15 Most Important Dolphins for 2013: #10 Paul Soliai & #9 Randy Starks

The Miami Dolphins' front four looks to be the strength of the Dolphins' defense again in 2013. While the end position could have the duo of Pro Bowler Cameron Wake and the first player defensive player taken in this year's draft, the heart and soul of the defensive front will rest on the interior.

Paul Soliai (96) and Randy Starks (94). (Photo: MiamiDolphins.com)

It's hard to bring up Paul Soliai without mentioning Randy Starks and vice versa. Last season, the two anchored a run defense that was near the top of the league for much of the season before teetering off at the end.

Soliai, a run-stuffer at 340 pounds, made just 29 tackles a season ago, but eight went for a loss. What Soliai brings to the Dolphins will be hard to measure statistically, but he's a tough guy to block in the middle. Soliai will likely give the Dolphins this season much of what he's given them over his six-year career, push in the middle to free up linebackers to make plays.

Soliai has played in each of Miami's 16 games in three straight seasons and recorded a career-high eight stuffs in 2012. Soliai finished the season with one and a half sacks despite limited playing time in obvious passing situations. Soliai also assisted on a career-high 11 tackles in 2012 and recovered a fumble in Miami's 30-9 win over the New York Jets on October 28th.

A late addition to the Pro Bowl last season, Randy Starks is coming off of a career-year and really excelled moving from a 3-4 defensive end to a 4-3 defensive tackle. In the first season under defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle, Starks was one of the Dolphins' biggest play-makers. And with his 305-pound frame, literally.

While helping Soliai clog the middle for much of the season, Starks was also third on the team with 4.5 sacks and was the only player not a defensive back to record an interception.

Like Soliai over the past three seasons, Starks has also managed to stay healthy, which is a great sign for Miami's defensive interior. Since joining the Dolphins in 2008, Starks has not missed a single game. He's also recorded at least three sacks in each of his five seasons with Miami.

While there will be a number of concerns for the Dolphins' defense heading into 2013, the defensive front should not be one of them. The interior combination of Soliai and Starks has been durable and strong in the middle while anchoring a run defense that spent much of the season near the top of the NFL. In 16 games last season, only twice did Miami allow a 100-yard rusher and for the Dolphins to make a playoff push, that will need to continue to hold true. But with Soliai and Starks in the middle, there is no reason that it shouldn't.

Mike Ferguson is a staff writer at Dolphin Shout and the founder and editor of Outside the Redzone. Like Outside the Redzone on Facebook!

15 Most Important Dolphins for 2013: #11 Philip Wheeler

The first free agent acquisition to make the list, Philip Wheeler, joins the Miami Dolphins after four years in Indianapolis and one in Oakland. Wheeler will team up with Koa Misi and Dannell Ellerbee, another offseason acquisition, to form the linebacking corps in Miami's 4-3 defense in 2013.

Philip Wheeler joins Miami after recording 108 tackles last season. (Photo: Miami Herald)

With the exception of Jason Trusnik, who has been little used as a linebacker during his career, Wheeler is the most experienced linebacker on the Miami roster and brings more than 100 combined tackles with him from Oakland.

Wheeler and Ellerbee will be tasked with replacing Karlos Dansby and Kevin Burnett, who left this offseason. While Dansby and Burnett were solid with the Dolphins and each combined for more than 100 tackles a season ago, they lack the play-making ability that Wheeler can bring.

Wheeler, at just 240 pounds, possesses excellent speed for a linebacker and led a porous Oakland defense with 108 tackles a season ago. While Burnett and Dansby combined for just three and a half sacks and one forced fumble a year ago with Miami, Wheeler had three sacks and two forced fumbles with the Raiders last season.

Wheeler has also been the epitome of durability. In his five seasons in the NFL, Wheeler has played in all 16 games four times and has missed just three games for his entire career. Wheeler does not have an interception in his five-year career and his contributions in pass defense will need to improve, but Wheeler can move and should be able to have a career-year in Kevin Coyle's defense.

Wheeler's experience playing on a contending team could also prove invaluable for a Miami team looking to move to the next level. In his four years with Indianapolis, Wheeler was on three playoff teams and played in Super Bowl XLIV against the New Orleans Saints. While he wasn't the most intricate part of those Colts teams, having the experience at a critical defensive position can only be seen as a positive.

While the Miami Dolphins are losing their top two tacklers from a year ago, Wheeler should help fill that void for what could be Miami's weakest position on defense. While Wheeler may not be as consistent a tackler as either Dansby or Burnett, he is a better pass-rusher and had more forced fumbles a year ago than both combined. With a defense that was near the top of the league against the run last season and with a Pro Bowl caliber safety in Reshad Jones at the back end, the linebacker position will be critical for Miami. If Philip Wheeler can have a third straight career-year, the Dolphins should manage to be just fine in a division that, with the exception of New England, lacks offense.

Mike Ferguson is a staff writer at Dolphin Shout and the founder and editor of Outside the Redzone. Like Outside the Redzone on Facebook!

15 Most Important Dolphins for 2013: #12 Marcus Thigpen

While he played virtually none on either offense or defense, the Miami Dolphins had a real weapon last season in returner Marcus Thigpen. Thigpen scored the first touchdown of 2012 for Miami, a 72-yard punt return against the Houston Texans in the season opener. Thigpen has made an effort this offseason to work himself into the rotation on offense, but whether he spends much time in the huddle or not, Thigpen remains a play-maker for Miami and will be one of the more important Dolphins in 2013.

Marcus Thigpen became the first Dolphin ever to return a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same season in 2012. (Photo: Sun Sentinel)

Last season, Thigpen ranked fifth in the NFL in kickoff return average and fourth when it came to punt return average. Thigpen was one of only five players in the league last season to return both a kickoff and a punt for a score, while becoming the first Miami Dolphin ever to do both in the same season.

While his touches were limited and may be so again in 2013, Thigpen is one of the few guys on the Miami roster with the ability to take it to the end zone every time he touches the ball.

Undrafted out of Indiana, Thigpen finally made his NFL regular season debut last season. Thigpen spent some time in the CFL, but his perseverance to finally land himself a spot on a regular season roster after being waived by both Philadelphia and Denver earlier in his career says something about him.

Thigpen had just one carry and one reception last year for the Dolphins, so anything Miami gets offensively out of him will be a bonus. But, his abilities in the kicking game really make Thigpen a game-changer and that was quite evident last season.

Despite being limited to just a return role, only Reggie Bush, Daniel Thomas and Anthony Fasano scored more touchdowns than Thigpen last year for Miami. And though he's tied with Ryan Tannehill, Jorvorskie Lane and Charles Clay, Thigpen is Miami's second leading returning touchdown scorer from a season ago.

With the exception of Ted Ginn Jr., the Miami Dolphins have traditionally lacked a game-breaker on special teams, but not anymore. Before Thigpen's 96-yard kickoff return for a score against Buffalo in November, no Miami Dolphin had returned a kickoff for a touchdown since Ginn in 2009. For some years, 2010 comes to mind, the Dolphins were downright dreadful in the kicking game, but thanks largely to Thigpen, those days seem long gone.

If Thigpen can find a role on Miami's offense, he could, without a doubt, be just as dangerous as in the kicking game, but either way, Thigpen is one of the more explosive Miami Dolphins and could really help decide a few contests in 2013. Not only should Thigpen be one of the more important Dolphins for 2013, he has a very good chance to be Miami's best kick returner ever.

Mike Ferguson is a staff writer at Dolphin Shout and the founder and editor of Outside the Redzone. Like Outside the Redzone on Facebook!