Dolphins Year 2 News Center
Year 1 Final Standings
Texans Are Unlikely Super Bowl Champions Led By RB Lamar Miller and UDFA QB Joshua Dobbs! Defeat Eagles 30-24.
In one of the most unlikely seasons, the most unlikely end came with the Houston Texans raising the Lombardi Trophy as Free Agent Waiver Wire pick up QB Joshua Dobbs let the Houston Texans to a Super Bowl title. Superstar starting QB Dehsaun Watson was lost for the year back in week 6 to a torn MCL. Dobbs took over the reigns and he was able to game manage all season long and let his running game and defense win games. It was no different during their post season run.
Here is a look at the Playoffs in Year one:
Black Monday Mike Tomlin and Jon Gruden are fired!! Tomlin though is scooped up by the Chiefs as Andy Reid retires.
Retirements Around The League Led By Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald and Adrian Peterson
Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald are expected to get yellow jackets but there are questions abound about Adrian Peterson due to his off the field child rearing issues which were well documented.
The Raiders decided to go in a new direction letting go of Jon Gruden. It was a shocking development, but the Raiders completely flopped in his second year at the reigns.
The Steelers after a long run with Mike Tomlin felt they needed a change as well. But Mike landed on his feet the day after his dismissal was announced. Andy Reid called it a career and the Chiefs scooped up Mike.
Off-Season 1 Free Agency Report
Free Agency has been really busy this first off-season. The Dolphins made one big splash and that was signing All-Pro LE Yannick Ngakoue. The Fins made an aggresive offer and locked up the sack machine for 3 years for a total value of 37.5MM
"We want to welcome Yannick to Miami. He is a big addition to our young defense and addressed a big need. In addition to resigning Taco Charlton to a long term deal we will be moving Taco over to RE so Yannick can mange the left side.
The Dolphins made a few other moves after the signing period was over. They were able to land some high value free agents on 1 year "prove it" deals.
RB Damien Williams was reunited with his former team after the Chiefs allowed him to walk. Williams did not garner much interest on the open market but the Dolphins welcomed him back after they traded Kenyon Drake and RE Charles Harris to the Chiefs for an additional 2nd and 4th round pick in the 2020 draft! Williams will serve as the primary pass catching back and compete with Mark Walton Jr for additional carries behind returning starter Kalan Ballage.
WR Phillip Dorsett - Dorsett is a former Miami Hurricane and the Patriots decided to purge their receiving corp allowing Dorsett and Josh Gordon to move on. Phillip will be replacing Devante Parker who was traded to the NY Giants for a 2021 2nd and a 2012 4th round pick. The Dolphins are stockpiling draft picks again for their mighty rebuild which according to GM Michael Sword is on target as they approach the 2020 draft in the next month.
QB - Joshua Dobbs - The hero from the Houston Texans Super Bowl run apparently wanted a big contract extension to be Watson's back up. That strategy by his agent failed. Michael Sword swept in and signed him to a one year deal. Dobbs is a scrappy scrambler with excellent speed and very sharp throwing on the run skills. Initially he will compete with grizzled veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick for the back up role behind returning starter Josh Rosen.
"We are committed to Josh and fully believe he can be our QB to lead us to the promised land" GM Michael Sword stated. Joshua will have a chance to compete in the pre-season and show us what he can do, but Rosen is our man. He made some great strides, had a lot of great moments, and some really tough growing pains in Flores new system. But we also recognize the extreme pressure he was under all season behind our OL which we are going to fully address in the draft. Everyone on the planet knows we are looking at the OL as well as the secondary in this upcoming draft. What they don't know is the amount of intricate scouting we have done all around the country and we feel very confident with our scouting department, the amount of picks we have and the savvey we posses to draft strongly and come away with a revamped OL for Josh, Kalen and Damien to run and pass from".
