Breaking Down Miami Dolphins' Roster After the 2015 NFL Draft
The Miami Dolphins' extremely active offseason came to an unofficial close with the 2015 NFL draft, and now it's time to sort out the roster.
I say unofficial close because there might still be one more deal they will attempt to make, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, as they have a contingency of current players sent to attempt to convince the player to make such a deal.
For now, we'll have to wait on that and look at what Miami has right now: a team that has gotten better up front on both sides of the ball and younger at wide receiver, and a team that hopes said moves will make the team more talented and deeper.
We will look at the depth chart of the Miami Dolphins to take a good look at who's likely to start and who's likely to fill in niche roles, courtesy of Ourlads.com.
Quarterback
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| Starter | Ryan Tannehill |
| QB2 | Matt Moore |
| QB3 | Josh Freeman |
We start with the most important position to any team's success, quarterback.
It's a position that Miami has no doubts about. Ryan Tannehill is the starting quarterback; he is also their franchise quarterback. This commitment to Tannehill translates off the field, as the team announced last week that they will pick up the fifth-year option in Tannehill's contract.
What are the expectations for Ryan Tannehill this season? That's a question that was debated on Twitter this week—and will be debated until the end of this season since, to some people, these expectations change.
I'll keep my expectations steady, but before I get into that, I'll tell you what Tannehill has in front of him in 2015.
He'll have the best offensive line he's had in his career, which is more an indictment of the offensive lines Miami put in front of him in his first three seasons than it is the line he'll have this year.
He'll have the most complete wide receiver unit he's ever had in his career, as each receiver will have a singular, defined role, and there aren't any redundancies in terms of types of receivers.
As far as tight ends go, he'll have a good blocking tight end in Dion Sims that can also catch well, alongside a big red-zone threat in Jordan Cameron who can also play off the line in the slot from time to time.
Tannehill will also have a complete running game in front of him, as Lamar Miller will function as the speed back who gets his 15 carries per game, while draft pick Jay Ajayi will function as the power back/closer in a four-minute offense.
In other words, Tannehill might very well be in a better position than most of his contemporaries. I won't give you the statistics that I expect in terms of set-in-stone numbers, and I won't throw quarterback-rating projections at you, nor will I tie it to wins since he would've gotten to 10 wins in 2014 had it not been for some failures on defense.
Instead, my expectations for Tannehill are that he continues the upward trend we've seen from him in the last three years.
Running Back
2 of 10| RB1 | Lamar Miller |
| RB2 | Jay Ajayi |
| RB3 | Damien Williams |
| RB4 | LaMichael James |
Yes, I see the Dolphins keeping four running backs on the roster. However I'd be concerned that three of them are speed backs and only one is a power back.
The one power back is the most injury-prone of the running backs, too, although I'm not too concerned with Jay Ajayi's health, as he showed great durability in his last three seasons at Boise State.
We'll focus on the top two backs and everything they will bring to the table.
With Lamar Miller, you know what you will get: a speedy, shifty running back who hits holes well, provided he sees them. Miller averaged 5.1 yards per carry on 216 carries, which is great until you realized that he only carried the ball 13.5 times per game.
The coaching staff doesn't see Miller as an every-down back, which is fine. He isn't, and while it was maddening last season (especially since there were times when I and other Dolphins fans wanted more carries), it won't be this season.
That's because Ajayi does well what Miller doesn't.
Ajayi will be Miami's third-down back. While his pass-blocking isn't great, he's better than Miller in that facet of the game. He's also a better receiver than Miller out of the backfield, as evidenced by his final season at Boise State, when he had 50 catches for 535 yards and four touchdowns.
You'll also see Ajayi as Miami's Mariano Rivera-type closer. One of the biggest problems with the Dolphins offense was the failure to put together a true four-minute offense with the lead. With Ajayi, that job became easier, because you could hand the ball off to him.
Ajayi also opens up play-action better than Miller, and he could work better when they run read-option plays.
Expect a 50/50 split between Ajayi and Miller, along with a 50/50 split between passing plays and run plays for the Dolphins.
