The Miami Dolphins found themselves in real trouble yesterday after coming out sluggish on offense against the Buffalo Bills. While the halftime score of 23-14 seemed somewhat competitive, keep in mind seven of those points came thanks to a 101-yard kickoff return by Jakeem Grant just before the half. To provide context on Miami’s offensive struggles, the Bills defensive line accounted for six sacks on the afternoon while holding the Dolphins run game to a paltry 23 yards on 13 attempts.
Combine these figures with the apparent “eye test” of Miami’s offensive effort against the Bills and it becomes clear once again that the offensive line is a problem in Miami. A big one.
There are so many holes in the Dolphins’ tanking conspiracy that keep it from holding water — Miami has still won two of their last three games and continues to play aggressive. But with that success comes a higher draft order position — and Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffering a severe injury this past weekend, perhaps Miami should consider a 2020 NFL Draft strategy that focuses on the trenches.
For those of us who have been saying that the Dolphins should be “Bailing for Burrow”, that in itself looks more difficult by the week. While the LSU Tigers starting man under center is still healthy and heavy favorite to win the Heisman, with Tagovailoa’s injury it is safe to assume that Joe Burrow will be QB1 for many teams — including the 0-10 Cincinnati Bengals.
Yes, Miami can still trade all the picks they’ve stockpiled to draft at whatever spot they want and still have an excess of picks left over — but is it smarter to draft the offensive lineman they want first and get the quarterback later?
Since Laremy Tunsil was shipped to the Houston Texans in the preseason, woes in the protection scheme have been rampant. If Miami doesn’t address these shortcomings, they find themselves putting their future franchise field general in a situation similar to the one Tagovailoa currently finds himself.
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