How is each Position for the Miami Dolphins doing so far?
The Miami Dolphins are off to their best start since 2003, posting a 5-2 record through the first third or so of the season, with each position group playing a role. This has catapulted the Miami Dolphins up in the standings, tying them for one of the best records in the NFL. Now that the explosive Fins are a third through their season, let’s review how each position group has fared thus far. Grades will be A through F, with both expectations and in-season production being taken into account. These are my opinions on how each position has played relative to what was expected of them, so some rankings may be a bit more inflated due to this.
Quarterback: A
Frankly, this was expected of Tua. A popular graphic being thrown around a couple of weeks ago was the fact that Tagovailoa’s production through 3 games was the same this year and last year. As far as I’m concerned, a healthy Tua will produce like this for a good while. Semantics aside, star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been on fire through the first 7 weeks of the season. Tua has been so good, that for this segment, I can really only focus on the main stats he’s leading the league in. He is currently first in passing yards, passing TDs, yards per attempt, net yards per attempt, and passing success rate. That’s a laundry list of production. But the production wasn’t the question mark for Tua coming into the year. It was the health, and so far, that hasn’t been a factor.
Due to his concussions from last year, Tua would be more susceptible to repeat head injuries. So, over the course of the offseason, Tagovailoa bought into the team’s training method of jiu-jitsu, leading to him looking bigger and learning how to fall properly when taking a hit. The results have been seen in spurts, with Tua’s passes seeming a bit faster as well as him not being taken out yet due to injury. It’s a good sign, and fans can only hope that Tua remains healthy and continues to dissect defenses left and right.
Running Back: A+
You may be wondering why I think Miami’s running backs deserve an A+ and Tua and the wide receivers don’t, especially considering the game against the Philadelphia Eagles, where their production was nullified. They shattered expectations, perhaps more than all other Miami Dolphins positions, despite their Week 7 outing. Leading the charge is the elder statesman Raheem Mostert. While he’s always been good, Mostert has taken his game to new heights this season, averaging 89.3 all-purpose yards and almost 1.5 total touchdowns per game. Somehow, Mostert is currently the 2nd in NFL points scored, a spot usually reserved for kickers.
For two games, however, Mostert was superseded by another surprise star: rookie Devon Achane. The Texas A&M product burst onto the scene in Week 3 with a 203 rushing yards and 4 total TD performance vs the Denver Broncos. From there, he posted two more games of 100+ rushing yards and at least 1 touchdown. Unfortunately, Achane suffered a knee injury, so here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.
From a collective standpoint, the Miami Dolphins currently have the best running game in the league. The team has already posted 1,100 total rushing yards on an incredibly efficient 6.3 yards per carry. That is a full 1.1-yard difference over the second-place Arizona Cardinals. For context, if you subtract that 1.2-yard amount from said Cardinals, you’d get to the 16th-place Detroit Lions. That’s how incredible the running game has been. The backfield is looking to bounce back from a tough day against the Eagles, but with their production prior, that’s to be expected.
Wide Receiver: A
I don’t think I even need to write anything here. I can just say Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and everyone else are fantastic, and call it a day. However, I should go a bit more in-depth. Let’s start with the most obvious. The Miami Dolphins expected wide receiver to be one of their stronger positions, and that has remained true. Tyreek Hill is on pace for the most receiving yards in a season. Ever. His blazing speed has created so many highlights for himself and Tua Tagovailoa that at the end of the season, there will probably be 20 minutes worth of Tyreek Hill highlights. Hill has been electric, as has his supporting cast at receiver.
Jaylen Waddle hasn’t been as productive as last season, but he is still nearly on pace for 1,000 yards this season. Waddle has cemented himself, in my opinion, as one of the top secondary receivers in the league. Former New York Jet and University of Miami alum Braxton Berrios has provided a great number 3 option for Tua Tagovailoa. Beyond that, the team has an absolute mockery of depth at the position. River Cracraft always has that one big play every game, while stars turned castoffs Robbie Chosen and Chase Claypool provide very serviceable depth if needed. If the receivers keep this up, watch out.
