The Miami Dolphins’ offensive line is in the midst of experiencing its first shakeup of the 2020 season. For four games, Miami’s line was Jackson, Flowers, Karras, Kindley and Davis from left to right — a group that provided admirable improvements versus what the Dolphins were exposed to with offensive line play throughout the course of the 2019 rebuilding effort. But Austin Jackson had found himself on the injured reserve, marking the first change to Miami’s line this season.
His departure? It sounds indefinite based on the tone that Brian Flores brought to Miami’s press conference ahead of the team’s flight to San Francisco yesterday. So from here, how can the Dolphins make the most of the change? One of the points of emphasis for this group was identifying players who are capable of fulfilling several roles on the line. Will Miami put that positional flexibility to the test?
Or will it simply be the next man up at left tackle? Here are Miami’s options to craft the next best group of five lineman to take the field.
Promote Davenport to start at left tackle
The Dolphins tapped into Julien Davenport on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks when Jackson had to come out of the football game. Would they do so again with the long-term change in mind? Davenport didn’t play noticeably bad against the Seahawks when he was on the field and with the Dolphins’ quick game passing, it may help protect him from the issues that had him ranked as one of the least efficient pass protectors in football last season.
The upside here? The rest of the line is uninterrupted.