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I am not saying I agree with the rankings. I do find them reasonable given the youth on the roster, 6 players on offense having 1 year or less. Miami is definitely ascending and I expect after this year, the player ratings and overall team ratings to take a significant jump.
But hey, they are just ratings. I care about on field performance. Ratings are just for blah, blah, blah in the off-season.
Also, under HC Flores leadership this team has embodied synergy, where the sum is greater than its parts.
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With the 2021 draft and free agency behind us, we're breaking down each team's roster using the PFF database, with an eye toward the projected starters. We looked at both the PFF grades from the 2020 season -- a number included for every projected starter -- and a more comprehensive look at each player's career using both PFF grades and statistics.
Biggest weakness: The Dolphins will once again be heavily reliant on youth along the offensive line. Austin Jackson (37th-highest grade at left tackle), Solomon Kindley (38th at right guard) and Robert Hunt (20th at right tackle) all had shaky stretches as rookies last season. Now the Dolphins could be turning to another rookie at right tackle (Liam Eichenberg) and a new addition at center (Matt Skura) alongside that youth. A lot is riding on those young offensive linemen developing quickly, including Tua Tagovailoa's future.
X factor for 2021: Miami has speed to burn following the offseason additions of William Fuller V in free agency and Jaylen Waddle early in the 2021 NFL draft. Those two obviously add a vertical dimension to this offense, but their speed and ability to separate should also provide more open targets over the middle of the field for Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa's 67.9% completion percentage on throws between the numbers last season ranked 30th among 32 qualifiers ahead of only Drew Lock and Carson Wentz.
But hey, they are just ratings. I care about on field performance. Ratings are just for blah, blah, blah in the off-season.
Also, under HC Flores leadership this team has embodied synergy, where the sum is greater than its parts.
Which NFL teams have the best -- and worst -- rosters? Ranking all 32, starting with the champs
Which NFL teams have the most complete rosters from top to bottom? Pro Football Focus ranks them all, starting with the defending Super Bowl champions.
With the 2021 draft and free agency behind us, we're breaking down each team's roster using the PFF database, with an eye toward the projected starters. We looked at both the PFF grades from the 2020 season -- a number included for every projected starter -- and a more comprehensive look at each player's career using both PFF grades and statistics.
- Pro Football Focus grades of 90-plus categorize as elite, 80-89.9 are good/high quality, 70-79.9 fall under average and 69.9 or lower are considered below average.
- For rookies and players not active (or barely active) in 2020, we used college grades or NFL grades from earlier seasons. NFL grades from 2019 or earlier are marked with (*), college grades from 2020 are marked with (**), and college grades from 2019 or earlier are marked with (***).
22. Miami Dolphins
Biggest strength: Xavien Howard is coming off a tremendous 2020 season in which he had a legitimate argument for being named Defensive Player of the Year. His 20 combined pass breakups and interceptions last season weren't an aberration, either. In fact, 18.7% of Howard's targets have resulted in a pass breakup or interception since 2016, leading all cornerbacks who were targeted at least 150 times over that stretch. He and Byron Jones give Brian Flores one of the league's best cornerback duos.Biggest weakness: The Dolphins will once again be heavily reliant on youth along the offensive line. Austin Jackson (37th-highest grade at left tackle), Solomon Kindley (38th at right guard) and Robert Hunt (20th at right tackle) all had shaky stretches as rookies last season. Now the Dolphins could be turning to another rookie at right tackle (Liam Eichenberg) and a new addition at center (Matt Skura) alongside that youth. A lot is riding on those young offensive linemen developing quickly, including Tua Tagovailoa's future.
X factor for 2021: Miami has speed to burn following the offseason additions of William Fuller V in free agency and Jaylen Waddle early in the 2021 NFL draft. Those two obviously add a vertical dimension to this offense, but their speed and ability to separate should also provide more open targets over the middle of the field for Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa's 67.9% completion percentage on throws between the numbers last season ranked 30th among 32 qualifiers ahead of only Drew Lock and Carson Wentz.
2021 Dolphins
| OFFENSE | DEFENSE |
|---|---|
| QB Tua Tagovailoa (65.4) | DI Christian Wilkins (68.9) |
| RB Myles Gaskin (74.5) | DI Raekwon Davis (71.1) |
| RB Malcolm Brown (57.8) | ED Emmanuel Ogbah (66.4) |
| WR DeVante Parker (76.4) | ED Jaelan Phillips (86.6**) |
| WR William Fuller V (86.2) | ED Andrew Van Ginkel (79.3) |
| WR Jaylen Waddle (82.6**) | LB Jerome Baker (55.2) |
| TE Mike Gesicki (78.1) | LB Benardrick McKinney (65.8*) |
| LT Austin Jackson (52.3) | CB Xavien Howard (87.3) |
| LG Solomon Kindley (51.3) | CB Byron Jones (63.6) |
| C Matt Skura (49.1) | CB Justin Coleman (47.4) |
| RG Robert Hunt (65.8) | S Eric Rowe (58.9) |
| RT Liam Eichenberg (89.9**) | S Jevon Holland (81.5***) |
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