Miami Dolphins biggest bright spots through first four weeks

The Miami Dolphins have been one of the worst teams in NFL history through 4 games, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t bright spots so far this season.

Heading into their week 5 bye week, the Dolphins are currently sitting at 0-4 with the lowest-scoring offense, averaging 6.5 points per game, in the league while allowing the most points per game, 40.75 points per game.

Yes, these numbers are awful, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some bright spots on each level of this rebuilding franchise.

Here are my biggest bright spots through the quarter mark of the 2019 NFL season.

On the offensive side of the ball it is easy to throw out the overall performance and say that this team is a lost cause and they should just draft Alabama QB Tua Tagovalioa, but what has stood out the most thus far this season is the connection between quarterback Josh Rosen and wide receiver Preston Williams.

First off this duo came at a fairly discounted price, Josh Rosen was acquired during the draft for a second-round pick and Preston Williams was signed as a UDFA from Colorado State, both are now the Dolphins starting quarterback and number one receiver respectively.

Rosen has been the most impressive player on the Dolphins, albeit the lack of a supporting cast, since he took over the starting job from Ryan Fitzpatrick week 3 in Dallas.

According to For The Win lead NFL writer Steven Ruiz, Rosen is actually posting elite numbers from his end.

As for Preston Williams, the undrafted rookie has made his way to leading all wideouts on the team in targets and snaps since Rosen’s first start.

In that time period, Williams has seen 19 targets, 8 catches and over 80% of the offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference.

If the offensive line can do its part to protect Rosen, and if Williams could stop dropping the ball, these two could lead the Dolphins to a more dynamic and potent offense.

While the offense has been much worse than the defense this year, the defense still has looked lackluster at points and hasn’t done much to improve this team. However, recent signing Taco Charlton has contributed big in his past two games.

The Dolphins have had issues getting to the quarterback this year accounting for just 5 sacks through 4 games. According to NFL.com, Taco Charlton has accounted for 2 of those 5 in just two weeks

247 Sportswriter Steven Taranto sees Charlton showing flashes from his University of Michigan days for the Dolphins.

"In Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Charlton once again flashed the sort of ability that made him a First-Team All-Big Ten selection at the University of Michigan and a first-round draft pick: After recording a sack in Week Three against the Cowboys, Charlton once again made a play in Week Four, sacking Philip Rivers in the third quarter for his second sack in as many weeks in Miami. Despite the Dolphins’ 30-10 loss, Charlton proved a bright spot, finishing his day with six tackles, a tackle for loss, and two quarterback hurries."

Yes, the sample size is small, but Charlton is out to prove that the first-round pick the Dallas Cowboys spent on him in 2017 was worth it, but instead of proving the Cowboys he’s proving it for the Dolphins.

On special teams, it’s easy to point out punter Matt Haack as the biggest bright spot, because he sees the field more than any other phase of the special team.

According to Fox Sports, through 4 games this season Haack has punted the ball 20 times, 6th most among punters, for a net average of 44.5 yards per punt, 9th most among punters, and has a long of 62 yards, 12th highest among punters.

While punter might not be the most important position, Haack is nearly flipping the field on each of his punts this year and put the Dolphins defense in a better position than missed field goals do.

By no means am I justifying this terrible start by the Dolphins this year, but as the team rebuilds for the future this lone bright spots will have a chance to both impacts the current team and be apart of the future.