The Miami Dolphins went into 2019 expected to be lucky to win a game or two. Overall, it was not a pretty season but the team did play hard for first year head coach Brian Flores finishing with a 5-11 record. They also traded away key young players in Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick in hopes to build a new foundation through the draft.
In comes Tua Tagovailoa. He will soon be given the chance to turn around a Dolphins franchise that has made the playoffs just twice in the past 15 seasons. 3 offensive lineman were drafted (Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt, and Solomon Kindley) in hopes to turn around a unit that was at the bottom of the league in many categories.
The offensive line is the key to watch for the Dolphins in 2020. If the unit looks like they did last year, Tua will struggle immensely despite having some talented pass catchers. That is the unit that will decide if the Dolphins can be good enough to steal some games they aren’t expected to win in.
Byron Jones and Kyle Van Noy were the big signings and they can contribute from day one, but they both come from very talented defensive teams. How will they transition to playing with a young defense that does not have the talent level of the Cowboys and Patriots?
Let’s take a look at the Dolphins 2019 season, 2020 offseason, and what lies ahead in 2020.
2019 Team Ranks
| Total Offense | 27th (4960 yards) |
| Passing Offense | 12th (3804 yards) |
| Rushing Offense | 32nd (1156 yards) |
| Total Defense | 30th (6364 yards allowed) |
| Passing Defense | 26th (4198 yards allowed) |
| Rushing Defense | 27th (2166 yards allowed) |
| PPG | 19.1 |
| PPG Allowed | 30.9 |
| Offensive Line Ranks | |
| PFF | 32nd |
| Football Outsiders (Run Block) | 32nd |
| Football Outsiders (Pass Block) | 28th |
Coaching staff changes
| Chan Gailey replaces Chad O’Shea as OC |
| Josh Boyer replaces Patrick Graham as DC |
| Robby Brown replaces Jim Caldwell as QB Coach |
| Josh Grizzard replaces Karl Dorrell as WR Coach |
| Steve Marshall replaces Dave DeGuglielmo as OL Coach |
Offseason Additions
| Byron Jones CB |
| Kyle Van Noy LB |
| Shaq Lawson DE |
| Matt Breida RB |
| Ereck Flowers G |
| Emmanuel Ogbah DE |
| Jordan Howard RB |
| Clayton Fejedelem S |
| Ted Karras C |
| Kamu Grugier-Hill LB |
| Elandon Roberts OLB |
| Kavon Frazier S |
| Adam Shaheen TE |
Offseason Losses
| Charles Harris DE |
| Evan Boehm C |
| Taco Charlton DE |
| Trevor Davis WR |
| Evan Brown C |
| John Jenkins DT |
2020 NFL Draft
| Round 1 (5) – Tua Tagovailoa QB Alabama |
| Round 1 (18) – Austin Jackson OT USC |
| Round 1 (30) – Noah Igbinoghene CB Auburn |
| Round 2 (39) – Robert Hunt OT Louisiana-Lafayette |
| Round 2 (56) – Raekwon Davis DT Alabama |
| Round 3 (70) – Brandon Jones S Texas |
| Round 4 (111) – Solomon Kindley G Georgia |
| Round 5 (154) – Jason Strowbridge DE North Carolina |
| Round 5 (164) – Curtis Weaver Edge Boise State |
| Round 6 (185) – Blake Ferguson LS LSU |
| Round 7 (246) – Malcolm Perry WR Navy |
2020 Schedule with record vs opponents since 2017
| Week 1 – at New England Patriots 1 PM ET CBS | 3-3 |
| Week 2 – vs Buffalo Bills 1 PM ET CBS | 1-5 |
| Week 3 – at Jacksonville Jaguars 8:20 PM ET NFL Network (TNF) | 0-1 |
| Week 4 – vs Seattle Seahawks 1 PM ET FOX | 0-0 |
| Week 5 – at San Francisco 49ers 4:05 PM ET FOX | 0-0 |
| Week 6 – at Denver Broncos 4:05 PM ET CBS | 1-0 |
| Week 7 – vs Los Angeles Chargers 1 PM ET CBS | 1-1 |
| Week 8 – vs Los Angeles Rams 1 PM ET FOX | 0-0 |
| Week 9 – at Arizona Cardinals 4:25 PM ET CBS | 0-0 |
| Week 10 – vs New York Jets 4:05 PM ET CBS | 4-2 |
| Week 11 – BYE | |
| Week 12 – at New York Jets 1 PM ET CBS | 4-2 |
| Week 13 – vs Cincinnati Bengals 1 PM ET CBS | 1-1 |
| Week 14 – vs Kansas City Chiefs 1 PM ET CBS | 0-1 |
| Week 15 – vs New England Patriots 1 PM ET CBS | 3-3 |
| Week 16 – at Las Vegas Raiders TBD | 1-1 |
| Week 17 – at Buffalo Bills 1 PM ET CBS | 1-5 |
Miscellaneous notes
| Brian Flores enters 2nd season as HC |
| Worst point differential in the NFL in 2019 (-188) |
| DeVante Parker led AFC WR’s in receving yards in 2019 (1202) |
| 2019 Offense Play Selection |
| Pass – 65.9% |
| Rush – 34.1% |
| PFF Top 5 Graded Players in 2019 |
| 1. Kyle Van Noy LOLB 84.2 |
| 2. DeVante Parker WR 79.2 |
| 3. Ryan Fitzpatrick QB 76.5 |
| 4. Byron Jones CB 76.1 |
| 5. Steven Parker SS 71.0 |
| Players who opted out of 2020 season |
| Allen Hurns WR |
| Albert Wilson WR |
Biggest Question: When will Tua be given the starting role?
Bottom Line: This is a team that built much of their foundation through this past draft and free agency period. The Dolphins may look like an improved unit in 2020, but playoffs still are a reach for this young squad. I think they could win some games they aren’t supposed to, but still fall well short of a playoff berth.
Predicted Win Range: 4-6
