Red-Zone Threats the Miami Dolphins Should Target in Free Agency
By some measures, the Miami Dolphins offense was good in 2014.
But in other areas, the Dolphins attack simply was not good enough.
With an average of 24.3 points per game, the Dolphins offense scored the 11th-most points of any team in the NFL. It's rather remarkable that they scored so many points, considering the fact that they only converted 51.5 percent of their red-zone opportunities into touchdowns. Their red-zone efficiency ranked 21st in the NFL.
Think of how much better they could have been if they hadn't left so many opportunities on the table.
In building the Dolphins into a championship contender, one area the team must explore is improving ways to break the doors down once they get to the doorstep inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
To be fair, they are not completely bereft of an ability to score in tight windows. Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw 24 of his 27 touchdown passes while in the red zone. But if the Dolphins want to get even better at scoring touchdowns near the goal line, here are a few players they could target.
Jordan Cameron, Cleveland Browns
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When searching for new red-zone threats, the first thing to look at is their size. At 6'5" and 249 pounds, Cleveland Browns tight end Jordan Cameron has the type of frame that opens up windows for a quarterback to complete passes in tight spaces.
In 2013, Cameron was a top-notch red-zone pass-catcher for the Browns, hauling in 11 of 19 throws in his direction for seven scores. Considering the Browns scored 20 red-zone touchdowns that season as a team, Cameron's performance is even better, as opponents practically had a crystal ball to look into the future of the Browns' red-zone scoring strategy.
Former basketball stars tend to have the requisite skill set for success in the NFL, particularly as tight ends (see Graham, Jimmy, and Gates, Antonio). Cameron has been using those skills to his benefit for the Browns for years, and now, the Dolphins have a chance to be the beneficiary of that basketball background.
Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals
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The Cincinnati Bengals drafted tight end Jermaine Gresham in the first round in 2010, in hopes that he would evolve into an every-down tight end for them. A few years later, they drafted Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert, signaling the exodus for Gresham.
The 6'5", 260-pound tight end has an imposing frame that would be difficult to cover anywhere on the field, but especially in the red zone. In fact, all five of his touchdowns in 2014 were on balls that were caught inside the red zone, and eight of his nine touchdowns over the past two years have come from inside the 20-yard line.
The only noteworthy tight end on the Dolphins roster is Charles Clay, so Miami could really benefit from adding to their depth at the position.
Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
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Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas would have to be foolish to believe that moving from Peyton Manning to Ryan Tannehill would be a good thing, but he'd have to be even more foolish to assume that he and every other major Broncos free agent will be coming back.
The Dolphins don't currently have the cap space to give Thomas the mega-contract he will most likely get this year, but they do have some means of freeing up money.
The Broncos' red-zone offense has been insanely efficient over the past two years, scoring on 72.7 percent of their red-zone possessions in 2013 and 63.5 percent in 2014, according to TeamRankings.com. Thomas was a big part of that success last year, and led the NFL in red-zone targets with 39, catching 18 of them and nabbing six red-zone touchdowns.
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Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
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When you think of red-zone targets, the eye is immediately drawn to big-bodied targets who can win with size and physicality in small spaces, where they will be forced to fight through traffic. But sometimes, a receiver with quickness and speed can help in the red zone by creating openings with those skills.
That's where Green Bay Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb comes into play. Sure, the 5'10", 192-pound receiver may not win a lot of jump balls, but he will win a lot of one-on-one matchups against cornerbacks who cannot match his combination of quickness and speed.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is considerably further along in his development than Ryan Tannehill, but Cobb caught 18 of 27 red-zone passes thrown in his direction last season, with a league-leading 10 red-zone touchdowns.
Julius Thomas, Denver Broncos
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The Denver Broncos have two very prominent pass-catchers hitting the open market this offseason, and while it's possible that both of them will be back with the Broncos, it's also possible that one or both will end up as free agents. If the latter holds true, the Dolphins would be foolish not to pursue whichever one is available.
We already touched on Demaryius Thomas, but tight end Julius Thomas will also be a free agent if the Broncos do not reach a long-term agreement with him. The former basketball player (notice a trend?) caught 13 of the 15 red-zone passes thrown in his direction, which was the second-highest catch rate for anyone who was targeted more than seven times in the regular season.
The 6'5", 250-pound tight end may be much more of a pass-catcher than a run-blocker, but the Broncos showed just how valuable he can be when used properly.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats obtained via Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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