Speaker 1: Two fires touch stop Waddles stocked into the end zone
Speaker 1: of Miami tight brown window. They had to get that
Speaker 1: touchdown on that play. They give it. What is up,
Speaker 1: Dolph fans and welcome to the Drivetime Podcast, part of
Speaker 1: the Miami Dolphins podcast network, covering your team, your Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 1: How's it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 1: And on today's show, we go back to the Wednesday
Speaker 1: podcast and kind of pick up where we left off
Speaker 1: there and take a look at the off season and
Speaker 1: what that could look like with one ultimate takeaway that
Speaker 1: bodes well for the team. Before we do that, I
Speaker 1: want to look at five things that Dolphins need to
Speaker 1: do this off season to take the next step. Plus,
Speaker 1: we'll take a look at our first glance at the
Speaker 1: schedule the opponents on that Dolphin schedule. Busy show from
Speaker 1: somewhere in South Florida. This is the Drive Time Podcast.
Speaker 1: So before we get into the pathways the Dolphins could
Speaker 1: take in the off season, I think we first have
Speaker 1: to go back and look at what pathways we want
Speaker 1: to explore based upon things that Dolphins need to get
Speaker 1: better at. And Coach McDaniel addressed some of the stuff
Speaker 1: on different media he's done the last couple of weeks,
Speaker 1: and just based upon the results we have last year,
Speaker 1: I think some of those are relatively obvious, as they
Speaker 1: are for most teams around the National Football League. So
Speaker 1: here are five things I think Miami can do to
Speaker 1: improve upon the nine and eight record. And I'm sure
Speaker 1: coach has a list of plenty of things, but the
Speaker 1: top five for me are as follows number one. Significantly
Speaker 1: improve the running game. And truthfully, you could probably expand
Speaker 1: this into five subsets on its own, that's how multilayered
Speaker 1: it is. But this is a process over results podcast.
Speaker 1: But still go ahead and look at the results last
Speaker 1: year thirty in rushing thirty one and yards per rush
Speaker 1: and rushing touchdowns. One way you can get better there
Speaker 1: is adding decades of experience of successful run game coordinators.
Speaker 1: It's a good step already done. But also how about
Speaker 1: the offensive line, look rushing off particular gaps the Pro
Speaker 1: Football Focus grades the results just they were what they
Speaker 1: were right and at all points to needing improvement there.
Speaker 1: Now that said, I think the backs too. I think
Speaker 1: we saw where this line was at its best in
Speaker 1: the running game last year when Duke Johnson saw his
Speaker 1: role increase late in the season, and I'll mention this
Speaker 1: in our second knee with regards to the quarterback into
Speaker 1: a tongue of blow in the passing game. But how
Speaker 1: many times did we discuss on the All twenty two
Speaker 1: review podcast this season the well blocked run plays that
Speaker 1: didn't produce as much yardage as they could have. I
Speaker 1: think Duke Johnson helped highlight a little bit of that
Speaker 1: with those two big rushing performances where he generated not
Speaker 1: just yards after contact, but the explosive runs that were
Speaker 1: missing for much of the season. Last year, the Dolphins
Speaker 1: ranked thirty one in explosive runs. That's ten plus yard
Speaker 1: runs last season in the National Football League. Another element
Speaker 1: of that the vertical threat. Last year, the idea of
Speaker 1: adding Jalen Waddle and will Fuller to stretch not just
Speaker 1: horizontally but vertically was a legit idea. It's tough to
Speaker 1: play single high safety when you have those types of
Speaker 1: vertical threats. But we saw that difficult to come by
Speaker 1: because number one, no team in the NFL had a
Speaker 1: quicker time to pressure rate on average than Miami in
Speaker 1: the passing game, and number two, will Fuller only play
Speaker 1: a handful of snaps with that brutal finger injury. And
Speaker 1: we'll address the latter point here and number four, But first,
Speaker 1: number two better quarterback production. The reason this is number
Speaker 1: two is because all those things from number one play
Speaker 1: into it so much. To a passing with a lead
Speaker 1: I thought wasn't interesting split for his stats six point
Speaker 1: seven yards per pass, two touchdowns, and four picks, that's
Speaker 1: got to be the opposite. That's where it's supposed to
Speaker 1: be the easiest to throw the football when the defense
Speaker 1: has to honor both the run and the pass, and
Speaker 1: you can get some nice completions from play actions on
Speaker 1: first down, Like you go twelve personnel and you run
Speaker 1: play action to kick off a drive where you have
Speaker 1: a touchdown lead or a ten point lead, your chances
Speaker 1: of hitting completions on that particular instance are so much
Speaker 1: higher than it is when you're down by ten points
Speaker 1: and the defense knows that you have to run the
Speaker 1: foot or past the football rather Plus, watch any coach
Speaker 1: McDaniel coach game and you'll see the impact of the
Speaker 1: running game has in the passing game every single week,
Speaker 1: and putting to a more advantageous situations and not playing
Speaker 1: to the score where it's early down runs and then
Speaker 1: you ask them to make a play on third and
Speaker 1: long because that's how the situation dictates. That's not a
Speaker 1: practice that's going to yield consistent results. To help your
Speaker 1: defense close out games, you can close out games both
Speaker 1: offensively and defensively. You have every every snap is a
Speaker 1: chance to help the other side of the football out.
