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After Miami’s first preseason game saw the offensive line battling a solid Chicago Bears front, the Dolphins traded a 2022 7e 2019 Carolina Panthers round pick 2sd round offensive tackle, Greg Little.
Fins general manager Chris Grier once again finds himself scratching the bottom of the tackle barrel this offseason after failed additions from Isaiah Wilson and DJ Fluker. While it’s true that Grier didn’t pay too high a price to acquire these potential depth coins, the same can’t be said of his investments in the five starting linemen slated for the 2021 season.
Left tackle: Austin Jackson – 2020 1st round peak (18e globally)
Left guard: Liam Eichenberg – 2021 2sd round choice (42sd overall, no longer traded in 2022 3rd round to go up 10 places)
Center: Michael Deiter – 2019 3rd round pick (78e globally)
Right Guard: Robert Hunt – 2020 2sd round choice (39e globally)
Right tackle: Jesse Davis – (signed in the training team in 2016)
I would also be remiss if I did not mention the 2020 4e round choice (111e globally) dolphins used on Solomon Kindley who fights with Eichenberg for the post of left goalkeeper starting.
With so many high picks used on offensive linemen in recent years, the fact that the line still struggles to solidify – outside of promising sophomore Robert Hunt – and Miami continues to find itself trading a Draft capital to acquire players who have struggled with their home teams, is a worrying problem, to say the least.
While Chris Grier has underperformed when it comes to his assessment in this position, at one point you have to point the finger at the men responsible for educating and coaching these players.
The offensive line coaches who have been trusted to develop the skills of these young men have serious explanations to give. Dave DeGuglielmo was let loose after the 2019 season in which Miami allowed an average of 3.6 sacks per game, tied for most per game of any team this season. Steve Marshall was then hired. He fared better than DeGuglielmo – his line allowed just 2.1 sacks per game in 2020. However, after offensive coordinator Chan Gailey left, Marshall was also sacked. This year, it’s an opportunity for Lemuel Jeanpierre to fix things, but as we saw on Saturday, things are already starting with difficulty.
While it’s exciting to think of all the skill pieces that were added to give Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa the best opportunity to take a big leap forward in his second season, the most Simple to turn those Lombardi Trophy dreams into terrifying nightmares is to get your QB with a history of major injuries seriously injured all over again. Without any real improvement from the men in front, this scenario is a real possibility this season.
Who do you think is to blame for Miami’s offensive line problems? How would you go about solving these problems? Would you like to kick the tires on a veteran addition? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @ MBrave13! The fins!
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