The Miami Dolphins were one of the NFL’s most dominant teams going into the 2023 season, but they drastically underperformed towards the end and were eliminated in the Wildcard round after, regrettably, drawing the Kansas City Chiefs early in the season.
The team scored more points in Week 3 than they did in their final three games combined, so part of this was undoubtedly due to the league catching up to Mike McDaniel’s offensive prowess. However, a string of injuries and general weariness at critical positions also caused the team to falter when it mattered most, making it imperative to increase the team’s depth going into the offseason.
The Dolphins, who have two extremely athletic edge rushers and an enormous offensive lineman who might find a second home inside, were fortunate enough to be able to accomplish just that.
In 2024, these rookies might be Miami Dolphins players.
2. Chop Robinson and Mohamed Kamara will press Jaelan Phillips
The Dolphins are anticipating great things from Jaelan Phillips, their first-round choice back in 2021, who has continuously impressed with his pass-rushing skills in a part-time starting role. This is after watching Vic Fangio and Andrew Gynkle leave Miami earlier this year.
Standing at 6 feet 5 inches and 263 pounds, Phillips appears to be the perfect modern edge rusher, and his impressive athletic testing results confirm this, as seen by his lightning-fast 4.58 40-second time and 125-inch wide leap. Despite being a rotational player and having only ever played more than 650 snaps in his career, he has still proven to be an excellent rusher, accumulating 22 sacks across 42 games, including a career-high 8.5 as a rookie.
Could Phillips replace Bradley Chubb as a full-time starter in 2024? Yes, but after selecting two intriguing edge rushers in the 2024 NFL Draft—Chop Robinson and Mohamed Kamara—whoever is selected will have earned it because they will need to put in a lot of effort to prevail in training camp and the preseason.
In terms of their similarities as rushers who play the same position, Robinson and Kamara are about as different as it gets. Robinson is an athletic marvel who impressed at the combine but was oddly unproductive at Penn State, while Kamara had an amazing career at Colorado State, recording 29.5 sacks and 45.5 tackles for loss during his time with the Rams.
Given this, could the two players work together, or could one of the rushers put on a little more muscle to play more inside? Maybe; there’s always potential for improvement and exciting prospects like Robinson and Kamara. It’s hard to predict how their careers will develop in the long run, let alone what Miami has in store for them. Nevertheless, regardless of who starts opposite the former Denver Pro Bowler, it’s safe to predict Miami will be winning big, if Chubb plays at the caliber of play that fans have come to expect.
1. Patrick Paul will challenge Jack Driscoll and Robert Jones at right guard.
The Dolphins had to come up with a plan at right guard before 2024.
First, they made the decision to extend Robert Jones’ contract. Jones was a 2024 Dolphins player who started five games out of eight. Subsequently, the squad acquired Jack Driscoll, a former fourth-round choice out of Auburn who played guard and tackle for the team, from the Philadelphia Eagles.
With Isaiah Wynn starting at left guard and Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson starting at tackle, could Miami get away with that combination in 2024? Maybe, but it goes without saying that supporters expected the Dolphins to select at least one interior lineman in the 2024 NFL Draft to strengthen the front five and provide Tua Tagovailoa with an opportunity to set up Mike McDaniel’s deep passing game.
The Dolphins only took one offensive lineman, Patrick Paul, a supersized tackle from Houston who many believe will back up Armstead and Jackson as a swing tackle in 2024, despite going to bat seven times over the course of the draft’s three days.
Not fortunate? Yes, but hey, the team can still make immediate progress in the trenches even if they didn’t load up on wide outs in favor of drafting a Day 3 lineman. Paul could hypothetically kick it inside to take some plays between center Aaron Brewer and Jackson this summer.
Granted, would it be a bit odd to see a 6-foot-7, 331-pound guard with enormous 36.25-inch arms and a 29-inch vertical leap start for his team? Yes, but starting Paul in the starting lineup might be the best way for the Dolphins to give him quick snaps in Armstead’s final years of playing, especially if they want to improve their pass protection and add some meat to the offensive line in case Jones and/or Driscoll struggle.