Dolphins must look at offensive line in 2018 draft

The Miami Dolphins have some holes they need to fill but none are as glaring as those on the offensive line.

Linebacker is an issue. The Dolphins addressed that with Lawerence Timmons, on a two-year deal, and Kiko Alonso, received an extension. They drafted Raekwon McMillan, now on IR, and traded for former first round pick Stephone Anthony, who has been inactive. They also added Rey Maualuga who is starting in the middle. Overall, the Dolphins linebacker unit is improving and should continue to do so.

The Dolphins also need cornerback help. They drafted Cordrea Tankersley this year and Xavien Howard last year. Both are starting. In 2018 they will almost assuredly part ways with Byron Maxwell and they still have some developing talent.

At wide-receiver the Dolphins are fine but they have to do something with Jarvis Landry’s contract and they seriously need to address the future of DeVante Parker who has all world talent but shows very little of it on the field. When he is on the field. At running back the Dolphins are in good shape.

Tight-end is a problem that needs addressed. Julius Thomas is average at best at this point in his career and Anthony Fasano is in the twilight of his career. That leaves Marquise Gray. Who could develop into a full-time starter. Eventually.

So where does that leave the Miami Dolphins? Every one of those positions could use some new blood but they are no longer major priorities. The Dolphins went defense heavy in last years draft and now they need to go offense heavy in 2018. Maybe just offensive line heavy.

As the Dolphins wait for Isaac Asiata to develop they have one maybe two deep lineman that could develop into full-time starters. Jesse Davis played well on Sunday against the Jets in place of an injured Laremy Tunsil and Jake Brendel could be the future at center. Beyond that? Nothing.

Laremy Tunsil is struggling at left tackle. While it’s to be expected somewhat he is still nonetheless having consistency issues. At center there are so many questions about Mike Pouncey and whether he can remain healthy to warrant the size of his contract.

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Ja’Wuan James is serviceable at right tackle but he is far from perfect and he too is inconsistent as well. At both guard positions there are problems. Jermon Bushrod is by far the best guard Miami has on the roster but Bushrod almost retired this off-season. In other words, his career is almost over. Anthony Steen isn’t playing great on the other side at left guard and beyond the two of them, there isn’t much.

The Dolphins are hoping Ted Larsen will get healthy enough to play but Larsen is an average offensive guard and throughout camp he wasn’t exactly showcasing a starting talent level. All of this leads to one thing. Forget the fancy class of runners, receivers, linebackers, and corners, Miami has to go unglamorous and draft offensive lineman.

They need to draft a top guard and if a right tackle is available in round one they should probably draft him. Go guard in rounds two and four and supplement other holes accordingly. The point is Miami has to address the problems with the offensive line. It’s been too long since this teams line was good let alone serviceable for an entire year.

Consistency is the key ingredient to winning and a key component of a successful offense. Miami struggles in pass protection and run blocking and the only way to fix that is to stop spending on low-end free agents and hoping to squeeze another year or two out of them. It’s not working.