Miami Dolphins have needs for the 2019 NFL Draft
By Nick Belotto
The Miami Dolphins have needs all over their roster and while the season is far from over, looking ahead to what the Dolphins could do is never too early.
The Miami Dolphins season is nowhere near over as they still have a chance to make the playoffs at 5-5. With that being said, it is never too early to start to look at some positions of need that Miami should be looking to fix in next year’s draft.
Miami has a decent young core to build around and if Miami can address their problem areas, they will be able to build a quality roster for the next few years. Here are the top three areas I believe Miami needs to focus on in the 2019 draft. There are definitely other areas of concern (DT, WR) but these are the areas that Miami should fix with their early picks next year.
Defensive End
Miami’s defensive line was touted as one of the strongest units on this team. So far this season, however, Miami has been less than stellar in the trenches defensively. This is partly due to injuries, which is safe to say has effectively complicated a number of different things on this year’s team.
10 games into the season, Miami is 28th in the league when it comes to sacking the quarterback, notching 17 sacks over the course of the season. With the pre-season hype surrounding this unit, this is a poor number. Miami’s starting defensive ends Robert Quinn and Cameron Wake have 2.5 and 3.5 sacks, respectively.
Per Pro-Football Focus, Wake is still performing at an elite pass rushing level when it comes to rushing the passer, but how long can he continue to perform this way? Quinn has been good, not great. William Hayes will be coming off of a torn ACL and there is no real guarantee that the 33-year-old will be able to play at the same level. Andre Branch has 1 sack on the year and has had some injury problems. Charles Harris has been somewhat of a bust so far in his first two years and now is struggling with injuries.
Miami needs to put some draft capital into a defensive end who can consistently put pressure on the quarterback. If Miami is going to capitalize on their talented secondary, the defensive line needs to pull its weight and force the quarterback to make bad decisions.
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Offensive Line
The perennial issue.
Miami has spent some money and draft capital in recent years to solidify the offensive line but it hasn’t seemed to pan out the way the Dolphins front office would have liked. Miami brought in Josh Sitton to shore up the left side of the line but he suffered a season ending injury which ruined those hopes. While Sitton can still be an effective player into his 11th season, age and injuries make for a poor combination when thinking of the future.
Laremy Tunsil is a quality player who keeps getting better as he is on the field more. Ja’Waun James is a good, not great, player who also struggles with the injury bug a big. He should be fine once he gets fully healthy. Jesse Davis has been underwhelming this year but it’s hard to blame him as the line has been shuffled so much because of injuries to the starting unit. Finally, Daniel Kilgore, who suffered a torn triceps, is also out for the year and could be a decent center when healthy.
Similarly to the defensive line, Miami’s offensive line has been decimated by injuries so its challenging to get a full understanding of what this unit could have been. Regardless, Miami needs to invest in a young, quality lineman, preferably a guard or center, who doesn’t have an injury history and can be on the line for the next 10 years, not 3.
Miami investing in an offensive lineman may not be the “sexy” pick in the draft, but it is one that is crucial to the whole offense running smoothly, regardless of who is behind center.
Quarterback
The most hotly debated topic of the last few years among anyone who follows the Dolphins has been whether or not Ryan Tannehill is “the guy” to bring the Dolphins back to an elite level. Regardless of previous thoughts on him as a quarterback, Tannehill has yet to get the job done and has now struggled for the better part of 3 years with injuries. Unfortunately, Tannehill’s time in Miami should be done following this season’s completion.
If Tannehill is taken out of the equation, Miami will have the option to find his replacement in either free agency or the draft. According to multiple sources, the quarterback class of 2019 is weak. Even in a weak class, should Miami spend a high draft pick on a quarterback next year?
The simple and easy answer is: it depends.
With Miami trending towards an 8-8 finish, they may find themselves in a complicated position when it comes to drafting a future franchise quarterback. Miami may need to make some moves to move up in the draft to select one of the few top quarterbacks coming out this year.
Miami could also look to free agency to find their next quarterback, but that will be a mistake as many of the quarterbacks on the market are either not elite or injury prone. If Miami uses free agency to solve their quarterback problems, they can’t assume that he will be their long-term solution.
If Miami can’t draft a top quarterback, that shouldn’t deter them from selecting one with a later draft pick to come in and compete for the starting job. No matter who is deemed the “starter” going into the 2019 season, Miami needs to spend a draft pick on a quarterback that Gase, or whoever the coach is, can groom to be the eventual starter.
It is time for Tannehill and the Dolphins to move on from one another and Miami needs to find their future franchise guy in the draft, not free agency.