Miami Dolphins must not become the next Cleveland Browns
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are reuilding, much like the Cleveland Browns have done over the last few years but the Browns need to be the lesson.
When the Miami Dolphins settle into the NFL Draft evaluation process they will be tempted to jump on a quarterback or a top defensive end or a game changing college corner. What they need to do is make sure these players fill specific needs as well as the installed system.
In other words, Miami can’t afford to simply draft the best athlete, like they did with Minkah Fitzpatrick, and then worry about how he will fit into the dynamic of the team. Before the Dolphins get to April, however, they need to get through March.
The Dolphins are expected to be aggressive during free agency this off-season. They are expected to fill a lot of their holes in the annual meat market event. Like the Browns over the last several years, finding names is easy, finding team players is a lot harder.
The Browns traded for Jarvis Landry and that hasn’t made them any better than a two win team this year. They traded for Odell Beckham, Jr. this past off-season and he too has had little impact on the roster.
Of course the Browns have a first time head coach who was given a lot of talent but doesn’t know how to use it. In Miami, Brian Flores had his talent shipped out and is working with players that he is evaluating. He has them playing hard. Harder than the Browns have recently.
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There is a lot that can go wrong in a rebuild. Drafting the wrong quarterback can easily set your franchise back another three to five years. Then by the time that next QB gets up to NFL speed, the other draft picks you made to help the first quarterback are leaving via free agency.
This is where the Dolphins front office will come into play. Whether we trust or believe that Chris Grier can get things turned around doesn’t matter. He will be the one in charge when Miami starts to spend the 13 or so draft picks next year. Making the right choices is imperative to success.
The Browns failed in this area. They drafted well but they drafted at the top of the draft each of the last several years. It is hard to miss on talent when they are drafted in the top five, quarterback is the exception but even Baker Mayfield isn’t quite lost yet.
From the coaching staff to Grier to the scouts, the Dolphins have to be careful they don’t add players that will be disruptive and thus put more pressure on Flores to get them on the same page. In Cleveland we see players starting to feel the frustration of losing after entering the season as the media darling that was going to run the division. Football is football afterall.
In 2020, the Miami Dolphins are not going to be given much in the way of expectations and they may surprise people. The Dolphins have won, one single game, under Brian Flores so there is no need to annoint him the savior of the franchise. Not yet.
The benefit Miami has compare to the Browns is that they have a coach in place unlile last year when the Browns fired their head coach while the rebuilding was taking place and a first time head coach was hired. Miami hasn’t started rebuilding this franchise. They have simply started to dismantle it so a better foundation can be poured.
If it works, the Dolphins are in great shape and if it doesn’t, well that’s another story entirely.