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Miami Dolphins: The three biggest winners from Miami’s off-season

By Bradley Mauger

ORCHARD PARK, NY - JANUARY 03: Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins throws a pass against the Buffalo Bills at Bills Stadium on January 3, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - JANUARY 03: Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins throws a pass against the Buffalo Bills at Bills Stadium on January 3, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 26: Myles Gaskin #37 of the Miami Dolphins scores a touchdown in front of Trayvon Mullen #27 of the Las Vegas Raiders to take the lead in the fourth quarter of a game at Allegiant Stadium on December 26, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 26: Myles Gaskin #37 of the Miami Dolphins scores a touchdown in front of Trayvon Mullen #27 of the Las Vegas Raiders to take the lead in the fourth quarter of a game at Allegiant Stadium on December 26, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Myles Gaskin watched as the Miami Dolphins did not draft or sign a big-name running back to compete.

Coming into the offseason, Myles Gaskin is a player many predicted would be replaced as the Dolphins’ feature back, via either free agency or the draft. Malcolm Brown was signed, but he’s going to fill the goal line/short-yardage role. Having gotten this far with a starting role intact, from an individual standpoint Gaskin is certainly a “winner”. If you go by Twitter, Dolphins fans are varying degrees of ticked off about this reality. While not ideal, this isn’t the reason for consternation.

Again, let’s remember how hampered the offense was last season by inexperience and lack of speed outside the numbers. This caused defenses to skew towards the line of scrimmage. In 2020, Miami averaged 5.3 yards per play, 23rd in the NFL. Gaskin faced 8-man boxes on 23% of his carries, the 13th highest percentage in the league among players with as many carries. The newfound speed will ensure Gaskin sees fewer stacked boxes in 2021.

The offensive line graded 30th in the league in run blocking last season, according to PFF.com. Given the increased investment this offseason and maturation of existing guys, there’s nowhere to go except up. Liam Eichenberg excelled at blocking up to the second level at Notre Dame. Robert Hunt was our best rookie last year and projects to transition nicely inside at guard. Matt Skura is a big-body center coming from an offense in Baltimore predicated on running. Austin Jackson and Solomon Kindley have the tools to improve too. I’m not suggesting that we’ll transform into the Browns overnight, but allowing for some tempered optimism isn’t such a bad thing.

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Gaskin averaged a league-best 9.5 yards per catch last season and his effort in pass protection is what helped secure his roster spot 2 years ago. Right there you’re looking at a solid 3rd down back at least. Gaskin missed 6 games due to a knee injury last season. He averaged 97.2 yards from scrimmage. If you prorated this, he’d have 1,555 yards in a 16-game season. Factor in that the team only owes him $872k in 2021, pennies on the dollar compared to running backs with similar production. It only makes sense that Gaskin gets his fair shot at RB1 this season. He’s tough to bring down, in more ways than one.

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