NFL free agency opens in one month, marking the start of the new league calendar year in what will assuredly be a frantic stretch for all 32 NFL franchises. For the Dolphins, the buildup to the start of the league year can result in a number of different approaches — and the Dolphins’ aggressiveness will be a telling bit of foreshadowing for what the months ahead hold for Miami. But as one survey’s the landscape of free agency, it is quite clear that a great deal of the top available talents don’t make sense for for the team to go all in on.
So which top free agents make the most sense?
Here are the free agents from Touchdown Wire’s Top 101 free agents of 2021 that make the most sense for the Dolphins when factoring age, price and fit:
Skill Players
RB Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks
RB James Conner, Pittsburgh Steelers
WR Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
WR Will Fuller V, Houston Texans
WR Curtis Samuel, Carolina Panthers
WR Rashard Higgins, Cleveland Browns
There’s a varying degree of prices the Dolphins could pay out of this group of talent. Not included were bank breakers like Chicago WR Allen Robinson — that price point feels like it is going to be impossibly high for Miami to navigate comfortably. Godwin is a more dynamic player and, with having to share the ball in a loaded Bucs offense, could be primed for a big breakout elsewhere if Tampa Bay lets him get away (they’re not expected to). In the offensive backfield, Chris Carson has struggled with durability issues (as has Conner) but both feel like the kind of physical back Miami seemed interested in with Jordan Howard last offseason. Both are better than Howard on passing downs and would offer Miami good insurance for whoever they target in the draft (assuming that’s on the Dolphins’ to do list).
Curtis Samuel fills the gadget role in the offense that was shared by Jakeem Grant, Lynn Bowden Jr. and Malcolm Perry in 2020. Higgins is an under-appreciated talent but a savvy route runner — which Miami needs more of.