Miami Dolphins offensive line is still a problem but there is time
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are banking on youth over experience as it pertains to their offensive line and for now, that isn’t working. It’s not time to panic yet but there is a lot of work that needs to be done.
Brian Flores has gone through four offensive line coaches in his three seasons with Miami (yes, this is number 3). Lemuel Jeanpierre is tasked with turning this unit into something stellar. It is his second season with the Dolphins and his first as the line coach. The former NFL player started his coaching career in 2017 with the Seahawks. Does he have the talent to win the line of scrimmage this year?
As stated above, the Dolphins are banking on youth. Matt Skura has the most experience but he is on the second team unit behind third-year player Michale Dieter. A somewhat early surprise in camp. There have been some rumblings that Skura hasn’t looked all that good when he has been in there and Dieter seems to be taking a big step forward. That’s good news.
Today, we learned that Jesse Davis has a knee injury and while we don’t know the extent of it, the Dolphins will lose another veteran with more than a year or two of experience. It also creates a hole at guard. Earlier this week we learned that Solomon Kindley was demoted to the third team. Will Davis’ injury give him a chance to climb back into the starter’s role?
Miami is pushing strong for Liam Eichenberg to start at right tackle but he has had some up and down days which is expected. The problem is once the season begins, you can’t really have up and down Sundays. The Dolphins are also hoping that Robert Hunt will develop at guard and that Austin Jackson, both draft picks from 2020, will be better in year two as well.
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The Dolphins’ offensive line is not playing well in camp and when the pads came on they have been exposed. This isn’t really uncommon in the first days and weeks of camp, especially with a rotating line. This is the case, again, for the Dolphins. It takes a little bit of cohesiveness to develop and that is what Dolphins fans should be waiting to see over the course of next week.
Miami will have a practice session or two with the Bears next week and that should shed a little more light on the development of the players along the offensive line. There is a lot of time left to get it right and the Dolphins need to be certain that their decision to go with youth is better than adding a quality veteran or two to help these young guys learn.