5 Miami Dolphins Players Who Should See Their Roles Expand in 2015
If you're of the mind that subtraction from an NFL roster is just as important as addition, then I'm sorry, but we can't be friends. I'm already friends with logic, and you two just wouldn't get along.
The Miami Dolphins have proved this offseason that cutting dead weight can be just as crucial to helping a team turn things around and get over the hump as adding players. Sure, it may be easy to forget who has been released in the wake of the signing of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and the trade for wide receiver Kenny Stills.
But the departure of veteran players like Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson, Cortland Finnegan, Jared Odrick and Randy Starks has opened the way for young players to finally get their due and earn an opportunity to contribute to their team.
Here's a look at a handful of players who could see their roles expand greatly in the 2015 season.
Earl Mitchell
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In his five-year career, defensive tackle Earl Mitchell has never been more than a role player in a rotation on the defensive line. He maxed out at 553 snaps in 2013, according to ProFootballFocus.com. There's the possibility that he'll never be more than just a piece on the line.
But if he's ever going to be more than that, the time is now for him to prove it. The Dolphins just spent an exorbitant sum to sign free-agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, locking up one of the starting spots at defensive tackle. The spot next to Suh, however, remains a mystery. With both Jared Odrick and Randy Starks gone, the opening is available if Mitchell can just seize the brass ring.
If it's pass-rushing productivity you want, you might want someone else in the middle of the defense. Mitchell logged nine hurries, three hits and four sacks for the Houston Texans in 2013, and 15 hurries, one hit and two sacks for the Dolphins in 2014.
For the most part, Mitchell has been a run-stuffer, and that may continue to be his primary role, but with fewer options available on the depth chart, there will be more opportunities for Mitchell to show what he can do.
Dion Jordan
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An exodus of linebackers has left the Dolphins with more questions than answers. One of the bigger questions is Dion Jordan, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2013 draft. To say he as yet to live up to the hype that the Dolphins created when they traded up to get him would be an understatement; he has hardly played at all (562 snaps in his first two seasons, according to ProFootballFocus.com).
Jordan's draft buzz was mainly surrounding his explosive ability off the edge as a potential pass-rusher in a 3-4 defense. That would seem to peg him as a defensive end in a 4-3 defense like what the Dolphins run. But the Dolphins have been contemplating moving him to linebacker full-time, according to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and with both Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler out of the picture, the time may be now to pull the trigger on that position change.
The Dolphins have a lot of options for how their linebacker group will shape up. Jelani Jenkins was the team's primary weak-side linebacker when Ellerbe was lost for the season, and Koa Misi manned the middle of the defense. That would seem to leave the strong-side spot open for the taking for Jordan, whose athletic ability could help him develop into a star at the position.
Anyone who can run with Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson 60 yards downfield has the potential to line up just about anywhere he's asked.
Jamar Taylor
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After a few years of fighting through injuries, it's time for third-year cornerback Jamar Taylor to stay healthy and stay on the field. He may never have an opportunity like the one he has right now to claim ownership of the starting job opposite Brent Grimes.
Taylor, along with Will Davis and Walt Aikens, comprise a young group of cornerbacks who are chomping at the bit to get a chance to play a big role in the defense. Taylor has seemed to be the closest one to taking that role for his own, and played 299 snaps in 2014, according to ProFootballFocus.com. He earned the starting nod in a few games last year when Cortland Finnegan was out of the lineup.
Taylor has a skill set that works perfectly with what the Dolphins want to do defensively; he excels in zone coverage, using his quickness to click-and-close on short passes and his speed to run and cover on vertical routes when needed.
The Dolphins signed free-agent cornerback Brice McCain, who can play either in the slot or on the outside. In that sense, Taylor may be competing with McCain for playing time as well, but the two could be used interchangeably in those two spots.
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Jarvis Landry
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True, it may seem like a stretch that wide receiver Jarvis Landry—who led the team in receptions (84) and had the third-most snaps of any receiver on the team (702, according to ProFootballFocus.com)—could see his role expand.
But with so many of his pass-catching brethren now running their routes in new uniforms, the spotlight shines even more brightly on the 2014 second-round draft pick. Landry is one of only two wide receivers (along with Rishard Matthews) who have prior experience in the Dolphins offense.
Yes, Kenny Stills figures to be a huge part of the Dolphins aerial attack, and no, Landry will not be the only talented receiver catching passes for the Dolphins next year. Landry may resume his role in the slot, where he ran 77.2 percent of his routes, but with 2014 starters Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline out of the picture, the path is clear for Landry to take his spot atop the depth chart.
Rishard Matthews
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Rishard Matthews is a success story simply for sticking around for three years as a former seventh-round pick in 2012. That being said, I'm sure he'd like to add to his success story by being a more integral part of the Dolphins offense.
Matthews finished the 2013 season with a career-high 41 receptions for 448 yards and two touchdowns. A majority of that production (11 receptions, 120 yards, two touchdowns) was from one game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Aside from that one game, Matthews has never caught more than five passes in a game and has only caught two other touchdown passes in his career.
Last year, Matthews played only 218 snaps, according to ProFootballFocus.com, probably due in part to the Dolphins simply having too many other options in Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson and Jarvis Landry, all of whom received more playing time than Matthews.
There have been reports of friction between Matthews and the team, with Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reporting that the coaching staff was unhappy with Matthews over "tardiness, lack of attention to detail and other issues." Matthews, for his part, requested a trade back in February, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. If the team and the player can work through their issues, though, Matthews could play a key part of the Dolphins offense in 2015.
Unless otherwise noted, all advanced statistics provided by ProFootballFocus.com.
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