Free Agent Offensive Linemen that fit the Wide Zone Blocking Scheme
First off I would like to explain that I am not an oline expert. I simply listen and read a lot of information on the Dolphins and have gathered my findings in one spot.
Purpose: I would like to make the playoffs next year and I believe we are aware that Stephen Ross is desperate to do so as well. To do so I believe we need to completely overhaul our offensive line. None of our current lineman have any experience in the Wide Zone Blocking Scheme within the NFL that I am aware of and they don’t seem like they have the physical/mental attributes to be plus starters in this system either. From what I gather, in order for this system to work we need players that have great lateral movement, very athletic for their position and have high play recognition and instinct. In order for this system to really take off I believe we need at least 3 new starters with experience in a similar system on the Oline and can do it relatively economically.
Assessment of Current Starters
Austin Jackson – He seems to have all the physical tools to be a LT in this system as he is very athletic but his play recognition and instinct are very poor. He seemed to be doing well in the first half of his rookie year before his injury so there is hope that he can develop but I wouldn’t trust him off the bat in a starter role.
Liam Eichenberg – He is not as athletic as Austin Jackson but was forced to play in the LT role because of Ajax’s shortcomings. He seems like more of a fit in a Gap type of scheme but all hope is not lost with him either. I believe he will develop into a good guard but may take time and there are already a few ready made free agents with a ton of experience in this system. I could go either way on him but I lean on redshirting him this year to see how he does in this system.
Michael Dieter – A center that is very intellectual and also very athletic to reach the reach blocks in this system is very important. Deiter may have been our best olineman when he was playing last year but he has slower feet and is suited more towards a Gap power system. I would go with a replacement here.
Robert Hunt – He did well in the last half of last year and played by all accounts pretty well in his rookie season. Kyle Crabbs (Lockedon Dolphins podcast) likened him to Laken Tomlinson in that at first glance he doesn’t seem to be a fit in this system but he’s just an overall gifted lineman that he can make it work. I would like to keep him as a starter at RG but depending on free agents I could see the Dolphins moving him to RT.
Jesses Davis – Goodbye.
Free Agent Olinemen available and the System they were in last year
Below I prepared a table of Free agent lineman that were on PFF’s list of top 200 Free Agents (
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2022-free-agent-rankings-free-agency) and included their FA rating per PFF. I took the highest Market Value between Spotrac and PFF and tried to determine what run blocking system (IZ/GAP – Inside zone or Gap power, WZ – wide zone, HYB – Hybrid between the two) these players played in last year per the following sites:
https://fantasydata.com/all-32-nfl-coaching-schemes-for-the-2021-season
https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-offensive-scheme-analysis-32-nfl-teams-2021
I realize that some players are able to play in both systems but I really want to hit the ground running and have players that are experienced and can help potentially develop our younger players.
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I realize this is difficult to read so we will filter this out a bit. I have filtered the lineman out that were not in a WZ or HYB system last year. Some notable names that were filtered out:
Eric Fisher
Nate Solder
Cam Robinson – One of the worst teams in the league doesn’t want him I don’t get the hype around him
Connor Williams
Andrew Norwell
Ryan Jensen – This is a very popular choice by many but he is more suited towards GAP as others have mentioned on this site, has struggled with shotgun snaps and takes stupid penalties. I think there are better/younger/cheaper fits.
Mark Glowinski
Trent Brown
Filtered for HYB & WZ systems:
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There are still quite a few players so I will filter for the top 100 free agents. Here are some of the notable names that other people have highlighted:
Joseph Noteboom – Kyle Crabbs highlighted him as an option as he did well as the 6th offensive lineman on the Rams last year
Trai Turner
Scott Quessenberry – Chris Kaufman (3YPC) mentioned him as an option. Has experience with our new OC Frank Smith.
Ethan Pocic
David Quessenberry
Tom Compton – Simon Clancy (3YPC) mentioned him as an option on twitter as he played in SF system last year but from what I’ve read he is a great run blocker and poor pass blocker. Potentially a cheap option though and it did seem to work for SF last year with Mike Mcglinchey out.
Filtered for HYB, WZ & top 100 rated PFF
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Projected Starters
Left Tackle – Duane Brown - While Terron Armstead is enticing as he is a premium tackle with zone experience like many other have mentioned he is very costly and very injury prone. I really like Duane Brown as an option as although he is old (37) he has not slowed down, has a ton of experience in zone blocking systems and can mentor/teach both Austin Jackson and Liam Eichenberg for the next 1-2 years. PFF has him at 2 year 20M which is right in line with what Andrew Whitworth was making in his age 40 season where he just won the Super Bowl. With Brown we can take the same approach we took with the Oline coach, demote and develop.
Left Guard – Laken Tomlinson - As most have mentioned Laken Tomlinson should be a slam dunk signing as he is a pro bowl guard coming from San Francisco where he could teach the other olineman by example some of the intricacies of the system. He would be number 1 on my list of targets because of this.
Center – Brian Allen –While I could get on board with Ben Jones as an option he is older, has struggled with shotgun snaps and is coming directly from a more gap power inside zone system. Brian Allen had a very good year on the Rams and played in a system that is very similar to San Frans as McVay also came from the Mike Shanahan tree. In addition, he is also projected to be half the cost of Jensen.
RG – Robert Hunt – This is where it could get interesting. James Daniels and Austin Corbett (not mentioned as often but has seemed to flourish from moving to a WZ system from GAP in CLE) are a great fit as a RG but that would mean moving Robert Hunt once again. That can’t be great for a young lineman so because of that I decided to keep Hunt where he’s at and sign a RT instead.
RT – Morgan Moses – Moses played well last year by all accounts in a system ran by Mike Lafleur the former OC in SF before Mcdaniel had the position. He is extremely dependable and has had very few injuries over his career.
Projected Net Cap Spend
My last topic will be how does this all fit with our cap situation. Although 34M is a lot to spend on the oline I am sick of having a bad line and want to throw money at it so we can concentrate on skill positions in the draft (WR & RB). See below how my projected oline signings fit in with the assumption of a franchise tag and trade of Gesicki for at least a 3rd round pick.
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Conclusion
I know this is insanely long but I found it enlightening. Again I’m not an oline expert I just thought I’d take a stab at fixing the oline with players that fit the scheme. Let me know which players you would sign that come from the WZ scheme.
www.si.com
free pass for all your failures in the things your job is suppose to entail the most personnel be it existing or free agent or the draft.
