John Munson / Associated Press
The Miami Dolphins fell short of the playoffs with a complete loss to Buffalo Bills in Week 17, and that 56-26 loss may have stolen the ability to finish first in goal defense, while potentially costing coach Brian Flores the coach of turns on the prize of the year.
But this is a team that should never fight in 2020, after completely blowing up the cast in 2019. This season was inevitably part of a major reconstruction in Miami, and the losses to the Dolphins and Houston Texans on Sunday may have really helped the franchise. reconstruction process.
These results confirm that the Dolphins, despite winning 10 games in 2020, will choose the third and 18th places in the first round of the 2021 draft. They will also have four options in the top 50, two of which originally belonged to Houston, but were sent to Miami in an exchange package for offensive attack Laremy Tunsil.
To start, Miami is designed by Spotrac to enter the off-season of 2021 with more wage cap space ($ 32.8 million) than all but seven teams, and there is no free agent looming on the current list that is expected to be expensive or critical next year and beyond.
The football world is Miami’s oyster.
Flores, General Manager Chris Grier and President Stephen Ross may decide to increase support for young defender Tua Tagovailoa, add insurance to him, give him more weapons or put an already strong defense on top.
Tagovailoa’s debut season was not exactly a tremendous success. The former Alabama star was chosen on several occasions for veteran reserve Ryan Fitzpatrick, and you could count his big releases in one hand. Some will push for the Dolphins to make Justin Fields, a highly praised product from the state of Ohio, if it is in fact available in third place.
Doug Murray / Associated Press
But imagine the Dolphins with the potential striker of generations Penei Sewell in the left or right tackle. If the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets take Trevor Lawrence and Fields first and second overall, the 6’6 “325-pound Sewell could land on Miami’s lap.
Still, LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase would look great against DeVante Parker, and the exaggerated off-ball linebacker Micah Parsons could help put that defense at the top.
They could pay for an impending free agent like Allen Robinson II, Chris Godwin or Kenny Golladay and then take Sewell to join sophomore Austin Austin.
Or maybe they could add a veteran offensive striker like Brandon Scherff, Joe Thuney or Corey Linsley in support of Jackson and then draft Chase.
Penei Sewell may be Tua’s main protector for years to come.Ron Jenkins / Associated Press
Do you want to push Tua or take out insurance if it becomes a failure? Use some of the remaining draft capital to position yourself for Zach Wilson, Trey Lance or Kyle Trask later in the first round.
Imagine this Dolphins team plus Robinson, Scherff and Sewell, as well as someone like Wilson, Lance or a first-round striker like Gregory Rousseau or Zaven Collins in the first round. This is entirely within the realm of possibility.
The scenarios are almost endless, and they all end with the Dolphins in even better form next summer than when they won 10 of the 13 games between Week 3 and the end of the 2020 calendar year.
Considering the strength of the Dolphins technical team and the fact that they shouldn’t have any problems with the cap in the years to come, it almost seems unfair.
Dolphin fans are understandably hungry and impatient. They haven’t seen their team win a championship in almost half a century, and Miami hasn’t even won a playoff game since the turn of the century.
In a perfect world, they would have enjoyed more of Tua, although it is important to remember that the 22-year-old has only been suffering from a hip injury that threatens his career for just one year. He was also operating in difficult circumstances after the 2020 off-season affected by the coronavirus.
Is it a shame that he didn’t immediately rock like fellow Top 10 Justin Herbert? Sure, but there’s no calling him a bust after nine games, he still has an All-Pro-level roof and his team is positioned to do everything possible to make his life easier with more support and insurance in 2021.
It’s a good time to be the Dolphins.
Brad Gagnon covered the NFL Bleacher Report since 2012. Follow him on Twitter: @Brad_Gagnon.