EDGE Defender
Emmanuel Ogbah has been a man on fire since the Jacksonville game in Week 3. He’s logged at least a half a sack in every game since Week 2 and has become quite the bargain buy for the Dolphins this season. He’s already tied a career-high in sacks and Miami has yet to play their eighth game of the season to hit the formal halfway point.
Hybrid linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel has become quite an impactful player as well and he scored his biggest play of the season to date with a rumbling fumble return for a touchdown against the Rams.
But is there ever such a thing as too much pass rush? The Dolphins have gotten good play out of DE Shaq Lawson, but his contract isn’t dissimilar to the deal Miami paid OG Ereck Flowers on offense (3-years, $30M). Both players could feasibly be moved on from after just the 2021 season and save the team up to $19M in cap space for 2022. As Miami looks to make the most of their winning window with a rookie quarterback contract, cap space may become valuable and the Dolphins, as they continue to build up their roster, would be wise to start transitioning in some areas from making investments for right here, right now and start making moves a year in advance the way teams like the Baltimore Ravens do.
That way, tough financial decisions can be made and taken in stride. The situation with Lawson will be one to watch as that (along with Flowers at left guard) are perfect examples of players that are playing well but may not live up to their price point in the long-term.