Speaker 1: But also to back to something that coach mentioned on
Speaker 1: the Dan Lebotard Show a couple of weeks back about
Speaker 1: what two needs to work on. He said, playing the
Speaker 1: quarterback position and looks. That goes beyond accuracy, arm strength, escapability,
Speaker 1: all that stuff. It's more about the intangibles and the
Speaker 1: cerebral aspect of the game. And for a quarterback just
Speaker 1: in his third season as a pro and a limited
Speaker 1: college resume in terms of snaps played, there's always going
Speaker 1: to be room to grow in that regard. That's the
Speaker 1: reason why most of the good quarterbacks in the NFL
Speaker 1: tend to get better at age and beyond, and a
Speaker 1: lot of these good quarterbacks until this recent surge, we're
Speaker 1: on the other side of age thirty. Because the more
Speaker 1: you see, the better you can play the position. And look,
Speaker 1: we were hyped and critical both aside every single Tuesday
Speaker 1: on the All twenty two reviews about every position. But
Speaker 1: what was the one consistent mentioned I made weekly when
Speaker 1: discussing quarterback play this season, finding those hots and having
Speaker 1: solutions for the defensive look from pre st nap alignment
Speaker 1: to post nap rotation. And the one that sticks out
Speaker 1: to me frequently is that shallow cross against that vacated
Speaker 1: second level defenders coming on pressure looks or chasing a
Speaker 1: back or a tight end or getting back into the
Speaker 1: deep the two as it or the Tampa two coverage
Speaker 1: down the pipe there and to recognize those that's an
Speaker 1: area where two has had some sex success, but to
Speaker 1: be more consistent there that will help change the way
Speaker 1: the defense attacks you. It will create bigger plays, and
Speaker 1: it will obviously create better down and distances. So the
Speaker 1: nice thing here this is internal and something that comes
Speaker 1: from training, repetition and doesn't require any of those resources
Speaker 1: to be spent. If you can get up to that
Speaker 1: level you need, of course, and that's that's a nice part.
Speaker 1: It's incumbent, it's it's inherent. It's not we have to
Speaker 1: go spend this, this and this to go get that fixed.
Speaker 1: You can do that in House number three. Less explosives
Speaker 1: in the run defense game. We've seen this defense just
Speaker 1: tee it up time and time again when they are
Speaker 1: a ahead on the scoreboard or be having success against
Speaker 1: the run. Sometimes it's both. Usually it's both what it is.
Speaker 1: I think it's something they do well more times than not.
Speaker 1: But like coach said, if we're not getting better, we're
Speaker 1: getting worse, and I think it. I think just a
Speaker 1: little more early down run game success could really really
Speaker 1: see this defense come to realize it's true potential for
Speaker 1: seventeen games opposed to one half of season of football
Speaker 1: last year, and then the season really getting after it
Speaker 1: after the first four games and a one in three start.
Speaker 1: I think this stat best explains with the Dolphins. Run
Speaker 1: defense was this year very very good, but a few
Speaker 1: too many occasional big plays, especially late in the season.
Speaker 1: They were fourteenth and overall run defense with the rings
Speaker 1: and explosive plays allowed, So most of that came from
Speaker 1: the big running plays. Fifty explosive plays fifty plus yard runs.
Speaker 1: That's a twelve clip for the opposing offense. So get
Speaker 1: that explosive right down and you probably move into a
Speaker 1: top ten run defense, which helps the NFL's second best
Speaker 1: quarterback sacking defense getting more opportunities to do that, to
Speaker 1: create more pressure, to create more possible takeaways, and it
Speaker 1: just creates more opportunities for Exhaving Howard and Javon Holland
Speaker 1: to make plays back there. Number four offensively, more explosives
Speaker 1: in the passing game, more weapons. Mike McDaniel talked about
Speaker 1: putting the ball in the hands of players who were
Speaker 1: best at running with it after the catch. And one
Speaker 1: of the functions of this offense is that all the
Speaker 1: things that you can catch someone's eye on getting the
Speaker 1: ball quickly into those guys hands with the design of
Speaker 1: m direction that can cause those false steps and wandering eyes.
Speaker 1: You need to capitalize on that space you create by
Speaker 1: maximizing yard after the catch, potential break one tackle, and
Speaker 1: all of a sudden because you have a safety who
Speaker 1: came down all of a sudden, that third level defender,
Speaker 1: you get a ten yard after the catcher that turns
Speaker 1: into a forty yard round after the catch. Does that
Speaker 1: make sense? The Dolphins were seven and explosive passing plays
Speaker 1: this season. Those are twenty plus yard plays and there
Speaker 1: were twenty six and yak the Niners were ninth in
Speaker 1: that in that stat this year, Jalen Waddle average four
Speaker 1: point six YAK average per catch. The next best on
Speaker 1: the team was three point three, which ranked eighty four
Speaker 1: in the National Football League. McDaniel also mentioned in his
Speaker 1: interview with Marcella Luis Jacques of ESPN that to his
Speaker 1: ball placement and catchable football and spiral where all things
Speaker 1: about his game that he liked and the receivers will like,
Speaker 1: and the best way to maximize that is with game
Speaker 1: breakers once the ball gets into their hands. Waddle for
Speaker 1: sure is that now let's get some more Number five,
Speaker 1: get special teams back on track, a bit of a
Speaker 1: detour from what we enjoyed in And honestly, the thing
Speaker 1: that I worry about the least here is Jason Sanders.
