The five best moves made by the Miami Dolphins in 2020
The Miami Dolphins made a lot of good moves in 2020.
2020 is just about in the books and the Miami Dolphins have one more game to go but these stands out as the best moves the team made this year.
Yesterday, I covered “The five worst moves by the Dolphins in 2020”. Today, I review the five best moves by the team over the last year. Both lists were difficult to compile, but for totally different reasons. While it was tough to pinpoint five bad moves made by the team in 2020, it was equally difficult to narrow down the list of good moves made by the team to only five. Consequently, some good moves just didn’t make the list.
Honorable Mention
Originally a 7th round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, defensive lineman Zach Sieler spent his first season-and-a-half in the NFL bouncing between the practice squad and the 53-man roster of the Baltimore Ravens. He was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins for the final month of the 2019 season. In the offseason, Sieler was resigned by the Dolphins and the Dolphins have regretted it since. In 14 games this season, Sieler has 10 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, and has quietly become a force on a surprising/improving defensive line.
When it came to acquiring former Patriots this offseason, linebacker Kyle Van Noy got a majority of the headlines. Meanwhile, Elandon Roberts kinda flew under the radar. While his playing time has been sporadic, Roberts has brought energy to a Dolphins linebacking corp that took a beating in 2019. **Note: Unfortunately, it appears Roberts’ season may be over after being carted off the field with an apparent knee injury in week 16 versus the Las Vegas Raiders.
Signing guard Ereck Flowers to a three year, $30M contract was considered a questionable move by many. While it may not turn out to be a great move in the long-term, Flowers brought some much-needed experience/leadership to a Dolphins offensive line that looked to have two rookie starters to begin the 2020 season.
Like Flowers, defensive end/linebacker Shaq Lawson signed a three year, $30M deal this offseason and also had many outside the organization questioning the move. As of now, it looks like the right move. Although Lawson has only started 7 games for the Dolphins, he’s played over 50 percent of the snaps in 12 of the 13 games he’s been healthy. So far this year, he’s 4th on the team in sacks with six and recovered a fumble versus the Arizona Cardinals 34 yards for a touchdown.
Now let’s get down to the anticipated ‘top 5 moves’ of 2020.