The Miami Dolphins are hoping to find more success running the football in 2020. In their effort to do so, Miami completely overhauled the running back room, the offensive line and even the play-calling. This will not look anything like what Dolphins fans endured throughout the 2019 season — and we can all be thankful for that. But while Miami is certainly going to be more physical, the question begs to ask whether or not they’ll be more effective.
Absolutely. Just don’t expect them to be one of the top rushing teams in the NFL. The pathway to a lot of rushing success is aided by creating explosive plays on the ground — and added yardage isn’t exactly the specialty of one of Miami’s biggest additions this offseason. Jordan Howard is expected to be Miami’s primary ball carrier in 2020. With several 1,000 yard seasons under his belt, Howard has been able to showcase his ability to carry the load in Chicago before a brief stop in Philadelphia last season.
Howard can tote the rock. But creating extra yardage isn’t where he’s going to win — and that may limit the ceiling of Miami’s rushing game unless they’re willing to test the durability of RB Matt Breida with a bigger workload. Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 NFL starting running backs as it pertained to elusiveness entering 2020 — and Howard finished 25th on the list.
“You know what you’re going to get with Howard at this point in his career. He ranks third in both rushing attempts and yards since 2016, capable of carrying the load of a lead back, but he’s not someone who is going to make a whole lot of defenders whiff in one-on-one situations. Howard has broken a tackle on just 13% of his carries during those four years — ranking ahead of just two other running backs on this list with 250 or more carries in the same time frame.” – Pro Football Focus
They say that beggars can’t be choosers. And after a 2019 campaign that saw Miami desperate to find consistency in the ground game, Dolphins fans should be happy to know they’ve found exactly that — both for better and for worse.