Speaker 1: The process, the swing of the leg, the consistency he
Speaker 1: shows in practice, the way he works, his approach, his mindset,
Speaker 1: his mentality. I think he's wired the right way. I
Speaker 1: just think kicking can be a little bit volatible, and
Speaker 1: I want to put someone in that position who has
Speaker 1: all the things we just mentioned and trust that his
Speaker 1: process we will create the results we need. That alone
Speaker 1: would be a huge bump for the Dolphin Special Teams.
Speaker 1: But more than that, there was also two blocked field goals.
Speaker 1: Get better at that. The special Teams d v O
Speaker 1: d v o A finished twenty nine this year, and
Speaker 1: again just to look at the results, things you can
Speaker 1: improve upon that twenty nine v o A rank the
Speaker 1: lowest field goal percentage with two blocks in the National
Speaker 1: Football League and punting average twenty three net punting but
Speaker 1: fifth and punts down into the ten yard line. I
Speaker 1: think that's a creditable polarity and the coverage units and
Speaker 1: guys like mac Hollins to get down there and down
Speaker 1: that thing. So that all leads into this idea of
Speaker 1: free agency and draft resource options. And on the Wednesday
Speaker 1: podcast last week, we discussed the top two hundred free
Speaker 1: agent list from Pro Football Focus and they also had
Speaker 1: market value assigned in that piece. So using that, I
Speaker 1: want to go ahead and look at routes Miami could
Speaker 1: conceivably take to get those improvements and take that next step.
Speaker 1: But first let's take our first break. We'll come back
Speaker 1: right to this exercise, right to this portion of the
Speaker 1: podcast Drive Time Podcast Travis wing Full presented by Auto Nation.
Speaker 1: Back here on the Drive Time Podcast taking a look
Speaker 1: at some off season potential options for the Dolphins as
Speaker 1: they head into another off season where they have the
Speaker 1: number one available cap space, they have some options to
Speaker 1: create more cap space, and they have some nice draft
Speaker 1: capital as well coming up in April. And to refer
Speaker 1: back to the current cap allocation, that has every single
Speaker 1: position group on this roster outside of cornerback in the
Speaker 1: bottom half of the National Football League in terms of spending,
Speaker 1: and all positions besides corner and wide receiver in the
Speaker 1: bottom third twenty one or lower. So I think remove
Speaker 1: cornerback from the equation and we'll look at the top
Speaker 1: of the market, mid tier and bargain type of options
Speaker 1: for every spot. Let's go ahead and do that right
Speaker 1: now at the quarterback position, and I think here you
Speaker 1: just kind of rule this one out as well, because
Speaker 1: there is not actually allow me to rephrase that as
Speaker 1: far as the starting quarterback position goes. I think that's
Speaker 1: really where you have to rule it out in terms
Speaker 1: of massive potential upgrades outside of some crazy type of
Speaker 1: trade with the you know, a big time veteran out
Speaker 1: there who's not really on the market but maybe could
Speaker 1: become in the market. But the Dolphins do have an
Speaker 1: opening at the backup quarterback position, and we saw just
Speaker 1: this last year how important that is. So this list
Speaker 1: has some guys that might kind of fall into that realm,
Speaker 1: but there isn't like the Peyton Manning or Tom Brady
Speaker 1: type of player available this year. It's Jamis Winston topped
Speaker 1: the PFF list, and he's probably looking at more of
Speaker 1: a low end starter money slash potential top end backup money,
Speaker 1: kind of like Teddy Bridgewater, the two top quarterbacks on
Speaker 1: this list. So I don't think this position even applies
Speaker 1: to the exercise, especially when you consider at the draft
Speaker 1: at pick twenty nine and what is a bit of
Speaker 1: a down year at the quarterback position. At best, we're
Speaker 1: probably talking mid level investment, right. I just don't know
Speaker 1: if there's a lot of opportunity there to get a
Speaker 1: whole heck of a lot better at the quarterback position.
Speaker 1: At running back, I think this room for the Dolphins
Speaker 1: has plenty of good players and guys that satisfy particular roles,
Speaker 1: but like we saw with Duke Johnson at the end
Speaker 1: of the year, kind of giving them the shot in
Speaker 1: the arm, I think that's what you need for the
Speaker 1: full seventeen games. That one final piece that can kind
Speaker 1: of make everybody better at the job they do now,
Speaker 1: is that bringing back Duke. Is that in the draft?
Speaker 1: Is that in free agency? None of Daniel Jeremiah, Jordan
Speaker 1: Reid or the Draft Network have a running back inside
Speaker 1: their top forty players, So it's probably not until the
Speaker 1: second round pick, which I think qualifies as a fringe
Speaker 1: premium resource slash mid tier. I typically put it into
Speaker 1: the premium resource, especially when it's at pick fifty where
Speaker 1: Miami's is, but it's tough to say. So. Those guys
Speaker 1: are Kenneth Walker from Michigan State, Isaiah Spiller from Texas
Speaker 1: A and M and Bruce Hall from Iowa State, and
Speaker 1: those are the only three guys in the top two
Speaker 1: rounds of pretty much every major publication and free agency.
