Miami Dolphins: Time To Rebuild After Their Rebuild

The Miami Dolphins might not need a full strip-down and reset but 2021 proved they still have a way to go. Despite their turnaround at the end of the season thanks to a weaker schedule, there are still a handful of areas that need a complete overhaul or an infusion of talent to spark consistent success.

Still Need to Solidify Offensive Line

Tua Tagovailoa has been a solid playmaker for the Dolphins this season despite sloppy play upfront. Even though the unit came around at the end of the season, they still need to address their lack of push up front. For the majority of the season, Miami ran an offense that looked sloppy at a rushed pace. If the Dolphins want to help Tua become an elite quarterback, he’ll need more time to make better decisions.

Need To Balance Run Game and Passing Attack

An RPO offense can’t survive without a key element, the run. Defenders need to believe that a quarterback will actually hand the ball off. Miami gets their running backs involved but teams aren’t fearing 2-3 yard pickups. A good RPO offense will push 4-5 averages with the ability to break out big gains on the ground. On top of that, they’ll need to have a threat on the outside to swing to on a fake handoff. No disrespect to the hard work of the current Miami Dolphins running backs, but their struggles are limiting this offense.

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Need A Consistent Receiving Unit

One of the biggest struggles for the Miami Dolphins year in and year out is health at wide receiver. Despite the success of rookie Jaylen Waddle, the entire starting unit has barely been on the field together if at all. Miami has built a culture over the past few years where if every receiver is on the field, they’d be dangerous on offense. However, they never quite have all the pieces together to make it work. Injury after injury keeps a good unit from being great. Injuries happen in the NFL but so much of their offense depends on everyone doing their part that not having one of those parts is costly. Guys have stepped up to fill a void, but Miami needs to find healthy and consistent receivers.

Game-changing Playmaker On Defense

The Miami Dolphins have had success on defense, especially with the latest round of draft picks.

The Miami Dolphins are getting there, but they’re not quite there yet with their turnaround. Winning in today’s NFL is tough and they’ve earned every victory. However, at times they seem to lack control on game day. Even with the feel-good run at the end of the year, it’s hard to believe they have enough to hang with the top teams in the NFL right now. Hopefully, they finish the season strong and have a good game plan to address needs in the offseason.