If the Miami Dolphins want a cleaner evaluation not just of franchise quarterback hopeful Malik Willis, but of someone else who could help solve their offensive line problems, they need to make an immediate, obvious change.
Look, it's cool and all that Austin Jackson was a first-round pick once upon a time. The raw talent he has justifies that draft slot. However, Jackson has notoriously struggled to stay healthy, and at least as of right now, the injuries appear to have taken their toll.
Whether it's the bummer situation Miami is in right now amid a rebuild, or it's truly a sign of steep individual decline, Jackson proved in Week 2 that he's unplayable.
Miami Dolphins OT Austin Jackson must be benched after horrendous pass protection efforts
Through two games, Austin Jackson ranks dead last in PFF's pass-blocking grades and 65th of 66 qualifiers in overall grade among offensive tackles. That's a good way to get Malik Willis pulverized, elusive as he is.
It's not like Jackson is some dominant run blocker either. And when you put him next to the likes of struggling 2025 second-round pick Jonah Savaiinaea, it's just bad vibes all over the place on the right side of the Dolphins' offensive line.
The rest of Miami's big men in the trenches have little margin for error. Since an adjoined two-fifths of the o-line is particularly easy for defenses to attack, it makes the Dolphins much more schematically predictable, too.
As if this depleted roster isn't dealing with enough woes on defense. The offense should be a strength with De'Von Achane and the running game. It is not. He's averaging 3.5 yards per carry.
Caedan Wallace at least has imagined upside to better secure Dolphins' offensive line
Trading for ex-Pat Caedan Wallace was viewed as a solid move by the Dolphins to solidify their swing tackle spot, which was in a dire state with Charlie Heck previously slated to be the main man there.
Wallace never caught on in New England, which is in part due to the Pats' traditional reliance on a power/gap-heavy running scheme. That's not really Wallace's forte. He was an excellent athlete coming out of Penn State whom the Patriots tried to convert to guard.
Talk about a square peg, round hole situation.
Caedan Wallace was drafted in round 3 pick 68 in the 2024 draft class. He scored a 8.23 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 245 out of 1377 OT from 1987 to 2024. https://t.co/HJjibRiN4g pic.twitter.com/bQzSfFYq2w
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 27, 2024
The Dolphins heavily lean into an outside zone running game. They're keen to play Wallace at tackle. Those two facts right there feed the notion that Wallace should be promoted to the starting lineup right away.
In 80 snaps across three preseason games, albeit against lesser competition, Wallace posted a decent 65.3 PFF pass-blocking grade and an 81.4 run-blocking grade. I can't envision him doing worse than Jackson, especially with a much better-quality o-line and QB complementing him.
What does Miami gain by continuing to ride it out with Jackson? We know what he is, even at his best, at this point. He's not in the team's plans beyond this season in any scenario. Wallace could be. When Willis improvises and breaks the pocket, I like Wallace's movement skills to better take hits off the QB than whatever Jackson is trying in pass protection right now.
Might as well get a head start in evaluating him now, and in the short term, possibly upgrading Willis' protection and the running game in the process.
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