The Miami Dolphins finished their 2021 campaign with a 9-8 record and missed the postseason for the fifth year in a row.
Since then, they’ve fired Brian Flores, hired Mike McDaniel/a mostly new coaching staff and added a number of impactful players that are expected to help Miami end that drought of playoff appearances.
With everything that has changed with this team, NBC Sports’ Peter King, like many of us, still has questions about the Dolphins. In his most recent power rankings, King put McDaniel’s team at No. 16 of the 32 teams.
Here’s his reasoning:
“‘They have the widest distribution of outcomes of any team in the league this year,’ said analytics-cruncher Eric Eager of PFF. Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Mike Gesicki are going to be hell for opposing defenses, and Tua Tagovailoa should be better-protected with Terron Armstead protecting his front side. But this will be a referendum season on Tagovailoa. Will his arm strength be good enough for deep shots to two great deep threats? New coach Mike McDaniel was great in San Francisco at divining the strengths of his players (see: Deebo Samuel). And he’ll figure out ways in the intermediate areas to get Hill and Waddle free to make trouble for defenses. The win for McDaniel will be making Tagovailoa the no-doubt quarterback for the near future in Miami, and in passing New England in division supremacy. Two lofty goals, but for a team that won eight of its last nine, attainable ones.”
No. 16 in his power rankings also puts the Dolphins ninth in the conference, meaning he expects them to just miss the postseason yet again. While all of his questions are certainly viable, the same could be said about some of the teams ahead of them.
Philadelphia came in at No. 9. They brought in A.J. Brown from Tennessee, and that will certainly help. However, is that much different than the situation the Dolphins have right now? A young, inconsistent quarterback, who played for Alabama, is looking for help from his shiny new toy at wideout. Sound familiar?
The 49ers at No. 10 could completely change if Deebo Samuel gets moved or if the team actually announces a starting quarterback.
New Orleans is another team, at No. 11, that’s interesting to see up that high. Jameis Winston is coming off of a torn ACL, and Michael Thomas hasn’t played in nearly two seasons. Are Jarvis Landry and Chris Olave really going to take that offense to the next level? Maybe, but again, like Miami, there are questions.
Tennessee was ranked at No. 12. This is the same team that have lost their top two wide receivers this offseason and are banking on Robert Woods (coming off of a torn ACL) and Treylon Burks (a rookie) to make up that production. Those are lofty goals that may not be met, especially considering Derrick Henry is also coming off of a Jones fracture.
Miami seems like they should be a little higher on the list, but there aren’t a ton of gripes. If anything, the Dolphins should feel motivated by this. Analysts think they’re the ninth-best team in the conference. Now, they have to go out and prove them wrong.