Speaker 1: To me, there's one guy that could maybe qualify as
Speaker 1: a premium resource, but just based on what has happened
Speaker 1: at the running back market over the last decade or so,
Speaker 1: I'm not so sure that's the case. But Coral Patterson
Speaker 1: PFF's projected market is two years, twelve millions, so six
Speaker 1: millions just not a premium resource in today's National Football
Speaker 1: League with the cap spaces up over two undred million,
Speaker 1: it's almost perfectly mid tier. In fact, interestingly, though thirty
Speaker 1: spots later they have a higher projection for Lenny four
Speaker 1: Nette would be the age factor there, but even that
Speaker 1: is two for sixteen eight million per year. Again, that's
Speaker 1: not quite it's close, it's not quite premium. Then Edmonds
Speaker 1: and Connor and Michelle, they've got them all the four
Speaker 1: or five million per range. That's about it for the
Speaker 1: running back spot. Not the deepest year running back at
Speaker 1: wide receiver Will Fuller was the Dolphin's top resource in
Speaker 1: terms of free agent spending last offseason. Then they used
Speaker 1: their top draft resource on Jalen Waddle, So it's not
Speaker 1: like it wasn't a priority last year and one of
Speaker 1: those worked fantastically and the other one got hurt. But
Speaker 1: you have to imagine that will be a priority again
Speaker 1: to get that second part of that right because of
Speaker 1: how crucial it will be for this offense. And as
Speaker 1: we mentioned wednesday, the free agent class is full of guys,
Speaker 1: and so was the draft. Davante Adams will set the
Speaker 1: market here. I mean, I've I've seen reports about Davante
Speaker 1: Adams and written pieces and all types of stuff that
Speaker 1: suggests he's gonna get the biggest non quarterback contract ever,
Speaker 1: what is that thirty million more? Who knows? I mean,
Speaker 1: you've got nearly double digit names that would garner a
Speaker 1: premium resource here with the top free agent or money
Speaker 1: or pick twenty nine. There's so many of them. Chris
Speaker 1: Godwin four for seventy projection, Mike Williams four for sixty eight.
Speaker 1: Alan Robinson's projected for three forty eight. Odell Beckham one
Speaker 1: for fourteen. The years they're probably tied to the A
Speaker 1: c L injury. He just had. Michael Gallup two for
Speaker 1: twenty five. Still in that premium range, but a bit
Speaker 1: of a drop off. He also is coming off an injury.
Speaker 1: Juju Smith Schuster one for eight, Christian Kirk three for
Speaker 1: thirty five, DJ Shark three for forty like it's still
Speaker 1: back in the premium. Marquez Valdes's scantling three for twenty five.
Speaker 1: Russell Gauge four for thirty. He's number one oh one
Speaker 1: on the list and they've got him at over seven million,
Speaker 1: seven and a half million per year. Speaks to the
Speaker 1: depth at the receiver position. Some other guys. Cedric Wilson
Speaker 1: two for eleven's a Jones three for eighteen, still six,
Speaker 1: Isaiah Mackenzy two for nine. That's where is that four
Speaker 1: and a half? I like that number a lot. So
Speaker 1: some of those numbers make you look at the draft
Speaker 1: class that has had a handful of guys projected to
Speaker 1: go in that kind of ten to fifteen range, between
Speaker 1: Burke's and London and Lave Wilson and Williams and Dots
Speaker 1: and etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. There's plenty of options there at
Speaker 1: tight end. Gazicky and Smith are both up for new deals,
Speaker 1: with Hunter long entering year two, Sethan Carter signed for
Speaker 1: almost exclusively special teams work last year, and then Adam
Speaker 1: Shaheen has another year left as well. Lots of avenues
Speaker 1: here too, and we mentioned that Mike was in that
Speaker 1: premium group among the top free agent tight ends as
Speaker 1: one of the top guys in the Pro Football Focus
Speaker 1: list at twenty at the number twenty spot. Right behind
Speaker 1: him as Dalton Shoultz at four for fifty two projected.
Speaker 1: Gronk is one for seven. We know his age and
Speaker 1: that retirement possibility factors into that. David and Joeku three
Speaker 1: for thirty seven, zach Ertz two for twenties, so we're
Speaker 1: still a ten mill per year right now. Gerald Ever
Speaker 1: three for five, Evan ingram to for eighteen. The drop
Speaker 1: off goes to Max Williams at three for eighteen at
Speaker 1: six per Moiley Cox three for twenty one. That's seven
Speaker 1: per we're back up again. Robert Tonyan one for five.
Speaker 1: That's about where we get to the mid tier level.
Speaker 1: It's also a nice draft class with Trey McBride, Isaiah Likely,
Speaker 1: Jeremy Ruckert, that fullback slash tight end combination that I
Speaker 1: can't pronounce his name yet from Maryland Man. We're less
Speaker 1: than a month ago until free agency starts and we
Speaker 1: still have all these names on this list. But again,
Speaker 1: the draft class also nice. The receiver tight end positions
Speaker 1: really really have some nice names this year. On the
Speaker 1: offensive line, this is where the options get just really
Speaker 1: crazy in terms of again, there are so many, especially
Speaker 1: because of Miami's inherent position versatility. You can go tackle
Speaker 1: and guard and you can probably plug him in wherever
Speaker 1: you want to. Because they have so many options. On
Speaker 1: the incumbents list, let's go ahead and pass on the
Speaker 1: projected cost here because there's just way too much to
Speaker 1: cover for inside outside. But you know there's drill here
Speaker 1: premiums Ryan Jensen, Brandon Schurf Lake and Tomlinson, Connor Williams.