Wide Receiver
3 of 10| RWR | Greg Jennings |
| LWR | DeVante Parker |
| SWR | Jarvis Landry |
| WR4 | Kenny Stills |
| WR5 | Rishard Matthews |
| WR6 | Matt Hazel |
For now, this is how the wide receivers look.
In reality, you'll see a rotation at the position this year.
One play you might see the lineup as presented. The next play you might see Kenny Stills tag in for Greg Jennings.
The play after that, you might see Jennings come back to replace Jarvis Landry, with Stills moving into the slot.
There will be Rishard Matthews sightings as well.
Everything is on the table with this unit, a younger and cheaper unit that could prove to be better.
Jennings serves as the veteran leader of the group, and you'll likely see him as the mentor to DeVante Parker, who will be considered Miami's No. 1 receiver even though this offense isn't predicated on who the top receiver is.
Each receiver can do something different, which is what makes this unit as intriguing as it is.
Parker is your do-everything alpha dog of the group. If you need him to go deep, he'll do it. Need him to go intermediate? He can do that too. Either way, if you throw it up to him, as his film in college showed, he will go up and grab it.
Jennings, in addition to being the veteran leader, will serve in the Brian Hartline role. He'll make the catches underneath, only he should provide more yards after the catch.
Speaking of yards after the catch, expect a better year from second-year receiver Landry. He'll eat in the slot, and he will likely stay there all season long.
Stills is your Mike Wallace-like deep threat, and Matthews will spend some time in the rotation as well, playing in place of Parker or Jennings when he needs to.
This unit is young, but it's as complete as what you'll find in the NFL, and it should be fun to watch this season.
Tight Ends
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| TE1 | Jordan Cameron |
| TE2 | Dion Sims |
| TE3 | Arthur Lynch |
As if Ryan Tannehill's wide receiver targets weren't good enough, here are his tight ends.
Dion Sims made a nice leap in 2014, pulling down 24 receptions for 284 yards and two touchdowns in only two starts and only played 522 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. He was primarily used as a blocker on many of those snaps as well.
Sims' 2014 spent behind Charles Clay reminded me a lot of Clay's 2012, when he played behind Anthony Fasano, had 18 catches for 212 yards and two touchdowns in nine starts and played 339 snaps as a tight end and H-back.
Sims is now being joined by Jordan Cameron, at first brought in to play alongside Clay, but now his de facto replacement. Cameron brings with him his 130 catches for 1,600 yards and 10 touchdowns in four seasons with the Cleveland Browns—four seasons which had eight different starting quarterbacks.
Cameron will line up at the line, but at times you'll see him in the slot looking more like a receiver. There will be some two-tight end sets as well that will see Sims taking on more of a blocking role. As a blocker, Sims graded out at minus-1.8 as a pass-blocker and 0.8 as a run-blocker, but those numbers will improve in 2015 thanks to a better offensive line working next to him.
Offensive Line
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| LT | Branden Albert |
| LG | Jamil Douglas |
| C | Mike Pouncey |
| RG | Billy Turner |
| RT | Ja'Wuan James |
| T/G | Jason Fox |
| T/G | Jeff Linkenbach |
| C/G | J.D. Walton |
| G | Dallas Thomas |
| C/G | Sam Brenner |
This could very well be the best offensive line Ryan Tannehill has ever had.
This is not praise for the unit, it's an indictment of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 offensive lines.
Save for Branden Albert, this is a young unit, with all of the other four starters being under the age of 26. Mike Pouncey moves back to center, where he plays better, while Ja'Wuan James moves back to right tackle, a position he played well in 2014.
The Dolphins will also have solid backups in 2015, something they haven't been able to say in recent years.
There could be one more addition to this lineup before training camp, and if said addition is made, expect Jamil Douglas to slide back to the bench, while Dallas Thomas slides into the waiver wire.
