A 1-4 start to the 2016 season led many to write off the Dolphins from joining the playoffs but Ryan Tannehill and company answered critics by winning nine of their next games to sneak into the postseason.. Unfortunately, they lost badly to Pittsburgh in the Wild Card Round, in which the Fins didn’t have Tannehill under center due to a knee injury.
One silver lining for the Dolphins, however, was the breakout season of Jay Ajayi. Ajayi finished the season with 1,272 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, supplying most of the electricity for Miami’s rushing offense that ranked ninth in the league. The defense has some work to do this offseason, though, after it went 18th in scoring defense and 29th in total defense.
Top Free Agency Needs
Unlike in previous seasons, the Dolphins unusually have a big salary cap room this year. Thanks to some savings on payroll last season (and assuming the salary cap this 2017 rises to $168 million), Miami is expected to have $29.8 million in cap space this season. So where should the Dolphins spend this money? The defensive line is a good place to start.
Injecting youth to the group that has 30-year-old Ndamukong Suh and a 35-year-old Cameron Wake and keeping the up-and-comers are high on the list of priorities for Miami. Meanwhile, the offensive line is also asking for some help mostly because a number of pieces on the unit have health concerns like Mike Pouncey with some not looking good due to poor 2016 performances like Ja’Wuan James.
Top Draft Needs
Linebacker. The second level of Miami’s defense has to be better. That’s as rudimentary of a comment one could make of the Dolphins’ stop unit after seeing the team allow opponents stack 382.6 total yards per game, fourth worst in the NFL.
Tight End. Even if Jordan Cameron and Dion Sims agreed with Miami to re-sign with the team, the Fins are still in obvious need of a tight end.
Cornerback. There is reason to hope that the young guns of this position (Xavien Howard, Tony Lippett) have a bright future ahead. That said, Byron Maxwell has yet to live up to the size of his contract, which could lead to a looming release of the veteran down the road.