Speaker 1: In that mid tier James Daniels, Austin Corbett, Andrew Norral,
Speaker 1: Alex Cappa, Brian Allen, Bradley Boseman, bargain names, Trey Turner,
Speaker 1: Quentin Span, Ted Carress, Matt Partis. At the tackle position,
Speaker 1: premiums to Ron Armstead, Orlando Brown, Dwayne Brown, mid tier
Speaker 1: Morgan Moses, Eric Fisher, Riley, Reef Germain, a Fetty bargain name,
Speaker 1: Brandon Shell. That just there's just a lot of options.
Speaker 1: We're gonna come back to that here in a second.
Speaker 1: On the interior defensive line, I honestly probably bok here too.
Speaker 1: This feels more like a position where maybe you go
Speaker 1: after it in the draft, because one, it's a pretty
Speaker 1: solid draft class for a position group that tends to
Speaker 1: slide a little bit each year. And number two, you
Speaker 1: already have presumed production in the bank with Wilkins, Steeler,
Speaker 1: Davis Butler. So maybe kind of like Noah Ignogeny, but
Speaker 1: not in round one you draft someone with an eye
Speaker 1: for the future. Here. Maybe I don't know. We'll see
Speaker 1: At the edge position. Now we've got one of our
Speaker 1: own here again, like like we did with Caski and
Speaker 1: Emmanuel Ogba. But as we mentioned on Wednesday, it's a deep, deep,
Speaker 1: deep group position here, both in the draft and free
Speaker 1: agency premium wise Chandler, Jones, von Miller, Jadavian Clowney, Randy Gregory,
Speaker 1: Melvin Ingram, Hassan, Reddick Lawn or held Landry. It's crazy
Speaker 1: mid tier Justin Houston, Jerry, Jeremy Hughes, Jerry Hughes, No Jeremy,
Speaker 1: Derek Barnett, and the bargain bind Charles Harris, Jason Pierre,
Speaker 1: Paul Chennon, Dwosu. I'm not sure those guys are even
Speaker 1: bargains by the way, they could be huge contracts for them.
Speaker 1: And again this draft is just pier in Sandy at
Speaker 1: this position group too, from Hutchinson and Timodeaux at the
Speaker 1: top too, car lift Us and no Jabo in the middle,
Speaker 1: to Sanders and Jamaine Johnson, Logan Hall on the second
Speaker 1: and third round. That's probably second round really. I mean,
Speaker 1: you can pick where you want to target your edge
Speaker 1: player and probably find a name that fits the value
Speaker 1: there at linebacker. This one is a little more cut
Speaker 1: and dry the draft with Lloyd and Deana's premium options
Speaker 1: and then some more mid round values like a Dairy
Speaker 1: and Beaver's or Chad Muma. But back to free agency
Speaker 1: premium wise, not a lot to Andre Campbell in the
Speaker 1: mid range, Alexander Johnson, Olacon from the Falcons, I Philip
Speaker 1: pronounce his name every time, Layton Vander Esh, Josie Jewel,
Speaker 1: Dante Hi Tower, Anthony Barr, bargain Wise, Jawan Bentley, Jayon
Speaker 1: Brown at cornerback. Probably the same idea here as the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks and interior defensive line just loaded for the Dolphins
Speaker 1: team x Byron Needham, Igbo Coleman, and like we mentioned
Speaker 1: on the interior defensive line, it might be more of
Speaker 1: a developmental approach. Some free agents that might fit that
Speaker 1: mold Dante Jackson, Robert Altford, Kawan Williams, Rasul, Douglas A. Killow, Weatherspoon.
Speaker 1: Weatherspoon's one for four on PFF, where Dante Jackson's two
Speaker 1: for twenty, So those guys fall on that mid to
Speaker 1: bargain range with four million per to ten million per
Speaker 1: It's a big range there. And then finally at safety.
Speaker 1: You have to feel good here too. Maybe that's the
Speaker 1: idea of development since you have really three proven players
Speaker 1: two of them and year three and Brandon Jones and
Speaker 1: year two in Javon Holland respectively. Now a few defenses
Speaker 1: if any use their third safety more than Josh Boyer,
Speaker 1: so it's still very important. Probably not looking at Marcus
Speaker 1: Williams or Jesse Bates are the top two guys in
Speaker 1: the market, which PF has in the twelve to fourteen
Speaker 1: million per range. But Marcus Mays at forty four projected
Speaker 1: one for six, but he has an injuries coming off
Speaker 1: of so that has to factor in. Because Quandre Digs
Speaker 1: is next at fifty two on the list and he's
Speaker 1: up there for three for thirty, that's a premium resource
Speaker 1: at safety anywhere, but definitely a safety. Then we get
Speaker 1: to Jordan white Head at seventy, which is projected three
Speaker 1: for eighteen. Again pretty spending. I look at a guy
Speaker 1: like Anthony Harris at one sixty one who's won for four.
Speaker 1: That's probably more of the speed there if you go
Speaker 1: in that direction. So again, countless paths here, and for
Speaker 1: the sake of the game, let's give ourselves to free
Speaker 1: agents at the mid and one premium signing for each pathway,
Speaker 1: and there's no way to correctly assess what that looks like.
