Finsmob Unleashed

If you’re old enough to know to who is in the picture above, you’re old enough to have experienced some good Miami Dolphins teams. Not necessarily Super Bowl Champs, but the Dolphins were legit contenders. Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel are assembling a group of pretenders. I’ll give them one bit of credit here, they haven’t yet restructured the contracts of QB Tua Tagovailoa or WR Tyreek Hill, so they have shown some restraint, at least so far. I’m going to go over every player we signed and understandably with little money to play with, we got players who don’t earn big contracts. Translation of that is we got players that if they were starters, they weren’t good ones, but in many cases, we got part time starters, and now in some cases, we might be relying on them to be more. I’m going to touch on the biggest head scratcher as far as I’m concerned.

QB Zach Wilson – 6’2 214 – 25 YO – 1YR/$6M

QB Tua Tagovailoa if he plays to win, and not just to get through a game, or the season, is going to get injured. Last season, Grier and McDaniel should have got fired for the most absurd way they handled the backup QB situation, considering we have a “Crystal Chandelier” for a QB. Grier and Mike McDaniel felt completely comfortable with 3rd year QB Skylar Thompson, who had 2 game starts under his belt in 2 seasons. Now granted, they see players in camp, and see the way they play and we don’t, but they had to realize that the 2023 season for Tua Tagovailoa was the fluke, the outlier, and that he was likely going to miss time with injuries. Here’s the thing, if they saw something in Zach Wilson that they liked, give him a 2 or 3 year deal so you can have an opportunity to develop whatever it is you think you saw, but a 1 year contract makes zero sense. If we were truly looking for a QB who can step in win, surely it’s not Zach Wilson who didn’t play a damn snap last season and was the THIRD STRING QB BEHIND JARRET STIDHAM!!! It’s not the money either here, because we paid Wilson $6M this season, but why??? If it was investment in a player we wanted to develop, then as I said, sign him to a 2 or 3 year contract, but if you really think he’s the best candidate to keep this team afloat when Tua gets hurt, YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS! QB’s Marcus Mariota, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Carson Wentz, all would have been better choices, especially if it was just one season we were looking for.

OG James Daniels – 6’4 327 – 27 YO – 3YR/$24M

I really like James Daniels, nice solid starter. Potential problem though is he’s coming off of a major injury he incurred last season for the Steelers, September 30th. Granted, it’s been some time now, and we saw freak athlete Jaelan Phillips come back quickly from his achilles, but in the trenches, all you do is push off and use your legs, every single play, so will James Daniels be up to starting immediately and handle the majority of the snaps? Time will tell. Love the player, don’t like the circumstances for our particular situation, where we need him to be great now.

LB Tyrel Dodson – 6’0 237 – 26 YO – 2 YR/$8.25M

Dodson played very well for our Dolphins last season coming over mid season after being released by the Seattle Seahawks. He had 3 INT’s for us in 9 games, which is more than our entire secondary. He fits nicely inside next to Jordyn Brooks, and this is one signing I was quite pleased with. The money was good, and for a change, it wasn’t a one year contract. This is what I keep stressing to you folks though, this team is put together with spit and gum. So many one year contracts, just so we can pay WR Tyreek Hill, DB Jalen Ramsey, and QB Tua Tagovailoa. Hate to say it, but that core isn’t going to win you anything!

WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine – 6’2 211 – 28 YO – 2 YR/$6.5M

Once again, I like the signing, and yes, I’m happy it’s a 2 year deal. We need a bigger bodied WR to balance out the the lack of size in our WR corps, (Hill 5’10 190), (Waddle 5’10 185), (Malik Washington 5’9 181), and (Tahj Washington 5’10 174). Of course TE Jonnu Smith played a lot like a WR, but you’d have to think Jonnu is going to get a lot more attention this season, so having another big will help. Westbrook-Ikhine averaged a heady 15.5 YPR last season on 32 catches for 497 yards and an impressive 9 TD’s. More than 1/4 of his receptions ended up in the end zone.

S Ifeatu Melifonwu – 6’3 210 – 26 YO – 1 YR/$3M

This one is likely a depth signing. Melifonwu started only 3 games last season, and 14 starts in his 4 year career with the Lions. He began as a CB, but shifted to safety in his second season. I suppose he could be depth at both spots, considering how tenuous both positions are for this team are right now. I would absolutely expect an early draft pick used on a safety, but hopefully not our first. Again, a 1 year contract on a team riddled with them. Nothing like needing 25-35 new people on your team every season.

OT Larry Borom – 6’5 333 – 26 YO – 1YR/$2.5M

Hopefully this is another depth signing. In 4 seasons with the Chicago Bears, Borom started 26, including just 4 last season. He doesn’t look like starting material, but every team needs depth players, and boy have we dipped into that pool on the O-line heavily the last few seasons. LT Terron Armstead’s return is still up in the air, and even if he comes back, I strongly hope LT Patrick Paul is the starting LT all season long and he plays like a competent starting NFL LT. Austin Jackson is hopefully the bookend for Paul, and Borom is just his backup.

