5 Moves Miami Dolphins Should Have Made This Offseason

In a perfect world, every team would get to execute its offseason plans in a vacuum, with no other teams to inhibit it along the way. As it is, however, every team is in competition with 31 other teams over players to add in free agency and the draft.

The Miami Dolphins took an aggressive approach to addressing many of their biggest needs. Even when they weren't throwing money at prized free agents like defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, they were indirectly aggressive by cutting certain players who no longer fit the image or the goals of the team.

There were also some situations in which the Dolphins got rid of starters and failed to aggressively address the lack of star power left by their absence.

Whether it was potential trades, draft picks or free-agent signings, the Dolphins left a little to be desired. Here's a look at some ways in which the Dolphins could have been more proactive about addressing their needs. 

Bigger Focus on Veteran Help at Linebacker

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Koa Misi (55, left) and Jelani Jenkins (53, right) will be among the starting linebackers for the Dolphins in 2015.

Between the departures of Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler and the lack of moves to counterbalance those departures, the Dolphins have made it crystal clear that there's a youth movement at linebacker. Jelani Jenkins (23), Koa Misi (28) and Chris McCain (23) are the most likely players to land in starting roles this coming season.

The only question that's left is, what happens if that youth movement fails? What if the players either get injured or fail to live up to the expectations? The Dolphins haven't left themselves with many experienced backup options who could feasibly step in and fill any gaps in production. 

Kelvin Sheppard is a nice backup option at middle linebacker, but he's extremely limited and should only be used on the inside. Spencer Paysinger played a menial role for the New York Giants in the first four years of his career and was mostly relegated to special teams duty.

Jenkins and Misi showed a lot of potential to be stars in their respective roles last season, and the Dolphins appear to have a lot of faith in those two players based on their lack of investment in a Plan B.

More Attention to Guard Spots

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Dallas Thomas (above) may not be the answer the Dolphins need at guard. What happens then?

The Dolphins must have a lot of confidence in either Dallas Thomas, Billy Turner or both, because they didn't pay much attention to the guard spots this offseason.

Sure, the fourth-round selection of Jamil Douglas gives the Dolphins another possible young guard to assume the mantle as the starter at one spot, but that's if he can outperform the other options in training camp. Even if Douglas steals one of the two guard spots, there's still another that needs to be filled.

Between Thomas and Turner, the Dolphins are hoping that at least one of their two young tackle-to-guard projects can make the transition and make an impact.

There's also the possibility of veteran guard Jeff Linkenbach stepping in, and veteran center J.D. Walton could be asked to move to guard as well. But according to Pro Football Focus, Linkenbach has earned a negative grade in each of his four seasons in the NFL, and Walton's only positive grade came in a season when he played in just four games at center for the Denver Broncos before suffering an injury.

Thus, the Dolphins are really hoping that either Thomas or Turner can be a starting guard in 2015, because if it's neither, they could be in trouble. 

Find a Better Backup Offensive Tackle

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Branden Albert (71, left) and Ja'Wuan James (70, right) are great starting tackles, but what happens if either gets injured?

When it came time to finally rebuild their offensive line, the Miami Dolphins put their biggest resources into the two most important spots on the line: left tackle and right tackle. The free-agent signing of left tackle Branden Albert and the first-round selection of Ja'Wuan James last year gave the Dolphins a pair of bookend tackles who could help keep quarterback Ryan Tannehill's jersey clean.

Then, Albert suffered a season-ending injury (ACL/MCL tear), and it threw the Dolphins' offensive line into flux. Suddenly, James was forced to move to an unnatural spot at left tackle, and Dallas Thomas was forced to move from guard to tackle.

Both men struggled in their new spots, with Thomas allowing seven sacks in six games while James yielded four of his six sacks all season in the final four games according to Pro Football Focus.

Barring a similar shuffling of the pieces, Jeff Linkenbach and Jason Fox would be the primary options to understudy at the tackle positions this season. Linkenbach has struggled no matter where he's played in his career, and although Fox has shown flashes in his limited playing time, he hasn't earned much playing time to speak of (205 snaps in 2013, 218 snaps in 2014). 

If the Dolphins' offensive linemen stay healthy, this shouldn't be a problem. With Branden Albert's recent knee injury, though, there's some concern over a lack of depth.  

More Insurance on Jamar Taylor

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Between the signings of Brice McCain and Zack Bowman and the addition of Bobby McCain through the draft, it seems as though the Dolphins have given themselves enough alternatives that they can field a competent secondary even if Jamar Taylor fails to develop into a top-notch cornerback.

The question must be asked, though, if any of the players they've added could be trusted to start on the boundary of the defense opposite Brent Grimes.

Brice McCain has proven that he's one of the better slot cornerbacks in the game; he allowed one reception per 12.9 snaps in coverage he played in the slot, which was the second-best ratio in the NFL last season. But can the 5'9", 187-pound cornerback be trusted to play a significant role on the perimeter? 

Bowman has gotten better over the course of his career, but he's been kept in a backup role despite playing in some pretty bad secondaries with the New York Giants (2014) and the Chicago Bears (2008-2013). He gave up only 13 receptions on 36 passes thrown his way last year (36.1 percent), but four of those completions went for touchdowns. 

Taylor has allowed 37 receptions on 53 passes thrown into his coverage (69.8 percent) in the first two years of his career, so he'll have to significantly improve on that mark if he wants to hold down the starting spot. 

Unless Bobby McCain turns out to be another undersized perimeter wonder like Grimes, the hopes of the Dolphins secondary are in Taylor's hands. 

Re-Sign Jimmy Wilson

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No team can keep all of its key free agents, and even with an abundance of salary-cap space, the Dolphins were no different. The problem is, there's one key free agent they let get away, one who could have helped provide some answers at positions of uncertainty.

Jimmy Wilson has lined up all over the secondary, from free safety to strong safety to slot cornerback. He's been more effective in some spots than others, but his experience in the Dolphins defense trumps that of nearly any other defensive back on the roster. 

With question marks at several positions—namely at safety with Louis Delmas' recovery from knee surgery and cornerback with the development of Jamar Taylor, Will Davis and Walt Aikens—the Dolphins could probably have found somewhere for him to line up in 2015. 

It would be understandable if Wilson had left for some heavy chunk of change, but he only signed for two years and $4.25 million with the San Diego Chargers, and he only received $1.25 million in guaranteed money. That doesn't seem like too much to spend to hang onto one of the more important depth players for the Dolphins secondary. 

Unless otherwise noted, all salary cap and contract information provided by OverTheCap.com. Advanced statistics provided by ProFootballFocus.com.