Speaker 1: So this is more for the principle of showing you
Speaker 1: how many options this Dolphins team has with these what
Speaker 1: do you want to call him? Four, five, six, seven
Speaker 1: eight premium resources, So a premium two mid tier contracts
Speaker 1: that whatever would happened with the bargains, we're not gonna
Speaker 1: get into that. Then the draft picks at twenty nine
Speaker 1: and fifty, so we're talking about what here five players
Speaker 1: in total to give us those five corrections we need
Speaker 1: to see that was listed at the top of the
Speaker 1: show for possible playoff push, not to mention incumbents and
Speaker 1: internal improvement, which we have mentioned on this podcast so
Speaker 1: many times is the most important thing. Path number one.
Speaker 1: Here's what I did, Ryan Jensen, the center from the Bucks,
Speaker 1: receiver Michael Gallup, Emmanuel Ogba, and then the draft Nakobe
Speaker 1: Dean and Daniel Filele. So premium offensive line, secondary receiver,
Speaker 1: and edge than to the draft for a linebacker and
Speaker 1: an offensive line, and that Jensen spot could be a
Speaker 1: number of players in that range, whether it's lake In, Tomlinson,
Speaker 1: Brandon Schurf, but the money spent there on interior offensive
Speaker 1: line opposed to going the tackle route allows us to
Speaker 1: spend a little bit more in the next two mid
Speaker 1: tier guys like a Gallop and an og Ball, for instance.
Speaker 1: Then we round that out with George's Nakobe Dean and
Speaker 1: Daniel Filele from Minnesota for that thumping, three down mic
Speaker 1: linebacker which I also think makes Jerome Baker a lot
Speaker 1: better a player, and then a massive body an extremely
Speaker 1: high upside player in Filele. What if we divert those
Speaker 1: resources in another direction like path number two with Chris
Speaker 1: Godwin our premium guy and Cora Relle Patterson our second
Speaker 1: tier with Brian Allen from the Rams. Then we draft
Speaker 1: Zion Johnson, the do it all offensive lineman, and Logan Hall,
Speaker 1: the edge defender from Houston the big price tag on
Speaker 1: approval receiver. Then our secondary options for a multifaceted, flexible
Speaker 1: running back who can also play wide receiver, then an
Speaker 1: accomplished center playing in a similar scheme, and rounding out
Speaker 1: the free agents, and then spending pick twenty nine and
Speaker 1: a guy like Zion Johnson, who I think is gonna
Speaker 1: be a Pro Bowl level guard at the next level,
Speaker 1: and then Logan Hall for another edge presence and a
Speaker 1: guy that fits the prototype. Let's do one more path
Speaker 1: number three to Ron Armstead, Emmanuel Ogbon, Layton vander Esh
Speaker 1: and I also give myself Isaiah Mackenzie here. I added
Speaker 1: the fourth free agent because well, vander Eshen Mackenzie are
Speaker 1: kind of a coupled cost at the same rate as
Speaker 1: a mid tier guy in pass two and three. But
Speaker 1: then we come back in the draft with Jamison Williams
Speaker 1: and Isaiah Spiller, and we wind up with one of
Speaker 1: the game's best left tackles the last decade in Armstead.
Speaker 1: We get og Bob back, and we get vander Ashes
Speaker 1: that thumping mic linebacker, and Mackenzie gives us a really
Speaker 1: nice electric weapon and depth and return a build and
Speaker 1: we get more weaponry with Jamison Williams and finish up
Speaker 1: with another passing game impactor and running back that does
Speaker 1: a lot of everything, and Texas a and m Isaiah
Speaker 1: Spiller at pick fifty, which really obviously there with Williams,
Speaker 1: Spiller and McKenzie helps us supplement our offensive arsenal. There's
Speaker 1: probably ten of these. There's probably fifty of these, But
Speaker 1: it starts to get repetitive for a podcast, and the
Speaker 1: larger point I think has been proven. They'll spend the
Speaker 1: next weeks and months deciding which path is best, building
Speaker 1: options A, B and C and contingencies for each of
Speaker 1: those steps of the options, and this and that, if this,
Speaker 1: then that type of scenarios, all that stuff. But there
Speaker 1: are options. And I probably say this just about every
Speaker 1: day and ahead of every major event on the NFL calendar,
Speaker 1: But can we just fast forward to mid March? I
Speaker 1: am ready for it, So I kind of want to
Speaker 1: do a hundred of these. Shoot. I kind of feel
Speaker 1: like Jonah Hill and Moneyball. Brad Pitt says, I need
Speaker 1: free reports. I come back and say I did forty seven.
Speaker 1: Actually I did fifty one. I don't know why I
Speaker 1: just lied to you just now. It's kind of how
Speaker 1: I feel. Let's take our last break here on the
Speaker 1: other side. A quick peek ahead to the opponents in
Speaker 1: two and a quick note on each Drivetime Podcast. Travis
Speaker 1: Wingfield coming right back. We are back here on the
Speaker 1: Drivetime Podcast presented by Auto Nation. On this edition of
Speaker 1: the Drivetime Podcast, I want to finish up here by
Speaker 1: looking at the opponents and a quick comment on each
Speaker 1: So let's do twenty seconds or so on each opponent.
Speaker 1: Sound good? And we start in the a f C East.