Let's go around the league and notate some key free agent signings:
Bengals:
MLB Blake Martinez
LOLB Kyle Van Noy
Terms not disclosed
Bills:
WR Tyreek Hill 4yr/75MM
WR Dez Bryant 2yr/15MM
TE Tyler Higbee 4yr/25MM
CB Mike Holton 3yr/31M
RB Kareem Hunt 5yr/50MM
CB Anthony Brown 3yr/24MM
Browns:
MLB Shaq Thompson 3yr/17MM
Bucs:
ROLB Kyler Fackrell 2yr/11.4MM
HB Chris Thompson 3yr/13.4MM
SS Adrian Phillips 3yr/12MM
DT Arik Armstead 2yr/12MM
Cardinals:
C Nick Martinez 2yr/11MM
LE Muhammad Wilkerson 1yr/8.5MM
WR Willie Snead IV 3yr/21MM
WR Ryan Grant 3yr/15.5MM
LE Emmanuel Ogbah 2yr/12MM
QB Jake Ruddock 2yr/2MM (former 3rd stringer for Dolphins)
Chargers:
RT German Ifebr 2yr/12MM
ROLB Bud Dupree 2yr/8.5MM
Chiefs:
Hired HC Tomas Pita
CB Joe Haden 1YR/8MM
HB Jalen Ricard 3yr/9MM
HB Kenyon Drake via trade Miami Dolphins 4yr/25MM
RE Charles Harris via trade Miami Dolphins
Colts:
HB Austin Ekeler 5yr/35MM
MLB Zach Brown 2yr/13MM
ROLB De'Vondre Campbell 3yr/30MM
Cowboys:
RE Mike Daniels 2yr/25MM
SS Eric Berry 3yr/21MM
Giants:
CB Jason Peters 3yr/27MM
QB Teddy Bridgewater 3yr/20MM
WR Keelan Cole 3yr/16MM
WR Allen Hurns 2yr/7MM
WR Devante Parker via trade with Miami 1yr/5MM
Lions:
CB Trevor Williams 3yr/22MM
Panthers:
WR Demarcus Robinson 2yr/9MM
ROLB Nick Perry 2yr/13.5MM
Patriots:
LOLB Kamu Grugier-Hill 3yr/17MM
Raiders:
Hired Mike Tomlin
Fired Jon Gruden
LOLB Aaron Lynch 3yr/20MM
RE Tyrone Crawford 3yr/13.6MM
Rams:
CB Jonathan Jones 3yr/17.4MM
MLB Danny Trevathan 2yr/9.36MM
C Mike Pouncy 1yr/7MM
RG Austin Blythe 3yr/26.8MM
ROLB Dante Fowler 4yr/32MM
Ravens:
WR Nelson Agholor 4yr/52MM
Redskins:
WR Geronimo Allison 3yr/15.4MM
CB Ronald Darby 3yr/36MM
MLB Myles Jack 5yr/45MM
C Cody Whitehair 2yr/16MM
Saints:
RB Derrick Henry 5yr/37MM
RE Randy Gregory 1yr/6MM
QB Jacoby Brisset 3yr/12MM
Seahawks:
RE Robert Quinn 2yr/13MM
SS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix 4yr/24MM
CB Kendall Fuller 4yr/58MM
RT La'el Collins 2yr/14MM
LOLB Jatavuis Brown 3yr/19MM
Steelers:
Fired HC Mike Tomlin
Hired HC Demtris Turner
WR Randell Cobb 3yr/21MM
Texans:
TE Eric Ebron 4yr/35MM
TE Austin Safarien Jenkins 3yr/33.5MM
LG Joe Thuney 3yr/33.5MM
Vikings:
Nothing worth even mentioning.
Free Agency Top Grades Year 1 Off-Season
Buffalo Bills
Grade A
The Bills won the AFC East in 2019 and made the post season. They went all in for 2020 and QB Josh Allen acquiring Browns leading rusher and pro bowler Kareem Hunt. But they did not stop there. They grabbed super star WR Tyreek Hill and former Cowboys, Saints and more recently Dolphin Dez Bryant who had a very solid season for the Dolphins in 2019. Also Tyler Higbee the former Rams TE was signed. The Bills are looking to make a serious run again for a playoff push in 2020.
Kansas City Chiefs
Grade B+
The Chiefs were the top team in the AFC in 2019 heading into the post season, but came up short. Andy Reid called it a career but the Chiefs quickly pounced on HC Mike Tomlin who was fired by the Steelers. The traded for RB Kenyan Drake who will fit right into the offense with the Chiefs. They did lose Tyreek Hill at WR but we suspect they are not done wheeling and dealing and the draft is around the corner.
Indianapolis Colts
Grade B
The Colts added rising star RB Austin Ekeler for a decent value contract of 7MM per avg per season. Ekeler flashed great ability during his brief Chargers career. The also added ROLB De'Vondre Campbell to sure up the defense.
L.A. Rams
Grade B
The Rams look to bounce back from an early post season exit. They are gunning for a Super Bowl in 2020. They added some key veterans in CB Jonathan Jones, MLB Danny Trevathan and C Mike Pouncy. RG Austin Blythe
and ROLB Dante Fowler round out a solid FA class for the Rams.
