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How improved is the Dolphins’ starting lineup versus 2019?

kyle crabbs
·4 min read

What a difference a year makes. The Miami Dolphins are now just two days away from the one-year anniversary of the team’s opening game of the 2019 season — a 59-10 defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. That Ravens game kickstarted so much of the angst and criticism against the Dolphins for their ambitious rebuilding efforts, but now that the team is on the other side of that painful year there’s little doubt Miami had a vision in mind.

You don’t need to look any further than just how much better this team’s starting lineup projects to be in 2020 versus that opening game against the Ravens. Let’s take a look at who returns as a starter and how much better off Miami is in each phase of the game.

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Offensive Skill Players

Here is the starting skill group versus the Baltimore Ravens on September 8, 2019:

QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick
RB: Kalen Ballage/Kenyan Drake
WR: DeVante Parker
WR: Preston Williams
WR: Albert Wilson
TE: Durham Smythe/Mike Gesicki

And the Dolphins’ projected starting skill group for Week 1 of 2020 versus the Patriots:

QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick
RB: Jordan Howard/Matt Breida
WR: DeVante Parker
WR: Preston Williams
WR: Jakeem Grant
TE: Mike Gesicki

This group is pretty much chalk. Newly acquired WR Lynn Bowden Jr. and fellow rookie Malcolm Perry loom as depth pieces early on this season but the Dolphins generally speaking did the least work on the skill group (aside, of course) of adding QB Tua Tagovailoa with a top-5 pick and addressing the running game. Miami’s backfield has more depth than it did a year ago and more persistent production than what Drake could produce.

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Offensive Line

Here is the starting offensive line versus the Baltimore Ravens on September 8, 2019:

LT: Julie’n Davenport
LG: Michael Deiter
C: Daniel Kilgore
RG: Danny Isidora
RT: Jesse Davis

And the Dolphins’ projected starting offensive line for Week 1 of 2020 versus the Patriots:

LT: Austin Jackson
LG: Ereck Flowers
C: Ted Karras
RG: Solomon Kindley
RT: Jesse Davis

Rookie Robert Hunt might have something to say about this, but Miami currently forecasts to have four new starters up front. And every single new starter is an upgrade over the incumbent from 2019. That isn’t to say Miami’s offensive line is currently set to be a strength — they need to prove that on the field. But there’s no questioning the talent is better.

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Defensive Line

Here is the starting defensive line versus the Baltimore Ravens on September 8, 2019:

DE: Charles Harris
DT: Christian Wilkins
DT: Davon Godchaux
DE: Jonathan Ledbetter

And the Dolphins’ projected starting defensive line for Week 1 of 2020 versus the Patriots:

DE: Shaq Lawson
DT: Christian Wilkins
DT: Davon Godchaux
DE: Emmanuel Ogbah

There’s more depth inside with the addition of rookie Raekwon Davis but the real win comes outside on the edge. Despite his former 1st-round pick status, Charles Harris was abysmal in all phases of the game. Lawson and Ogbah are both accomplished run defenders and effective power rushers to help collapse the pocket and close throwing windows.

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Linebackers

Here is the starting linebackers versus the Baltimore Ravens on September 8, 2019:

LB: Jerome Baker
LB: Raekwon McMillan
LB: Sam Eguavoen

And the Dolphins’ projected starting linebackers for Week 1 of 2020 versus the Patriots:

LB: Jerome Baker
LB: Kamu Grugier-Hill
LB: Kyle Van Noy

Versatility is the primary area of improvement here for Miami. Baker has gone from the team’s best coverage option to perhaps the worst coverage option out of Miami’s base three linebackers in just one year — and it is clear that this defense puts a big emphasis on pass coverage. There’s more speed and more explosiveness out of this group than what Miami had last year, too.

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Secondary

Here is the starting secondary versus the Baltimore Ravens on September 8, 2019:

CB: Xavien Howard
FS: Bobby McCain
SS: Minkah Fitzpatrick
CB: Eric Rowe

And the Dolphins’ projected starting secondary for Week 1 of 2020 versus the Patriots:

CB: Xavien Howard
FS: Bobby McCain
SS: Eric Rowe
CB: Byron Jones

Losing Minkah Fitzpatrick still stings. But if his presence was going to come at the cost of chemistry among the entire group, then so be it. The Dolphins boast an embarrassment of depth at cornerback, too — but adding Byron Jones to the mix gives Miami a high-end combination of man coverage options on the back end of their defense. This group is Brian Flores’ personal “Frankenstein’s monster”…seeing it come to life should be a lot of fun.

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Specialists

Here is the starting specialists versus the Baltimore Ravens on September 8, 2019:

K: Jason Sanders
P: Matt Haack
LS: Taybor Pepper

And the Dolphins’ projected starting specialists for Week 1 of 2020 versus the Patriots:

K: Jason Sanders
P: Matt Haack
LS: Blake Ferguson

There’s no big movements here that are going to change the forecast for Miami’s season. Ferguson, as a Day 3 selection, should be expected to lock down the long-snapping job for years to come.