QB -
Ryan Tannehill - seventh. This is as high a rating as Tannehill gets by any measure. Tannehill's cumulative rating of all the PFF stats is 16.4 percent. Here's the quarterbacks before him:
Peyton Manning,
Drew Brees,
Philip Rivers,
Russell Wilson,
Aaron Rodgers and
Josh McCown. Immediately after Tannehill:
Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler. PFF doesn't penalize sacks as much as other ratings systems. But the way to help Tannehill is obvious - (a) improve protection so he isn't sacked 58 times (b) give him a tall, seam-stretching tight end.
C - Mike Pouncey - 13th. Philadephia's
Jason Kelce is the top-rated center. Pouncey is the Dolphins best lineman. Thirteenth is harsh, though perhaps reflective of the talent around him.
G - John Jerry was the 43rd rated guard. And he was the only Dolphins guard of the top 81 listed. No surprise they need some help here.
T- Tyson Clabo (45th),
Jonathan Martin (60th) and
Bryant McKinnie (65th) tell of this positions problems. The only question here is McKinnie: He played with a torn right knee meniscus. Get that fixed this off-season, will he be worth bringing back?
WR - Brian Hartline (18),
Rishard Matthews (43) and
Mike Wallace (65). This shows the shortcomings of the PFF system. Hartline had a good year. Matthews took a nice step forward for a guy teetering on the edge of the roster. Wallace changed the way defenses played the Dolphins and got open deep as much as anyone could hope. Those long passes didn't connect much and so his impact isn't quantified.
RB - Daniel Thomas was 28th and
Lamar Miller was 35th. This considers rushing, receiving and blocking. Certainly a better line would help the backs. Still, the Dolphins will be in the market for one and possibly two running backs.
FB - The Dolphins didn't have one in the top 25. No surprise there, as they didn't have a true fullback on the roster, playing tight ends
Michael Egnew and
Charles Clay there at times. This was a problem.
Defense:
DE - Cameron Wake (2nd),
Dion Jordan (28th) and
Olivier Vernon (33rd). Wake is in Hawaii right now for a reason. The interesting part is Jordan rating this high considering he played so little. That was one of the season's mysteries. The bottom line is he has to get on the field next year.
DT - Randy Starks (7),
Jared Odrick (13) and
Paul Soliai (20). A big reason the line is the strength of the team. We can use these as guidelines to three guys having good seasons. The question here is Starks and Soliai are free agents, and it's hard to see the Dolphins bringing back both considering other needs.
OLB - Koa Misi (14) and
Philip Wheeler (35th). Wheeler is the last player listed as outside linebacker, confirming what everyone saw on the field this year.
ILB - Dannell Ellerbe (50th). There were 55 inside linebackers graded, so 50th is the expected indictment of his play.
CB - Brent Grimes (2),
Jimmy Wilson (49) and
Nolan Carroll (52). Grimes was the best player on the team this year. Both he and Carroll are free agents. The Dolphins have five starters (Starks, Soliai, Grimes, Carroll,
Chris Clemons as free agents. Whew.
S - Clemons (19) and
Reshad Jones (68). This off-season should be spent figuring how to get Jones back to his
Pro Bowl level.
PK - Caleb Sturgis (11).
P - Brandon Fields (13). Surprised he's that low.
