Miami Dolphins hit and miss in the run game: 2022 RB review
By Brian Miller
The 2022 Miami Dolphins were supposed to be incredible when it came to the running game but that wasn’t the case at all.
Rewind this review to before the season started. Mike McDaniel was hailed as a run game guru. The Dolphins added Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert in free agency and everything looked as though the season ahead would be a phenomenal change from the dink-and-dunk passing attack of the last few seasons.
The dink-and-dunk game was most assuredly gone as we would soon find out but the running game was nothing close to the expectations we had going into the season.
Offensive line issues aside, Miami’s running game was a mess. McDaniel often strayed away from using the run to control the tempo of games. Sometimes it wasn’t working, some games it was but the common theme was Miami didn’t run the ball enough.
By the trade deadline, Edmonds was gone. Mostert was kicking butt when given the ball, and Miami made a last-minute trade for Jeff Wilson, Jr. Things were looking up. But they really weren’t.
Offensively, Miami generated 65, 86, 41, and 85 yards rushing in their first four games. Against the Jets, they ran for 137 yards in a losing effort. Miami played that game without Tua Tagovailoa and without Teddy Bridgewater who was lost after the first play. Against the Vikings, they ran for 73 a week later.
Miami would improve their rushing attack over the next few weeks rushing for more than 100 yards in three of four games. After the bye week, Miami managed only two games the rest of the year over 100 yards.
Raheem Mostert played well and led Miami in rushing yards with 891. He may come close to 1,000 had he not missed three games. Wilson who played only a partial season with Miami rushed for 392 yards.
The rest of the running backs?
Salvon Ahmed added 64 yards in 12 games. Alec Ingold ran for 8 yards as a fullback and Myles Gaskin ran for 26 yards in four games spending almost the entire season inactive.
What do they all have in common? Every single one of them is an impending free agent in 2023.
Next. 2022 look at the Dolphins QB room. dark
The Dolphins are likely to bring back Mostert and Wilson. It would make sense. Mostert was productive and Wilson was as well and cost Miami a 5th-round draft pick. Ahmed and Gaskin? Not a chance they return but if one of them does, it will be Ahmed.
Overall, the Dolphins running game can be blamed on the offensive line play. It can be blamed on the lack of continuity in playcalling from McDaniel. His commitment to the run is also to blame. And of course, we can blame the output on a few of the players.
There was a lot wrong with the rushing attack in 2022 and that needs to be fixed ahead of the 2023 season. It starts with McDaniel but Miami needs to commit to getting better in this area and that, starts with free agency.