Miami Dolphins post NFL Draft 53 man roster predictions ahead of camps
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins are not going to carry 27 offensive players when there are more players on defense that they can't afford to release without losing them on the waiver wire. Unlike year's past, Miami's players are likely to be claimed in 2023.
Our offense looked like this from the previous slides.
9 - Oline: Eichenberg, Jackson, Hunt, Armstead, Williams, Lamm, Jones, Feeney and a player not on the roster yet.
3 - QBs - Tua Tagovailoa, Mike White, and Skylar Thompson
4 - TEs - Durham Smythe, Elijiah Higgins, Eric Saubert, and Tanner Conner
5 - RB/FB - Mostert, Wilson, Achane, Ahmed, and Ingold
6 - WRs - Hill, Waddle, Anderson, Cracraft, Ezukanma, and Berrios
This gives us 27 players on the offense and that is a big stretch if we are being honest. The Dolphins will want more than 23 players on defense without question so where does that number reduce?
Miami's two positions that could be reduced are WR and Oline. I could easily see the Dolphins play the Oline game and pass players to the PS and carry 8 players. To reduce this, I would remove Kendall Lamm for now. I would also remove River Cracraft from the WR unit as well as Elijiah Higgins from the TE positon. This reduces my offensive roster from 27-24.
The Dolphins will also have three specialists on their roster.
Jason Sanders doesn't have competition for his kicking job and it is doubtful Miami brings someone in to really challenge him.
Blake Ferguson has no competition as the team's long snapper so his roster spot is safe.
The only real competition is at the punter spot were undrafted rookie Michael Turk will take on Jake Bailey. This could be interesting and Miami fans should pay attention to this especially if Bailey starts to have back spasms that had him out of several games last year in New England.
For now, that nod goes to Bailey but this could be very close.
With the specialists and the offense set, we stand at 27 players total with the remaining 26 players on defense. That we will explore later today.