S Ashtyn Davis – 6’1 202 – 28 YO – 1YR/$2.5M

Davis has been another part time starter in his 5 year career with the New York Jets. He somehow has 8 INT’s in 22 starts, so he’s around the football. I think he may given an opportunity to compete for a starting safety position, especially considering that the only other safeties on the roster are S Patrick McMorris who hasn’t started a game, and our other safety signing, Ifeatu Melifonwu. I wouldn’t be surprised if we draft 2 safeties in ’25. Guess what? Another 1 year signing. We have 11 picks in this draft, it seems like better hit on close to half of them if we ant to have a decent start for 2026.K.J. Britt

LB K.J. Britt – 6’0 235 – 25 YO – (Salary not yet published, probably $2M or less, 1 year deal)

K.J. Britt played 14 games and started 11 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s probably also a depth signing, and replaces Anthony Walker Jr. who played for us last season, and oddly enough will be suiting up for the Tampa Bay Bucs. As of this writing, his salary and contract length were not known.

RB Alexander Mattison – 5’11 220 – 26 YO – (Salary not yet published)

Nice signing, Mattison brings a little size to the RB room, and mostly a depth RB. Mattison has never eclipsed 500 yards in a season. He was behind RB Zamir White last season in Vegas, and before that, split time with as the lead back with Cam Akers in Minnesota in ’23, and as the backup to RB Dalvin Cook previous to that. With the departure of RB Raheem Mostert and also Jeff Wilson Jr., Mattison fits in nicely with Achane and Wright. I’d expect us to pick up a few RB’s after the draft as UDFA’s, and possibly draft one as well.

Besides the signings listed, the Dolphins re-signed a few players such as S/CB Elijah Campbell, OLB Quinton Bell, OT Jackson Carman and WR D’Wayne Eskridge. We also re-signed OL Liam Eichenberg, who was a big surprise, to me at least. Versatile, in that he plays nearly every position, but you just hope he doesn’t have to play any of them. I like his willingness to play through pain and his sacrifice of his body, but despite his numerous starts (52), you figured he couldn’t wait to play somewhere else. With the exception of Eskridge, no player re-signed was even $2M, so all minimal expenditures, and yes, you guessed it, one year deals. That’s the norm here, just find a bunch of players that fit into the salary cap, and take it from there. The draft is always important, but this draft for GM Chris Grier is really in the spotlight.

The draft is always important, but this draft for GM Chris Grier is really in the spotlight. This roster has some monstrous holes to fill. Are we going to rely on either of the safeties we signed, Melifonwu and Davis or do we need to find 2 starters there? We must find not just a starting LG, but a good one. We’ve been dealing with subpar OG play which at the very least gives some excuses to the Tua apologists. We need an OG to step in day one and provide better than average protection for QB Tua Tagovailoa, but also open up inside running lanes for RBs De’Von Achane, Jaylen Wright and Alexander Mattison. In addition, they have to knock back opposing defenses off their feet to allow this team to convert short yardage downs, especially 3rd and 4th down attempts, where this team has struggled miserably recently.

To continue with the importance of this draft, we almost certainly have to find a starting CB. Are we really going to trot CB Cam Smith or Storm Duck or Kader Kohou out there opposite Jalen Ramsey? I think not, and our secondary was abysmal last season with Kendall Fuller and his concussions, and the combo of Cam Smith, Kohou and Duck, along with safeties Jordan Poyer and the recently departed Jevon Holland. We need to improve the secondary significantly, Jalen Ramsey and Kader Kohou both had 2 INT’s, and that was it! We don’t know whether LT Terron Armstead is coming back, and in my opinion, even if he does, we need to have Patrick Paul starting games at LT as long as he’s healthy.Chiefs who has played in 40 games over 6 seasons but started zero, and Neil Farrel who was played in 19 games over 6 seasons and started zero. Not so sure Calais Campbell is coming back to save Chris Grier this season, so we must find a NT and a DE/DT that can start immediately. When I say this roster is empty, of course I’m exaggerating, but this article illustrates (hopefully) how desperate things are. Finding a better than average OG, at the least starting CB and possibly 2 safeties, and then more daunting, finding a starting nose tackle and DE/DT all in the draft, and then potentially after the draft after vets are cut and you pick up the scraps. That’s become the team “building” strategy for one Chris Grier, and I for one can’t stand it.

Last year we had 7 picks, and I’d say Chop Robinson looks like a potentially successful one. LT Patrick Paul less so, especially considering they’re still looking at bringing back Terron Armstead. If they knew Paul had the goods, that wouldn’t be the case. Jaylen Wright will probably get a lot more action this season, but he was scarcely used last season for whatever reason. WR Malik Washington looks like a potentially decent WR in the slot, and his proved his mettle as a return man. DE/OLB Mo Kamara and Patrick McMorris are question marks. In ’23, Ugh! Cam Smith still can’t find the field, Achane is great, Elijah Higgins and Ryan Hayes are gone. ’22 no better, although I believe we re-signed DE Cameron Goode, but he has played quite sparingly, and Channing Tindall, Skylar Thompson and WR Erik Ezukanma not good. We do have 10 picks, 7 of them in the top 155. While quantity is OK, I feel like this particular draft, if we’re going to be competitive this season needs quality over quantity. I feel like we have to find get a handful of quality starters. I don’t think we need to trade up, but I’m kind of against trading back. I’m 100% dead against using ANY future draft capital to get players for this season. They’ve shown restraint not touching Tua’s or Tyreeks’s contracts for restructures and I hope they continue to be responsible in this upcoming draft.

GO DOLPHINS!!!