Washington Redskins
Grade A-
The Redskins shored up their passing game by giving 2nd year QB Haskin a new target in Geronimo Allison. He gives the Redskins a really big target in the slot and nightmare matchup for any slot CB. They also helped their defense by grabbing MLB Myles Jack and CB Ronald Darby.
Seattle Seahawks
Grade A
The Seahawks who went an NFL best 15-1 just added more to an already dominate defense. Veteran RE Robert Quinn and SS Ha Ha Clinton-Dix give veteran leadership a jolt. CB Kendall Fuller is a lockdown DB who will improve the secondary.
2020 Miami Dolphins Draft Recap
The Miami Dolphins had a plan. And it all came together to near perfection in the 2020 draft. The Dolphins made some moves before the draft and dealing RB Kenyan Drake and RE Charles Harris to the Chiefs and gaining an extra 2nd and 4th round pick. Here is the Rookie Class from 2020.
Round 1
The Dolphins could not pass on Delonte Morse. In fact GM Michael Sword had him ranked as his #1 overall prospect. Morse is a shut down CB. And pairing him with All-Pro Xavien Howard will give the Dolphins potentially one of the best CB tandems in all of football. This looks like Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain part 2. Expect Morse to make an immediate impact.
Round 2
Sword was stunned to see ROLB Greg Austin fall to him. He loved his combine and Austin was an absolute pass rushing beast at Oklahoma. Inis Senior season he recorded 14 sacks, 3 FF and 2 INT and led the Sooners in tackles. He will be instantly in the starting lineup day one.
Round 2
Dion Redmond is simply an earth mover at the LG position. A teammate of ROLB Greg Austin, Redmond is an instant starter on the much maligned OL of the Dolphins. Not only is he a great pass protector, but he is a fierce power run blocker and together with Laremy Tunsil will make for a strong left side. This was just the start of the Dolphins draft and already they have 3 blue chip players.
Round 2
David Kilgore did a decent job at Center last season, but Michael Sword wants new blood in the middle of his line and Steve Lloyd will be that guy. The 6’4’ hass from Iowa State comes to the Dolphins with a stellar reputation as a strong, smart and disciplined player. Expect him to also become a starter as a rookie. “We are drafting our future and our present today. We may have the youngest OL in the league when this draft is over”.
Round 3
Sword could not stop raving about Brian Bonner after his selection. The imposing force at RG from Nebraska, Bonner comes in ready to be a superstar. He will man the interior right side where the Dolphins endured the most pressure from all season long with now departed veteran Clint Boling who simply was a turnstile. “Brian is going to have an immediate impact in our running game. He is so physical, so strong and also really intelligent. We are really excited he fell to us”.
Round 3
SS Jay Whitaker had the best combine of all the SS prospects in the draft. So when Sword saw him sitting in the 3rd round.....he pounced. “Jay will have a chance to learn and develop with one of the best hitters in the league in Reshad Jones. He has no pressure to play now, but instead can develop and eventually take over when Reshad's career closes out”. However their is talk if the Dolphins do not improve a lot this season they could move Jones after this season....or during it. So Whitaker may play more than Sword is leading on.
Round 4
Noah Nash at RT will be a wrecking ball. This kid is simply a beast and will be inserted into the stating lineup from day one. The Dolphins will be starting 4 rookies along the line with Tunsil. Hard to believe.....but that is how good they drafted on the OL.
The rest of our rookies are all fantastic prospects.
DT Jose Sherad - potentially a future starer
DT Levon Pittman - potentially future starter
RG Greg Merritt - solid back up with upside to start as well
RB T May - big time per back who may play a role in the future
LG Nick Bohannon - another quality depth piece along the line
Year 2 Pre-Season Depth Chart
2019 Regular Season Dolphin Player Statistics
The Dolphins had 5 Pro Bowl players:
WR Kenny Stills
LB Jerome Baker
CB Xavien Howard
DE Taco Charlton
K Jason Sanders
NFL Top Performers 2019
League MVP was QB Aaron Rodgers
Coach Of The Year Pete Carroll
Year 2 Pre-Season Week 1
Down Goes Taco Along With The Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins opened the 2020 Pre-Season vs the NY Giants. Josh Rosen was uneven as he threw an INT in his 1 quarter of work. He did engineer a scoring drive though capped off by a TD run from Kalen Ballage.
Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills got the call as the starting WR’s and Phillip Dorsett was the #3. Preston Williams was given a long look and produced hauling in 7 receptions for 91 yards. The second year UDFA has been turning heads in camp all summer and is looking to push hard for more playing time. RB Damien Williams looked right at home playing a series with the starters. Mark Walton Jr also looked in mid season form.
The real story was the OL. LT Laremy Tunsil is the only veteran on this completely revamped line as 4 rookies got the start at LG, C, RG and RT. And they looked good. They will need to bond and come together but the Dolphins blue print from the 2020 draft showed well for a quarter. The pass protection was night and day from 2019. Yes it is pre-season and only one quarter, but they really looked solid. New ROLB Greg Austin got his first NFL sack and 1st round pick CB Delonte Morse picked off a Daniel Jones pass in the corner of the end zone intended for Sterling Shepard. Morse displayed incredible leaping ability as he went up over his shoulder to snatch the touch pass out of the air. Xavien Howard also picked off Jones and returned it for a TD in the first quarter. The Dolphins led 14-7 after 1 quarter before all starters for both sides left.
However it was not all roses and rainbows. Pro Bowl LE Taco Charlton fractured his wrist and will be out for the remainder of the pre-season and will miss at least 2 and possible 3 regular season games. Tyrone Holmes will assume the pass rushing duties on passing downs and there will be a battle at LE between J.Woodward and J.Ledbetter for the starting LE job while Taco is on the mend.
The Dolphins backups got smoked in the second half and the Dolphins fell 37-14.
Year 2 Player Spotlight Preston "The Unicorn" Williams
Williams as a Rookie Making a Circus Sideline Catch
Williams at Practice In year 2
There is a buzz going around Dolphins camp in year 2. And it is in the shape of a Unicorn. 2nd year UDFA WR Preston Williams get's razed a lot about his undying love of unicorns. But the 2nd year receiver from Colorado State is making heads turn more than ever this summer. He has been a camp star after a very quiet rookie year. Brian Flores and GM Michael Sword are quick to talk about the leaps he has made since his rookie season. "Preston is ready to take the next step. We see him challenging for a lot of playing time behind Kenny (Stills) and Albert (Wilson)" GM Michael Sword was heard saying. He has really worked on his body this off-season and looks lean, strong, fast and ready to become a star one day. The Dolphins brought in veteran Philip Dorsett and he is firmly entrenched right now as the #3 WR and when Wilson slides into the slot he goes to the Y spot. Also Jakeem Grant is working hard for more chances after an injury plagued 2019. But Preston seems confident. "I am grateful to be here everyday" Williams said. Williams had domestic violence issues coming out of college which scared away many teams. He was not invited to the NFL scouting combine in 2019 and went un-drafted. He allegedly shoved and grabbed his girlfriend while she was trying to leave his apartment. "It was a really unfortunate incident and one I deeply regret. I would never want to harm a female and I made a big mistake. Fortunately the Dolphins believed in me and my character. They know it was a brief moment where I went a little to far. That is not the person I am nor want to be and I never will let myself get that angry again where I will lose control. It was a true moment I wish I could go back and change. But I can't. I learned from it. And I am a much better man today than I was two years ago".
"We believe in Preston" said HC Brian Flores. "I believe in second chances. Not third or fourth chances though". "Preston knows very well if he ever makes another mistake like that he is done, gone with wind".
Williams had a very good first pre-season game as he was given an chance to run with the first team a little as well as the second team. He hauled in 7 receptions for over 90 yards and turned heads with his strength, speed and route running. He is a physical freak. standing 6'4' and lean at 210 pounds he can dominate any CB in the league. He also can run. Williams right now has the potential to become a #1 WR stud and the Dolphins are so confident in that they traded former first round pick Devante Parker this off-season to the NY Giants for draft picks. Keep an eye out for #82 and also any Unicorns around the stadium.
Injury Bug Has Bitten Dolphins As The Head Into Year 2 Week 1
The Dolphins will be without 2 of their 3 top WR’s heading into the regular season. But even worse, both their starting DE’s are also going to miss extended time. It has been a nightmare pre-season for the health of this franchise.
“Next man up” You hear that all the time, but this one will take on new meaning for the Dolphins. WR’s Albert Wilson and Preston Williams were being counted on to take the offense to the next level. RE Taco Charlton was a breakout player last season with 9 sack and a Pro Bowl appearance. And of course the Dolphins prized free agent catch of the off-season Yannick Ngakoue is also out.
Ngkoue is expected to miss 6 games
Charlton will miss 3 games
Wilson is out 3 games
Williams will be out 5 games.