What is Dolphins’ best group of five OL after Austin Jackson injury?
The Miami Dolphins’ offensive line is in the midst of experiencing its first shakeup of the 2020 season. For four games, Miami’s line was Jackson, Flowers, Karras, Kindley and Davis from left to right — a group that provided admirable improvements versus what the Dolphins were exposed to with offensive line play throughout the course of the 2019 rebuilding effort. But Austin Jackson had found himself on the injured reserve, marking the first change to Miami’s line this season.
His departure? It sounds indefinite based on the tone that Brian Flores brought to Miami’s press conference ahead of the team’s flight to San Francisco yesterday. So from here, how can the Dolphins make the most of the change? One of the points of emphasis for this group was identifying players who are capable of fulfilling several roles on the line. Will Miami put that positional flexibility to the test?
Or will it simply be the next man up at left tackle? Here are Miami’s options to craft the next best group of five lineman to take the field.
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Promote Davenport to start at left tackle
The Dolphins tapped into Julien Davenport on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks when Jackson had to come out of the football game. Would they do so again with the long-term change in mind? Davenport didn’t play noticeably bad against the Seahawks when he was on the field and with the Dolphins’ quick game passing, it may help protect him from the issues that had him ranked as one of the least efficient pass protectors in football last season.
The upside here? The rest of the line is uninterrupted.
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Kick Flowers outside from left guard and promote Deiter
It wasn’t that long ago that Ereck Flowers was drafted in the top-10 overall to play left tackle for the New York Giants. That option has less appeal now as we’ve seen what Flowers is capable of on the outside or, more specifically, what he isn’t capable of. The Dolphins could still feasibly kick Flowers to the perimeter and reinstall guard Michael Deiter, who started 15 games for the Dolphins as a rookie in 2019. This would allow the remaining line to the right of left guard to experience no interruptions and would allow Miami to replace their lost starter (Jackson) with a player in Deiter who has at least some experience on the interior.
This isn’t a great option but if Miami covets experience, it is an option.
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Flip Davis from right to left and promote Hunt
The most obvious long-term approach would be to take swing tackle Jesse Davis, take advantage of his flexibility and flip him from right tackle to left tackle and drop the most high-ceiling option into his previous spot at right tackle.
The Dolphins drafted Robert Hunt at No. 39 overall for a reason, they clearly saw something in him. And with just one rookie now starting on the line, Miami may be less apprehensive to get Hunt into the lineup. The added bonus here is that Hunt will gain playing experience that doesn’t just make him better in 2020, but it can be used as a springboard for the more competitive years that lie ahead for the Dolphins.
