I think they emerged from round one of free agency in OK shape. Still work to do in the trenches, which matters, especially against better teams and in the playoffs. But so far, they seem to be in a decent spot, and still the draft and potentially more FA moves to come if cash frees up. Thoughts on below as to where we stand as of right now?
Linebacker: I think better. Lost Baker, added Jordyn Brooks and Antony Walker. Walker could be a sneaky good pickup. Issue with him is injury, but at this price, good risk/reward.
TE: Better. Smith is a nice addition, fits well into the offense, and they lost nobody, so this is a straight out net plus.
CB: Better. Fuller was a nice pickup (I hope). Xavien Howard had degraded to a mediocre football player and is also an injury risk. Still unsigned also, tells you what the rest of the NFL thinks of him. Plus a chance Cam Smith plays and emerges with the new DC. PS Iggy just got signed by the Commanders. Suckers!!!!!
WR: I guess somewhat worse, but in an immaterial sense. Lost Ced Wilson, net/added nobody (Berrios was here last year), but it doesn't matter. Still need to pick up a better #3, so at the end of the day they may upgrade here. Also will Tyreek get restructured or extended? Side note, I worry about extending Tyreek, he seems like a powder keg. Every other day we seem to be reading about him being on the verge of getting into real trouble. Another story out today.
DT: Worse. Lost Wilkins and Davis, added a bunch of scrubs. Thankfully it is a less critical position in the modern NFL. Yes they will be more rotational, but still we lost a horse and replaced him with a bunch of pony's.
OL: Worse. Lost Hunt and Williams, added Brewer, who is questionable as a pass blocker. Work to do here as lost two, added one, who in expectation is not as good as either of the guys they lost.
Safety: Slightly worse. Lost Elliot and Brandon Jones. Added Poyer. Although I am tempted to call this an upgrade because of Rachel Bush, we lost two and added one. Poyer seems to be an average football player now and somewhat of an injury risk. The offset is his experience, so if he stays healthy, there is a chance for him to have a really good year paired with Holland. But for the time being, have to say slightly worse given the two for one.
Edge: Slightly worse. Lost Van Ginkel, added Barrett. I think this was their biggest goof of FA, because Van Ginkel remains under-rated, and we lost him on a pretty cheap deal, which also would have kept him here for a few years. Dolphins are in a tough spot here because Chubb and Phillips will come back, so cannot devote too much more in the way of resources to edge. I suspect they pick up one more older vet on the cheap. Having said that, the sun-sentinel is out today claiming both Chubb and Phillips could be close to ready for the season opener, which is really good news and would take a lot of pressure off: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2024/0...oth-could-be-100-healthy-for-dolphins-opener/
QB: TBD. This is more of a question of what they do with Tua's deal.
Linebacker: I think better. Lost Baker, added Jordyn Brooks and Antony Walker. Walker could be a sneaky good pickup. Issue with him is injury, but at this price, good risk/reward.
TE: Better. Smith is a nice addition, fits well into the offense, and they lost nobody, so this is a straight out net plus.
CB: Better. Fuller was a nice pickup (I hope). Xavien Howard had degraded to a mediocre football player and is also an injury risk. Still unsigned also, tells you what the rest of the NFL thinks of him. Plus a chance Cam Smith plays and emerges with the new DC. PS Iggy just got signed by the Commanders. Suckers!!!!!
WR: I guess somewhat worse, but in an immaterial sense. Lost Ced Wilson, net/added nobody (Berrios was here last year), but it doesn't matter. Still need to pick up a better #3, so at the end of the day they may upgrade here. Also will Tyreek get restructured or extended? Side note, I worry about extending Tyreek, he seems like a powder keg. Every other day we seem to be reading about him being on the verge of getting into real trouble. Another story out today.
DT: Worse. Lost Wilkins and Davis, added a bunch of scrubs. Thankfully it is a less critical position in the modern NFL. Yes they will be more rotational, but still we lost a horse and replaced him with a bunch of pony's.
OL: Worse. Lost Hunt and Williams, added Brewer, who is questionable as a pass blocker. Work to do here as lost two, added one, who in expectation is not as good as either of the guys they lost.
Safety: Slightly worse. Lost Elliot and Brandon Jones. Added Poyer. Although I am tempted to call this an upgrade because of Rachel Bush, we lost two and added one. Poyer seems to be an average football player now and somewhat of an injury risk. The offset is his experience, so if he stays healthy, there is a chance for him to have a really good year paired with Holland. But for the time being, have to say slightly worse given the two for one.
Edge: Slightly worse. Lost Van Ginkel, added Barrett. I think this was their biggest goof of FA, because Van Ginkel remains under-rated, and we lost him on a pretty cheap deal, which also would have kept him here for a few years. Dolphins are in a tough spot here because Chubb and Phillips will come back, so cannot devote too much more in the way of resources to edge. I suspect they pick up one more older vet on the cheap. Having said that, the sun-sentinel is out today claiming both Chubb and Phillips could be close to ready for the season opener, which is really good news and would take a lot of pressure off: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2024/0...oth-could-be-100-healthy-for-dolphins-opener/
QB: TBD. This is more of a question of what they do with Tua's deal.
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