It’s pretty clear that the Miami Dolphins have made significant improvements to their roster this season after completing a slew of re-signs and free agent buyouts with headline-grabbing moves that brought Tyreek Hill and Terron Armstead to South Florida.
But where have dolphins improved their menus the most?
Let’s examine the moves in each position (and remember that players who are currently free agents after playing Dolphins in 2021 fall into the “lost” category) before we rank promotions by position from 1 to 8.
rear quarter
acquired: Teddy Bridgewater, Chris Streffler
Lost: Jacobi Brisset
Re-sign: Nobody
Analytics: While Streveler has demonstrated an impressive double-threat ability in the Canadian Football League, this is clearly due to Bridgewater vs. Brissett. Given that Bridgewater has a 90.7 functional pass rating compared to the Brissett 83.0, this is clearly a pretty solid upgrade.
running back
acquired: Raheem Mostert, Chase Edmonds, FP Alec Ingold, FP Jon Lovett
Lost.: Duke Johnson, Malcolm Brown, Philip Lindsey, Patrick Laird
Re-sign: Salfoon Ahmed
Analytics: The Dolphins surely reshaped this room, letting go of three veterans they brought in last year on one-year contracts. The addition of Ingold is significant because Dolphins did not have a pure defender on the roster last year. That would be an obvious and significant upgrade were it not for legitimate concerns about Mostert’s durability given he has finished three of the past four seasons on the IR, including 2021 when he played only one game before being sidelined with a knee injury.
wide future
acquired: Trek Hill, Cedric Wilson Jr., Trent Sherfield, River Cracraft, Devont Deadmon
Cedric Wilson Jr.
Jeremy Rieber – USA Today Sports
Trent Sherfield
Kyle Terada – USA Today Sports
Lost: DeVante Parker, Will Fuller V, Albert Wilson, Allen Hurns, Isaiah Ford, Mack Hollins
Re-sign: Preston Williams
Analytics: Now we start talking about the massive changes, and adding Hill to the attack was about as big as it got with the Dolphins. In terms of name recognition, dolphins definitely lost more size than they gained, but neither one on either list comes close to Hale’s influence. The group of departing players formed the core (along with returning Jaylen Waddle) of what was supposed to be a wide receiving corps last year but failed to perform for various reasons. Besides Hill, newcomer Wilson is clearly a player on the rise. Hill alone makes this an upgrade, but there’s also plenty of talent left.
tight end
acquired: Nobody
Lost: Nobody
Resigned: Mike Jesecki, Durham Smith
Analytics: The Dolphins maintained the status quo after re-signing Gesicki and Smythe, so there’s not much to discuss here other than just pointing out how rare it is for any set-up to be the same in mid-April as it was at the end of the previous season.
offensive line
acquired: Tyrone Armstead, J Connor Williams
Lost: J/T Jesse Davis, C Greg Munch
Go to follow
Resigned: Nobody
Analytics: As we’ve thought all along, the Dolphins didn’t make sweeping changes to their offensive line, but what they did mattered. Due to his ability, experience and leadership qualifications, we have ranked Armstead’s signature as the best off-season move for the Dolphins, So his gain alone is huge for the offensive line. Although he had penalty issues in 2021, Williams is also helping to upgrade the streak.
Tyrone Armstead
Conor Williams
Jeffrey Baker – USA Today Sports
Jesse Davis
Winslow Townson-USA Today Sports
line of defense
acquired: Daeshun Hall
Lost: Nobody
Re-sign: Emmanuel Ogbah, John Jenkins
Analytics: We ranked keeping the Ogbah a top priority for Dolphins heading to a free agency, so being able to get that done was a big deal. Hall is a young prospect who will frankly put up a fight on his hands just to make up the 53-man roster.
line backer
acquired: Nobody
Lost: Vince Biegel
Resigned: Sam Eguavoin, Ellandon Roberts, Brennan Scarlett, Duke Riley
Analytics: It’s rare to see the Dolphins with the same five tight ends over three months after the season ends, so it’s unique that they have – any team really – re-signed four free agents in the same position. But this was all done in the name of keeping the defense as intact as possible, which is why we mentioned we wouldn’t be surprised to see Biegel back either.
defensive back
acquired: kyun crocin
Lost: Jason McCourty, Justin Coleman, Jamal Perry
Resigned: Nick Needham, Elijah Campbell and Sheldrake Redwin
Analytics: Two important steps that do not appear in these transactions include the extension of Xavien Howard’s contract and the restructuring of the Byron Jones contract. On this roster, the significant move was the re-signing of Needham, which became a formality once Dolphins made the smart decision to extend a qualifying second-round bid for him as a restricted free agent. However, this appears as one of the only positions on the list to be demoted because Coleman played very well last year as the fourth officer.
Dolphins Ranking OFFSEASON Site Promotions
1. Offensive line…because of Tyrone Armstead
2. A broad future…because Tyreek Hill is the difference maker
3. Quarterback…because Teddy Bridgewater > Jacoby Brissett
4. Running backwards…because of Edmunds and Mostert’s great playability and because the dolphins have a defender again
T-5. Defensive line..because it’s the same group after re-signing Uqba and Jenkins
T-5. Tight end…because it’s the same group after Jessica and Smith re-signed
7. Linebacker…because it’s the same group minus only Vince Beagle (and who’s to say he won’t re-sign in the end?)
8. Defensive Back…Due to Justin Coleman’s loss