Speaker 1: We play these teams twice a year every year. The
Speaker 1: New England Patriots want to mention the quarterback for all
Speaker 1: these teams. Mac Jones is our guy for a year
Speaker 1: or two. We have three straight victories over this team.
Speaker 1: Second year for them and a lot of those free
Speaker 1: agents they signed a season ago, which whether it's the
Speaker 1: draft or free agency, I always find that year two
Speaker 1: typically gives you closer to your expectations as far as
Speaker 1: results go from those signings, as they kind of get
Speaker 1: acclimated for a full year and don't have to get
Speaker 1: up to speed in your number one. They're certainly gonna
Speaker 1: want to make their statement against the Dolphins after those
Speaker 1: three straight losses. They play tough defense every year, the smart,
Speaker 1: they're situationally sound, and it's tough to play them on
Speaker 1: the road, especially those are tough games. The Jets twice
Speaker 1: Zack Wilson back for a year or two. We have
Speaker 1: four straight wins over this team and another year for
Speaker 1: this young rosster to mature and get better and progress.
Speaker 1: I think we saw them get better at a lot
Speaker 1: of spots, especially running back and offensive line, and they
Speaker 1: identified a big time weapon and Elijah Moore, and I
Speaker 1: think that defensive fronts always a challenge for those guys,
Speaker 1: especially with Robert Saloon charge there. So two tough games
Speaker 1: against the Jets, or I should say tougher games I
Speaker 1: think against the Jets, as I expect them to get
Speaker 1: better too. Then the Buffalo Bills two times, Josh Allen Man.
Speaker 1: At some point, we have to figure out this code
Speaker 1: here they have seven straight wins over US. I gotta
Speaker 1: find a way to slow down that offense. Now, most
Speaker 1: teams have not had success with them, but I'll be
Speaker 1: curious to see if they can find their way into
Speaker 1: being even more two dimensional with the run game on offense.
Speaker 1: That defense is an absolute problem too. So they're good
Speaker 1: everywhere and where teams got them this last year was
Speaker 1: in their running game, but I have to imagine they
Speaker 1: go pretty heavy and addressing that as well as their
Speaker 1: own running game offensively. But I also have to account
Speaker 1: for the fact that I think they're gonna be on
Speaker 1: a mission this year. Like you watch that Super Bowl
Speaker 1: and conference championship games. I was thinking it, you were
Speaker 1: thinking it. They had to have been thinking it. We
Speaker 1: were thirteen seconds away from getting to the a f
Speaker 1: C Championship game, and frankly, I think a lot of
Speaker 1: us would have picked them to go all the way
Speaker 1: from that point. Another year of two really tough games
Speaker 1: for the Dolphins here against the Buffalo Bills, who I
Speaker 1: think are going to be on an absolute mission next
Speaker 1: year to finally get over that playoff hump into the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. At the Chargers, Justin Herbert's their quarterback. It's
Speaker 1: a road game out Wessels are always tough and they
Speaker 1: have weapons all over the field. I imagine they'll bring
Speaker 1: back Mike Williams. Austin Eckler was a huge shot in
Speaker 1: the arm for that offense this year after missing him
Speaker 1: for the most of twenty forget the years at this point, man,
Speaker 1: it's going by so fast. But there are a challenge
Speaker 1: for our defense and their focus will certainly be the
Speaker 1: run defense, which finished this year, and then brand Staley
Speaker 1: and year two. I'm guessing we'll have that defense up
Speaker 1: to speed more so this year. Tough pass rush there
Speaker 1: with Joey Bosa, Derwin James missed some time last year.
Speaker 1: He'll be back and you have to really expect to
Speaker 1: get four straight stops to get their offense off the field,
Speaker 1: because nobody goes for it on fourth down more than
Speaker 1: the Chargers. The Steelers. At quarterback, we don't know here.
Speaker 1: This is really the one. We don't know at all.
Speaker 1: Who it's going to be, that's the big question there.
Speaker 1: And Mike Tomlin always has them ready to play. It's
Speaker 1: impressive what he's done for two decades now. Loaded on
Speaker 1: defense at three levels, particularly upfront with the defensive player
Speaker 1: of the year in j. J. Watt, No check that
Speaker 1: DJ one, Cameron Heywards also awesome, stefont It. They're just
Speaker 1: tough to compete against in that arena. But again, what
Speaker 1: happens at quarterback? Is it Rudolph, is it Haskins? Is
Speaker 1: a Maleek Willis or another bookie? Can they get one
Speaker 1: of those big time quarterbacks if they move like a
Speaker 1: Rolston or Rodgers or who the heck knows? Also, you
Speaker 1: know they will get Nase Harris plenty of work, a
Speaker 1: good test of your tackling, but they'll have to block
Speaker 1: it better. Just three point nine yards per caring for
Speaker 1: that talented running back as a rookie. The Cleveland Browns
Speaker 1: another home game here, for the doll Fens Baker Mayfield,
Speaker 1: it's the quarterback right now. A bit of a down
Speaker 1: year after their best year in franchise history. Is yeah,
Speaker 1: because they're their expansion in the late nineties and Baker
Speaker 1: played through a tough shoulder injury, and I think he
Speaker 1: should be commended for that. One of the game's best
Speaker 1: offensive lines, the best one to punchant running back when
Speaker 1: they're healthy, and they added a lot of good pieces
Speaker 1: to that defense. So I expect a jump in year
Speaker 1: two from guys like John Johnson and that defense. And
Speaker 1: it was a Troy Hill the other cornerback they went
Speaker 1: out and got not to mention having Myles Garrett and
Speaker 1: the joker there in uh Jeremiah Woosu Cormo. It's a
Speaker 1: good defense. We'll go to the Bengals on the road
Speaker 1: next year and faced Joe Burrow off a Super Bowl appearance, Jamaar, Chase,
Speaker 1: te Higgins, Tyler Boy, weapons of Galore, weapons weapons. I'm
Speaker 1: not sure why I went Italian there, but they have
Speaker 1: a really good offense and they remade that defense. Their
Speaker 1: biggest priority this off season will be resigning Jesse Bates,
Speaker 1: one of the best safeties in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: It seems pretty evident they'll invest in the offensive line
Speaker 1: this offseason, and they have done that recently with Jonah
Speaker 1: Williams and Jack and Carmen. What kind of step does
Speaker 1: he take in your number two? It's a big one
Speaker 1: for them, But playing them on the road, that's certainly
Speaker 1: a tough matchup. We also go to Baltimore this year
Speaker 1: on the road for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens never
Speaker 1: look forward to these games up there. They are so
Speaker 1: tough to beat, especially at home. First, I'll talk about
Speaker 1: a kicker here. They have a cheap code at the
Speaker 1: place kicker position who was basically an automatic three points
Speaker 1: once they crossed your forty five yard line. Forty yard line.
