How Will Dolphins Decision On Mike Wallace Effect Draft?
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins will make a decision to keep or release Mike Wallace this off-season. Many speculate that the team will release the pricey star in order to save some cap space but releasing him will create a very large whole on the outside of the teams offense.
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The question of Wallace leaving isn’t as simple as finding someone to replace him. Forget the deep ball as Tannehill struggles with it so the team won’t be trying to replace that part of his game. In free agency few options truly exist. Randall Cobb and Jeremy Maclin are top names on the list but both will command a large contract that the Dolphins should be cautious to give. While both are big play type receivers are either players answers to the outside?
The team could look at other tiered receivers such as Michael Crabtree but those players are unproven for the most part and again don’t really provide the Dolphins with a go to outside receiver that can stretch the field, curl, cross the middle, with sure hands. While Mike Wallace may not be the best receiver in the NFL even when he is getting the ball the way he wants it he still is a receiver that needs to be accounted for. Aside from a few wide-outs in free agency most are not quite ready to become number one’s. This Dolphins staff may not have the time to wait for them to become that.
Assuming that Wallace is let go and the Dolphins can’t find an option via free agency, their draft plans will likely change. As of today the Dolphins are in good position to draft a top linebacker which is a big need but if they empty the outside on offense WR becomes a big priority and could force the Dolphins to go in that direction come April. It gets more complicated when you begin to look at the futures of both Brian Hartline and Brandon Gibson.
WR becomes a big priority and could force the Dolphins to go in that direction come April
Finding a solution to the WR issue in Miami is paramount to the teams success in 2015, a likely make or break year for Philbin and company. Tannehill’s future with team could also be put into question if given too much raw or underperforming talent. Of course the argument of Mike Wallace, Hartline, and Gibson all underperforming is a solid one.
The truth is Ryan Tannehill likely could have put up 4,000 plus yards without Wallace, Hartline, and Gibson. It’s sad but it is true. The Dolphins offense is designed to exploit the 10 to 20 yard range as opposed to the 20 to 40 yard range. Wallace had over 100 targets in 2014. How the Dolphins handle the wide-receivers this year will be as important to the team as how they handle their offensive line issues.
It’s simply another in a long line of issues that need addressed and were not really planned for, no condescending tone implied.
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