Looking back on the Miami Dolphins’ draft class of 2020, few teams can claim more snaps from their rookie class than the Miami Dolphins. But with so much youth, the next question is the quality of the snaps received — as that adds important context to the outlook of Miami’s class. Pro Football Focus did exactly that and their appraisal of the Dolphins’ class is not a flattering one. The company ranked the Miami Dolphins’ 2020 NFL Draft class as the 28th most productive rookie class this season.
“Miami’s rookies played more snaps this past season than any other rookie class, yet there was very little positive play to speak of among the group. Their first-round picks — quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (No. 5 overall), tackle Austin Jackson (No. 18 overall) and cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (No. 30 overall) — all ranked in the bottom six at their respective position in PFF grade this season.” – Pro Football Focus
Only the Las Vegas Raiders, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Denver Broncos were credited with less productive draft classes than the Miami Dolphins — which feels like a bit of stretch given the pure volume of contributors for the Dolphins from this year’s rookie class. Did Miami’s rookies play the best? No. But did the Dolphins rookie class provide key contributions and in massive numbers relative to many other draft classes across the league? Absolutely.
It seems as though Pro Football Focus’ ranking is rooted deeply in the hit or miss returns in 2020 from their three first round picks, including their comparative breakdown of Tagovailoa versus the other 1st-round quarterbacks (aside of Green Bay’s Jordan Love, who didn’t play at all this season — as a matter of fact, Green Bay’s top three picks combined for just 122 snaps this season and the Packers’ class managed to rank 17th out of 32).
“It’s way too early to dismiss the possibility of Tagovailoa being a franchise quarterback, but it’s still far from a guarantee considering his lowly Year 1. Tagovailoa finished the year with a 63.9 passing grade, well below the marks of fellow first-round quarterbacks Joe Burrow (74.3) and Justin Herbert (78.6). He struggled to get anything cooking downfield with the fourth-lowest accurate pass rate on throws of 10-plus yards and a league-low big-time throw rate of 2.1%.” – Pro Football Focus
Whatever technicalities were needed for the Dolphins to qualify 28th out of 32 teams for this exercise, worry not Dolphins fans. Because the hard knocks of 2020 will provide benefits in 2021 and beyond for Miami’s young players. Maybe not for all of them, but the law of averages says Miami will see significant improvements from approximately half of their significant contributors next season. And the 2021 appraisal of this class will likely be better for the Dolphins as a result.