Offensive Line: S
Can I use S rankings? It doesn’t matter because my word the offensive line deserves it. The offensive line had very low expectations and was considered the weakest group of positions for the Miami Dolphins, especially with Pro Bowler Terron Armstead battling injuries. However, despite this, they have been fantastic so far. The production of the runningbacks as well as Tua has been raised due to the offensive line. The name of the game is to keep Tua upright, and the line has succeeded thus far. The unit has allowed the lowest pressure percentage of 12.0. Of course, it’s a smaller sample size, but compared to last year’s first 7 games? The 6 allowed this season is less than half of what was allowed (14) and the same amount as last year’s week 6 alone!
As for the running game, the production speaks for itself. As stated earlier, the team is averaging a whopping 6.3 yards per carry. I’ve already explained how absurd that is for this year, but let’s look broader. Since 1940, there has only been 1 team, the 1948 San Fransisco 49ers, with yards per carry above 6. This would shatter the league record if the Dolphins keep it up. So how does the offensive line play a role? Well, while not a perfect statistic for this, yards before contact per attempt can shed some light on the offensive line’s impact. Both Devon Achane and Raheem Mostert are top 4 in this statistic, indicating massive gaps to run through and little opposition at the first level. The group is led by the once-disappointing Austin Jackson and Liam Eichenberg. Both have broken out into solid pieces of the offensive line, especially Jackson.
Tight End: B+
Going into the season, it was known that the tight ends are not really used too much in head coach Mike McDaniel’s offense, hence why they let now New England Patriots tight end Mike Gesicki walk in free agency. So there really weren’t expectations for 6-year veteran Durham Smythe to make a big statistical impact. However, while Smythe hasn’t produced noteworthy stats, he has made big-time plays this season. With just 11 receptions, 123 receiving yards, and no receiving TDs, Smythe’s receiving output looks fairly mediocre, but his impact goes beyond that.
Smythe has consistently been Tua Tagovailoa’s safety blanket when the team is in need of a first down. 6 of his 11 receptions have been first downs. But his impact stems primarily from his blocking. There have been seemingly countless times this season where Kevin Harlin yells, “Oh, what a block from Smythe!” His blocking is what led to Mike McDaniel rocking with him as the starting tight end, and while there hasn’t been loads of production, Smythe has provided a steady hand to an explosive offense.
Defensive Line: A-
Despite Miami’s defense being slightly below average so far this season, the defensive line has been one of the best in the league. Leading the way are Emmanual Ogbah, surprise star Zach Sieler, and, of course, centerpiece Christian Wilkins (don’t forget to pay him this offseason please, and thank you). Ogbah has always been a sneakily important cog in the Miami defensive machine for the past couple of years, and this year is no exception. The 8-year veteran is having a bit of a bounce-back year after his injury-riddled and overall unproductive 2022. Ogbah has already surpassed his numbers from last year and is on pace for a very respectable season, with an estimated sack total of 7 by season’s end (2.5 currently). He also leads the team in QB hurries with 5.
While Ogbah is striving for a bounce-back season, defensive tackle Zach Sieler is having a true breakout year. His 4 sacks so far this season are already more than his career-high, and his tackle-for-loss total is already more than half his career-high. Sieler, who re-signed for three years this offseason, is currently tied for 19th in sacks this season and tied for 4th in sacks by defensive tackles. Suffice it to say, the Dolphins don’t regret his contract. Finally, we have Christian Wilkins, who is really picking up steam after a slow start by his standards. Wilkins now totals 3.5 sacks, already tying his total from last season. His QB hits of 10 is also tied for 11th in the league. So far, Wilkins has shown the Dolphins organization why they should pay him in the offseason.
