Miami Dolphins Oline ranks 26th in PFF ranking
By Brian Miller
There is no question that the Miami Dolphins offense was not great last year. Injuries to Mike Pouncey and inconsistent play at guard made the Dolphins NFL rankings quite low.
2017 is almost here. The Dolphins open camp on July 20th for rookies before the veterans join a few days later. One of the focal points will be the offensive line.
ProFootballFocus has released it’s 2017 offensive line rankings heading into the 2017 season and the Dolphins come in at 26 of 32. The lower rank isn’t that surprising given the fact that the Dolphins did little to address the issues from last season and are relying on Mike Pouncey to stay healthy.
It’s a gamble.
Miami’s offensive line and by association the running of Jay Ajayi are tied to the health of Pouncey. The offense was much better when all five offensive lineman were healthy. Ja’Wuan James, Jermon Bushrod, Pouncey, Laremy Tunsil, and Branden Albert.
The other problem is that Tunsil is no longer the left guard and Branden Albert isn’t even on the team. The left guard position will now be a battle between Kraig Urbik and Ted Larsen to start and perhaps Anthony Steen who seems more likely to back-up Pouncey.
At right guard rookie Isaac Asiata will take a depth role early behind Bushrod. It’s unclear if the Dolphins see him on the left side as a challenger to the other three. The Dolphins are banking on Asiata developing into a solid starter. He reportedly plays like Richie Incognito with a mean streak and physicality that most of the others don’t have.
Asiata however is the future. For the present all eyes are on Mike Pouncey. Pouncey’s hip injury could be career threatening and while he has undergone several therapies this off-season and through last seasons missed games, there is no guarantee that he can stay healthy all year long. The problem for the Dolphins is they have no back-up plan. If Pouncy misses a game or two or a few series, it’s not likely a big deal but if he goes on IR the Dolphins will have a problem.
Training camp will be a good indicator of Pouncey’s health and the direction the offensive line is going to go against a defense that is hoping to improve as well. It should make for interesting practice reports.
As for the ranking by PFF, well it’s about where the Dolphins offensive line should be. For now. It will be up to them to prove they are better and show they are not worse. So who was number one? It doesn’t matter, they were not the Dolphins, the Jets, the Patriots, or Bills.