Defensive Line
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| LDE | Cameron Wake |
| LDT | Ndamukong Suh |
| RDT | Earl Mitchell |
| RDE | Olivier Vernon |
| DE | Derrick Shelby |
| DE | Terrence Fede |
| DT | Anthony Johnson |
| DT | Jordan Phillips |
| DT | A.J. Francis |
This is one of the most impressive collections of talent on any NFL roster.
Miami spent a lot of money on Ndamukong Suh (and will pay up the majority of it in 2016), and Suh will have to anchor the interior defensive line.
He'll spend most of time lined up next to Earl Mitchell, primarily on pass plays. On run plays, expect rookie Jordan Phillips to line up next to Suh, forming a defensive interior that will be a challenge for any team to run against.
On the edge will come Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon. Both players started off 2014 hot but then faded down the stretch primarily due to the breakdown of the interior defensive line. Don't expect that this season.
Behind the starters is a unit of reserves that on many other teams could start. Terrence Fede and Derrick Shelby impressed in stretches in 2014, as did defensive tackles Anthony Johnson and A.J. Francis.
There's a chance that one of the interior linemen will be the odd man out since Miami spent free-agent cash and a second-rounder on interior linemen. This will be a mistake, as the line is extremely deep and would benefit by rotating guys in and out.
Linebackers
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| WLB | Jelani Jenkins |
| MLB | Koa Misi |
| SLB | Chris McCain |
| LB | Spencer Paysinger |
| LB | Jordan Tripp |
| LB | Kelvin Sheppard |
| LB | Jake Knott |
There are some holes in this unit, holes that could be filled by some of the undrafted free agents Miami has signed.
These undrafted free agents aren't on the depth chart yet, but they have the potential to make their way onto it. At least one of those players will be a part of Miami's final 53-man roster.
As for the starting linebackers, there is potential, even if it looks adequate for now.
Chris McCain had plenty of great flashes in 2014, and it will be interesting to see how well he plays in a full-time role.
Jelani Jenkins was Miami's breakout player of 2014, and a player I considered the most overlooked starter.
Koa Misi should be improved as a middle linebacker in his second season at the position. He showed steady improvement throughout 2014, and the linebacker unit itself wasn't as bad as people expected considering how thin and inexperienced the unit was due to injuries.
Cornerbacks
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| LCB | Brent Grimes |
| RCB | Jamar Taylor |
| SCB | Brice McCain |
| CB | Will Davis |
| CB | Bobby McCain |
| CB | Tony Lippett |
| CB | Sammy Seamster |
There are three words that can describe Miami's corners: young, thin and short.
The unit itself is thin, but the acquisitions of Bobby McCain and Tony Lippett in the draft should help strengthen that, as McCain should challenge new free-agent acquisition Brice McCain for the starting nickelback slot.
Jamar Taylor and Will Davis will compete for the second cornerback slot. However, if Lippett—raw as he is at the position—impresses in training camp, he'll throw his hat into that competition.
Safety
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| SS | Reshad Jones |
| FS | Louis Delmas |
| S | Ced Thompson |
| S | Walt Aikens |
| S | Jordan Kovacs |
| S | Don Jones |
Miami's safeties have a lot of potential from the top to the bottom.
I expect Ced Thompson to make a name for himself in the pros. He won't start off the bat, but he should have a very good training camp and preseason, and he will show flashes at times in relief of Louis Delmas.
Walt Aikens will be improved as well. He showed flashes at times in 2014, but he didn't have the consistency needed, especially after Louis Delmas was hurt.
Special Teams
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| K | Caleb Sturgis |
| P | Brandon Fields |
| LS | John Denney |
| KR/PR | Jarvis Landry |
This could look different come this season.
The Dolphins won't have Jarvis Landry returning kicks in his second season. Instead, they will bring in other players to try out for the role. Already there are a few contenders for the return man spot among the list of undrafted free agents (link in the linebackers slide).
Also brought in as undrafted free agents are a kicker and a punter. Brandon Fields' job should be safe, but if he's pushed in training camp, the savings in releasing him might be enough to swing the Dolphins toward releasing him.
Caleb Sturgis' job will be up for competition.
Statistics provided by sports-reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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