Linebacker: B+
The linebackers for the Miami Dolphins are one of the stronger positions on the team, and while some fans may feel some slight disappointment, the group has shown out. This group is primarily the big four guys: at least to start. Jerome Baker, Jaelon Phillips, Pro Bowler Bradley Chubb, and free agent signing David Long have patrolled the field so far. Phillips has been solid when on the field but has missed 3 games so far due to injury. Long and Baker are tackling machines in the middle, ranking 2nd and 3rd in team tackles respectively. Chubb has become much more of a problem in teal and orange, firmly acclimating back into Vic Fangio’s, his old coach in Denver, system. While he most likely won’t reach the heights of his rookie season, Chubb should continue to provide problems to opposing tackles.
However, the star of the linebacker show so far isn’t any of these four: it’s Andrew Van Ginkel. After Jealon Phillips’ injury, Van Ginkel stepped up and showed out in Phillips’ role, tying with Sieler and Chubb for the team lead in sacks and leading in tackles-for-loss with 4 and 7 respectively. This is also on only 12 blitz attempts, which is incredibly efficient. Fangio is definitely going to enjoy having 5 good to great linebackers this season.
Cornerback: C-
This grade comes from a number of factors altering the Dolphins. For one, the secondary has just been the least productive of the Miami Dolphins positions. Through 7 games, the cornerbacks have the same amount of interceptions as the defensive line has: 1. That’s really bad. Individually, Xavien Howard is unfortunately continuing to regress as a CB1, which has led to tough spots. Recently acquired Eli Apple has been pretty poor, unsurprisingly to most people. Second-year Kader Kouhu has also struggled so far, mostly due to the sudden jump in play time from a slot and rotational cornerback to an every-down player, leading him to matching up with stars Stefon Diggs and A.J Brown. These problems mainly stem from the second reason: injuries.
It’s less a matter of who’s playing poorly and more a matter of who’s not playing at all. Coaches hoped that rookie Cam Smith could come in and produce as a rotational cornerback, but injuries have hampered his season so far. And of course, the more pressing missing piece: Jalen Ramsey. The 6-time Pro Bowler and 3-time All-Pro traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Dolphins hoped to shore up the secondary. Unfortunately, Ramsey tore his meniscus in training camp, leaving his return in jeopardy. However, Ramsey has his eyes set on playing Week 11, so that is very promising for Vic Fangio and this secondary. Despite the slow start, the secondary has made plays when needed. Justin Bethel’s half sack against the Los Angeles Chargers gave the Miami Dolphins a 1-0 record to start the year. Here’s hoping for more big plays like that from the secondary.
Safety: B+
With the addition of new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, there was even more pressure for young star Jevon Holland and free agent acquisition Deshaun Elliot to have good production this year. Safeties are the heart of this defense and the two have been instrumental so far this season, working both in and outside the box. Holland is the more statistically impressive of the two, posting a team-high 38 solo tackles (52 total tackles) as well as 2 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles, but both have been great so far this season. While the pass defense hasn’t been fully there, the two safeties have been doing what they can in the demanding role.
Special Teams: B-
And finally, special teams. Since the Miami Dolphins rely upon the more explosive positions and usually want the offense on the field at all times, the services of both kicker Jason Sanders and punter Jake Bailey have not been super necessary. Sanders has been alright, with only 6/8 field goals through 7 games. However, he currently leads the league in extra points made with a ludicrous 30/31 made so far. He also has an 80.6% touchback rate, a full 10% better than his total last season. Jake Bailey has also produced when necessary, ranking 15th in net yards per punt at 41.8. Speaking of our punt team, the Dolphins’ special teams have allowed the 6th least punt return yards in the league. The return game hasn’t done much so far, posting above-average yards per punt and return, but considering the offense, that is far from needed.
Team Score: A
This goes without saying. This is the best start to a season since Jay freaking Fiedler was the starting quarterback. Not many Dolphins fans expected such a hot start, but with how the team seems to be clicking, they expect big things now. While the Fins have struggled against the contending Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, both this season and the team’s future are looking bright.
Main Photo Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
