It is very obvious that the Miami Dolphins need to fix their offense after being one of the worst scoring teams in the league last year.
The most frustrating part about last year's offense was that they had a lot of playmakers. Say what you want, but Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams didn't just go from being one of the best running back tandems in the NFL to an average at-best tandem because they weren't playmakers. They were still playmakers last year, they just weren't utilized correctly.
The same goes for Miami receivers. Brandon Marshall doesn't just go from scoring ten touchdowns in a year with the Broncos to three the next year with Miami because he isn't a playmaker. He did it because the Dolphins underutilized their playmakers.
There were a few reasons Miami wasn't able to use their playmakers well enough, and the biggest of those were Offensive Coordinator Dan Henning, Quarterback Chad Henne, and the overall play of the offensive line.
But, you guys already know all of that. We all know that the Dolphins need to focus the majority of their attention on offense.
What we don't talk about much, though, is how much they should focus on defense, and particularly during the draft. Miami's defense last year was superb, and Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan needs to be commended for his efforts. He turned a very bad defense into a great one in just a year, and he did it with a lot of very young players.
I think we can all agree that the Dolphins shouldn't draft a defensive player in the first round. No position on Miami's defense is lacking enough to warrant drafting a prospect from that position 15th overall. This discussion is about later rounds and what positions the Dolphins should consider adding to.
There are only two positions that I can think of that are questionable enough to warrant a defensive player being drafted, and those two are OLB and MLB/ILB. Both positions aren't weak by any standard, but they could each use some more depth.
The Dolphins are obviously set at OLB on one side with Cameron Wake. Wake is a beast, and there aren't many other linebackers in the NFL better than him. The other side could be cause for some concern. Koa Misi is the current starter, and I think he will be a great starter for the Dolpins for many years. The only problem is the depth behind him. Ikaika Alama-Francis is alright, but what would be ideal is to get another player to compete with both Misi and Alama-Francis. Both players are very young, and it is important to keep pushing them so they can improve. Adding another OLB to compete with them would do just that.
As for an inside linebacker, Karlos Dansby is obviously safe, but Channing Crowder might not be. Crowder is questionable at times, and he could use some competition for his starting spot. I don't expect Miami to try and draft in ILB, but it is possible if they see someone who could potentially replace Crowder.
If I had to guess, I would say the Dolphins probably only take one defensive player in the draft with a late pick, and that position will probably be an outside linebacker. It is always possible that Miami picks a prospect in a defensive position other than LB if they really like that prospect, but it isn't likely given what they need to fix on offense.
I have to say that it is hard finding any holes in Miami's defense, which is a testament to the Dolphins ability to draft well last year and Mike Nolan's ability to train his players. Nolan really put together a great group of defenders, and it showed.
Hopefully they will be able to use those drafting skills on offense this year. I would like to see the Miami Dolphins playmakers actually making plays instead of watching Dan Carpenter kick the ball.
Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think with a comment.
