TAKING STOCK: MIAMI DOLPHINS

BY ADAM GREENE

For the Miami Dolphins, the 2022 season was a solid victory lap for a front office that fired Brian Flores and caused a little bit of hullabaloo because of it. Flores, from the outside, was a solid head coach that had Miami on the cusp of contention. On the inside, it turns out he reportedly hated his own quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, told him that the team should have drafted Justin Herbert and pretty much doomed the franchise into mediocrity if they kept him. They did not.

Instead, the team brought over Mike McDaniel from the San Francisco 49ers and it immediately paid dividends. Not only with the team’s first playoff appearance since 2016, but with Tagovailoa himself, who played as he was expected to coming out of Alabama instead of whatever Flores was trying to turn him into. Which, if all the reports are accurate, a guy that would need therapy to treat his NFL PTSD for the rest of his life.

Miami opened the year with a three-game win streak, including a “we have arrived” 21-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sep. 25. They lost the next three after Tagovaioa, the guy Flores hated, fell into some serious concussion issues. Once Tua was back, the wins stacked up again and the squad entered December 8-3. But the Dolphins weren’t a finishing product. They lost four straight with Tua and a fifth when he was injured again. Miami halted it in the final week of the season, knocking off the New York Jets 11-6 in a game that set NFL offense back 30 years, but did send the team to the playoffs.

Serious underdogs on the road at the Bills and starting a rookie quarterback who’d been no better than No. 3 on the depth chart in Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins nearly pulled off the unthinkable, but fell 34-31 to Buffalo to wrap the season.

Tagovailoa finished the year with an 8-5 record. He completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 3,548 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Raheem Mostert led the team on the ground with 891 yards and three touchdowns to go with 31 receptions for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Tyreek Hill proved his acquisition was no mistake, hauling in 119 passes for 1,710 yards and seven touchdowns. Jaylen Waddle also passed the 1,00-yard mark, with 75 receptions for 1,356 yards and eight scores. Jaelan Phillips finished with seven sacks to lead the team. He added 61 tackles, eight for a loss, two passes defended, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Brandon Roberts had 107 tackles, 10 for a loss, and 4.5 sacks. Jevon Holland was the only defender to record a crooked number of interceptions, nabbing two to go with 96 tackles, one for a loss, 1.5 sacks, seven passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

MIAMI DOLPHINS

2022-23 Record: 9-8

Playoffs: Lost to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round

2023 Super Bowl Odds: +1800

2023 AFC Championship Odds: +800

2023 AFC East Odds: +285

NOW WHAT?

Now the Dolphins have to build on a solid year that nearly went off the rails with Tagovailoa’s concussion problems. Tua is supposedly fully healthy and, for his sake, I hope it’s true. Miami is unquestionably better with him on the field and the team did nothing this offseason to show they’re ready to move away from him.

Since they’re in the AFC East, a suddenly formidable division top to bottom, there is no respite in their schedule. They open at the Los Angeles Chargers, then travel to New England to take on the Patriots before hosting their first home game against the Sean Payton-led Denver Broncos in Week 3. Then, it’s one of two dates with the Bills in Week 4. After that, they face six 2022 playoff teams in their final 13 games, including both Super Bowl participants. While Miami might be better this season, and Tua staying on the field will be a big part of that, it’s hard to see their record being any better than the 9-8 they put up last year or maybe 10-7 if they get a break.

THE DRAFT

With no first rounder in April’s draft after the franchise was busted tampering with both Sean Payton and Tom Brady the year before, Miami had some work to do to add significant talent. Still., they had two picks on Day Three. They nailed those picks, adding potential starters Cam Smith, a corner from South Carolina in the second and running back Devon Achane from Texas A&M in the third. They didn’t pick again until the sixth round and only added four players in the draft, earning a C+ grade from me.

FREE AGENCY

With very little draft capital, the Dolphins needed to work free agency. They spent most of their cash keeping their own guys from hitting the streets, but did add linebacker David Long from the Tennessee Titans, backup quarterback Mike White from the New York Jets, wide receiver Braxton Berrios from the New York Jets, offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn from the Patriots, safety Deshon Elliott from the Detroit Lions, tight end Eric Saubert form the Denver Broncos, offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi from the Jets, tight end Tyler Kroft from the 49ers, linebacker Malik reed from the Pittsburgh Steelers and punter Jake Bailey from the Pats.

AFC EAST

The AFC East is a completely different monster these days as every team has decided to hire competent head coaches, which is not something Bill Belichick had to regularly deal with in the Patriots’ two-decade dominance of the division. Buffalo, barring something insane happening, will likely repeat as champions and the AFC, as a whole, will be a gauntlet with Wild Card positioning at a premium. Miami should be better this season, but could miss out on a return to the playoffs simply because of tiebreakers and the math as they’ll be battling with the Jets, Steelers, Browns, Ravens, Bengals, Chargers and Broncos for one of three Wild Card slots.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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