Speaker 1: They have a defense that will get so many players
Speaker 1: back to and then J. K. Dobbins, who I think
Speaker 1: was their biggest loss this year. Honestly, they'll be picking
Speaker 1: the twenty in the top twenty for the first time
Speaker 1: in the Lamar Jackson era. Perhaps a chance to get
Speaker 1: him a nice weapon. Speaking of weapons, the Niners on
Speaker 1: the road for this team as well, should see Trey
Speaker 1: Lance because his kind of his debut, so to speak.
Speaker 1: He played a little bit last year but he'll probably
Speaker 1: have the full compliment this year. You're one of that,
Speaker 1: You're one of Mike McDaniel, and we get instantly the
Speaker 1: McDaniel Shanahan reunion game. You know about this Niners team
Speaker 1: by now, Samuel's awesome. They're dominant in the running game,
Speaker 1: regardless of who the back is. To have a super
Speaker 1: strong offensive line. Trent Williams is the best in the game.
Speaker 1: Nick Bosa, Fred Warner very talented defense. Might this become
Speaker 1: a two game West Coast swing with the Charger game
Speaker 1: back to back, maybe the Vikings at home, Kirk Cousins,
Speaker 1: Kevin O'Connell some more of that wide zone boot game
Speaker 1: type of stuff. And O'Connell has to be giddy about
Speaker 1: the fact that he's getting Dalvin Cook to work with
Speaker 1: and Justin Jefferson, which is not system related there, but
Speaker 1: he's in my opinion, the second miss receiver in the
Speaker 1: National Football League behind Davante Adams. While I'll be up
Speaker 1: there pretty soon. That defense will likely get some attention
Speaker 1: in the off season as well, so plenty of new
Speaker 1: pieces there. Also have the Packers coming here to South
Speaker 1: Florida Aaron Rodgers. They're good for thirteen wins a year. Basically,
Speaker 1: can they bring back Adams? Aaron Jones is also awesome.
Speaker 1: They have a good line and they're healthy. One of
Speaker 1: the best rosters in the National Football League, the best
Speaker 1: offense really on the schedule, probably besides Buffalo, and defensively,
Speaker 1: they've made massive strides there over the years to just
Speaker 1: a truly, truly tough out. I'm happy it's at home.
Speaker 1: We'll go to the road. On the road, I should say,
Speaker 1: to face the Lions and Jared Goth potentially maybe someone else.
Speaker 1: You know, you're gonna get their best effort. They're gonna
Speaker 1: be ready for a rock fight. Strong in the trenches.
Speaker 1: Emphasis in the running game last year, you have to
Speaker 1: imagine they they pumped some some of those resources into
Speaker 1: weapons on the offense and start building the outside in general.
Speaker 1: After a heavy emphasis on the trenches a year ago.
Speaker 1: And then also a road game in Chicago for the Bears,
Speaker 1: justin fields Matt Eberflus. I love the staff he's built there,
Speaker 1: and I really just hope the Bears get back to
Speaker 1: their winning ways because I think the league is better
Speaker 1: when they're good, because they put them on primetime five
Speaker 1: times a year. I'm also excited for fields and year two.
Speaker 1: Think they have some big decisions there with Alan Robinson
Speaker 1: and the chem Hicks coming up. But they are aggressive
Speaker 1: and get the ball out on defense. Eber Flus has
Speaker 1: always done well with takeaways himself. Can they get the
Speaker 1: line sword of this offseason. That's kind of a big
Speaker 1: question for them, as is for so many teams in
Speaker 1: the National Football League. All Right, that's gonna be the
Speaker 1: podcast you all. Please be sure to subscribe to the
Speaker 1: podcast on Apple podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your
Speaker 1: podcast from. Leave us a rating, leave us a review.
Speaker 1: You can follow me on Twitter at Wingfield NFL, on
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Speaker 1: Also our YouTube channel for Dolphins Today, and of course,
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Speaker 1: Fitts Up, Caroline Daddy has coming up.