In just over three weeks, the Miami Dolphins will open training camp for the 2020 season ahead — and with it face the prospect of building upon a promising “foundation” year. The Dolphins surprised everyone last season with a 5-4 stretch to finish the year and promptly followed suit by nailing down one of the most prolific college quarterbacks in recent history, plus a slew of new faces to add to the team.
The Dolphins will hold camp this year with fan enthusiasm as high as it has been in quite some time. But amid the restrictions of this offseason due to the ongoing health crisis, can the Dolphins rise to the challenge? We’ll be taking a look at each position group for the Dolphins ahead of the start of training camp and exploring which storylines are most pressing to monitor as Miami looks to improve in Year 2 under Brian Flores.
Here are the Dolphins’ key storylines in training camp amid the outside linebacker group.
Will Kyle Van Noy live up to his monster contract under Brian Flores’ watch?
This is the 51 million dollar question. The Dolphins paid handsomely for Van Noy’s services — which are expected to help mold the Dolphins defense into a scheme diverse, flexible unit. Van Noy, who is 29-years old, is the de facto leader of the Dolphins defense thanks to his experience and championship pedigree as a former New England Patriot. But can he elevate his play to where it was in New England in 2018 under Brian Flores’ watch? That 2018 season was a career best for Van Noy (at the time, he was strong again in 2019) and he’ll need to play at that level to live up to his price point in free agency for the Dolphins.