged 76 snaps on special teams. He’s worth keeping around as a backup guard and center unless Miami finds somebody better.
THE OTHERS
Lester Cotton (a guard signed to a futures contract) and Kendall Lamm and Eric Fisher, who are both are free agents.
Cotton started Week 2 for the Raiders, then made his Dolphins debut as a playoff starter at left guard against the Bills. He could factor into the guard competition; Chris Grier mentioned him Wednesday.
Lamm played well at left tackle in the first half of the Jan. 1 Patriots game before injuring his ankle; he allowed no pressures or sacks in 15 pass-blocking snaps. That performance alone allows him to make the best case to be the Dolphins’ backup left tackle next season.
Fisher, added Dec. 5, sustained a calf injury without ever appearing in a game. The Dolphins recently voided his contract, though that doesn’t rule out a return. He ended up making $3.8 million as a Dolphin.
WHO’S AVAILABLE
Grier sounds as though the Dolphins want to see the process through with Eichenberg and Jackson and not close the path for them to be starters. If that’s the case, it’s unlikely Miami would pay for a pricey right tackle such as the 49ers’ Mike McGlinchey or pricey guard such as the Eagles’ Isaac Seumalo.
Beyond Seumalo, the other top free agent guards include Baltimore’s Ben Powers, Denver’s Dalton Risner, Tennessee’s Nate Davis and Arizona’s Will Hernandez. Risner, PFF’s No. 22 pass blocking guard last season, played for new Dolphins offensive line coach Butch Barry in Denver.
McGlinchey is the best right tackle available in a group of free agent tackles that also includes, among others, pricey Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown, Jacksonville’s Jawaan Taylor, Atlanta’s Caleb McGary, New England’s Isaiah Wynn, Arizona’s Kelvin Beachum, Denver’s Cameron Fleming and the Jets’ George Fant.
Incidentally, 49ers general manager John Lynch said at the Scouting Combine this week that it would be a “tough deal for us” to keep McGlinchey because of cap challenges. “I don’t see that happening,” Lynch said of McGlinchey getting less than he expects in free agency. “I see him being a coveted player.”
McGlinchey, who has started all 75 of his NFL appearances, has a history with Mike McDaniel and would be an obvious upgrade. But the view here is that it’s not prudent to allocate a lot of Miami’s limited cap space on the offensive line, because cornerback and inside linebacker are more pressing needs.
“Obviously like with Austin (Jackson), he just needs to stay healthy so we can get a full evaluation of him, but with Connor (Williams), Liam (Eichenberg), Rob (Hunt) and obviously Terron (Armstead), we feel we have a good core of guys right there to start with,” Grier said Wednesday. “And Rob Jones and Lester Cotton coming in a playoff game, a young player. So excited about some of the development and potential of some of the players.”
Offensive linemen who could be available at No. 51 in the draft include Anton Harrison (a tackle from Oklahoma), Cody Mauch (a North Dakota State guard/tackle), Matthew Bergeron (a tackle/guard from Syracuse), Jaelyn Duncan (a guard/tackle from Maryland) and Dawand Jones (a tackle from Ohio State).
But the Dolphins have spent enough high-draft-pick resources on offensive linemen, with subpar results over the past decade (aside from Laremy Tunsil and Hunt).
This is Part 1 of a series on various Dolphins’ positions heading into free agency and the draft.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 3:55 PM.
