It goes without saying that the Miami Dolphins had some major question marks through the offseason with their offensive line. One of those was answered early when Terron Armstead decided he was coming back for another season and the team re-signed super swing tackle Kendall Lamm . Second round draft pick tackle Patrick Paul looks like the real deal so far.
However, the real concern has started and ended in the middle. With Robert Hunt off to Carolina and the Dolphins doing very little to address their guard positions, concerns have persisted among the Dolphins faithful that the team hasn't done enough to improve this particular area.
Miami did make some moves. They signed Aaron Brewer to a three-year contract to take over as their starting center. They brought back Isaiah Wynn on a one-year deal, who was playing well at left guard before he went down for the season in Week 7 last year. Robert Jones is back, who's been a capable backup and adequate spot starter.
However, in the middle of August, the Dolphins are again dealing with the injury bug. Wynn was re-signed despite still dealing with his quad injury from last year, and now he's dealing with, per Mike McDaniel, "compounding stuff" with it. Brewer is dealing with a hand injury.
As such, Miami is already dealing with injuries and depth concerns at an area that already seemed short on talent and quality depth.
So, of course, who better to test those potential early season starters or role players than a strong defensive line? That's something the Washington Commanders, who are participating this week with the Dolphins in joint practices, possess.
McDaniel talked on Thursday about the challenge that Washington's front provides.
“I think it’s going to be a great competitive challenge. You hope to have opportunities like this in a practice setting where you can have not only an adjustment scheme but have really good players in the scheme doing their techniques and fundamentals. It’s the absolute best way to make the day matter and get a game-like experience.
"So I’m really excited for that, and it’s excitement to get better. Really good players generally have some good plays, so I think understanding that and knowing that the whole unit will definitely challenge us. I have a lot of history with the head coach and I know a lot of the guys that are coaching over there, they’re going to compete and that’s all we try to do each and every day. I’m sure the really good players are going to try to compete, that’s why they’re really good players, so it will be awesome for us.”
The Commanders' defensive tackle starting duo of Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen takes a backseat to almost no one in the league. It will be interesting to see, if they do start and get some series, how Miami's current starting interior line will look against them. Jack Driscoll earned the start last week at center. If Miami goes with their starters, it would be some combination of Robert Jones, Driscoll, Andrew Meyer, and/or Liam Eichenberg in those three interior spots on Saturday if I had to guess (they "started" Kion Smith, Driscoll, and Lester Cotton against Atlanta in a game of backups). Eichenberg has worked some at center recently with Brewer out but is also listed as the current starting RG on the Dolphins' depth chart.
It seems like there's a very real chance that two or more of those players could end up being in the starting lineup for the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, particularly with the continuing issues with Wynn. As such, it would be a good measuring stick on Saturday night for how well one of Miami's biggest offseason questions has been answered.
Related: Miami Dolphins allege bizarre free agent miscalculation regarding recent roster move
Local Washington, DC
Most Popular
Comments / 0