The Miami Dolphins are bracing for the opening of free agency in two weeks’ time. And when the floodgates open for NFL signings, the Dolphins would be wise to attack their offensive line rebuild first and foremost — because no matter which quarterback the team chooses to commit to in the long run, the offensive line needs to be a hell of a lot better than the one implemented by the team in 2019.
But will their quarterback of choice determine which assets the team pursues in both the NFL Draft and in free agency?
It shouldn’t.
The longstanding myth that a quarterback’s blind side tackle needs to be the stud of the pairing is antiquated and quite frankly shouldn’t apply to Miami. The Dolphins, like all NFL teams, need to secure themselves two good offensive tackles, period. This isn’t a matter of paying to keep the blind side clean, it’s a matter of producing clean, established pockets for the quarterback to work. And that doesn’t check out with only one good tackle.
So if the Dolphins land OT Jack Conklin in free agency, it isn’t necessarily an indicator of the team drafting Tua Tagovailoa — it simply means Miami understands that this offensive line issue has gone on long enough. The unit needs to be seen as a strength of the offense and that won’t happen with turnstiles up front.
If you could only choose one, the blind side would surely take priority. But the Dolphins aren’t in the business of having to choose one or the other — that’s the luxury of the rebuild approach this team as taken. The Dolphins won’t be able to fill every hole on their roster this offseason, but they should certainly be able to reload and stock up along the offensive line and give their young quarterback a fighting chance to be great.
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