Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel needs more offensive production.
Getty
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel needs more offensive production.
It’s the slow time of the NFL calendar year so we’ll have to get excited about things like offseason projections. The Miami Dolphins ranked No. 10 on a recent ESPN list ranking each NFL team based on their wide receivers, running backs and tight ends, which are judged collectively.
In 2023, they were No. 8 on this list and last year they came it as No. 3. However, things have changed obviously and they might even be lucky to be where they are for 2025.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise to see the Dolphins fall down these rankings, as just about everybody who stood out for them in 2023 disappointed last season,” writes Bill Barnwell.
“Tyreek Hill, coming off one of the best wide receiver seasons ever, saw his cumulative receiving yardage total fall from 1,799 to 959. While he was bothered by a wrist injury, the devastatingly explosive wideout didn’t have a single reception of more than 30 yards after a touchdown in the opening-week win over the Jags. It seems foolish to write him off after so many years with significant production, but perhaps the 31-year-old is finally slowing down.”
That’s possible, but let’s not forget he was really close to racing an Olympic sprint champion about a month ago. He can’t be slowing down that much.
The running game lacked explosion
Barnwell mentions that Hill had an extremely disappointing season, marred by injuries and a lack of big plays. But, he wasn’t the only one that didn’t produce those chunk plays. The running backs didn’t get it done either.
“The big plays were also missing from the running game, where De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert went from seven runs of more than 30 yards to just three, all of which came from Achane,” Barnwell continues. “Miami’s backs went from ranking first in rushing yards over expectation (RYOE) in 2023 to 32nd, reversing the climb they accomplished between 2022 and 2023. Mostert is gone now, and while Achane was a far more productive back with Tua Tagovailoa in the lineup, these are supposed to be quarterback-independent rankings.”
Achane had a pretty decent year in 2024 despite all of the injuries at quarterback and general lack of production from the whole offensive unit. He had 907 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, while catching a whopping 78 passes for 592 yards and another six TDs through the air. They’ll definitely need that to continue in his third NFL season.
Waddle struggled and now they don’t have a tight end
Last offseason, the Dolphins signed Jaylen Waddle to a three-year, $84.75 million contract extension. He did not remotely produce the kind of season that comes with a deal like that.
“Wideout Jaylen Waddle‘s numbers fell off by more than 250 receiving yards for the second consecutive campaign, and after averaging a league-high 18.1 yards per catch in 2022, he was down to 12.8 YPC a year ago,” Barnwell concludes. “Miami’s lone season to exceed expectations came from tight end Jonnu Smith, but the Dolphins traded Smith to the Steelers (after a contract dispute) and replaced him with the unretired Darren Waller, whose last healthy, significant season came in 2020. This is a wildly exciting group of playmakers when Tagovailoa is healthy and coach Mike McDaniel is in his bag, but last season showed how underwhelming these players can be when the conditions aren’t right.”
It does seem to be an offense in an incubator, but there is still too much talent to completely go in the toilet. As always, the Dolphins will live or die with the health of Tagovailoa. No one can really handle the loss of a starting quarterback, but it seems to hit the Dolphins especially hard.