CBS Sports Analyst Charles Davis Likes What Dolphins Did In Offseason: 'They're Trying To Build'
(CBS Miami)- The Miami Dolphins were one of the league's busiest teams this offseason. After a year in which they went 5-11 under first year head coach Brian Flores, general manager Chris Grier got to work using the team's mountain of cap space and war chest of draft assets to upgrade the roster.
Eleven free agents were brought in including big names like cornerback Byron Jones, linebacker Kyle Van Noy, defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Emmanuel Ogbah, and running back Jordan Howard. Then there was the draft, where they got the quarterback it was presumed they wanted prior to the season (Tua Tagovailoa) and used the rest of their draft capital to build an offensive line to protect him.
All of these moves impressed NFL On CBS analyst Charles Davis, who pegged them as one of two teams that immediately came to mind when discussing who had the best offseason.
"There was a lot of speculation last season about what the Dolphins were doing and what they weren't doing. The "Tank for Tua" thing that became popular was never something that was within the walls of their facility in Davie. It was proven out by how they finished the season," said Davis. "You had a lot of Dolphins fans holding their heads going, "we're winning games, what are we doing?' And, as it turned out, they got the same guy that people talked about in the speculation all the way through. They got him at number five. And Brian Flores was able to put in his system and how he wanted to conduct business, and I thought that team responded quite well."
The team finished the season winning three of their last five games and going 5-4 in the back half of the year, showing clear improvement after an 0-7 start. The reason they were still able to get Tagovailoa is because he was seen as having some risk due to injuries suffered at Alabama.
While Tagovailoa has rehabilitated well from the hip injury that ended his junior season, he had surgeries on both ankles (albeit more minor, "tightrope" procedures) and also suffered a broken wrist. That kind of injury history brings with it a certain amount of risk for a team selecting in the top five of the draft. But Davis says, while the pick was a risk, it was clear that it's one the Dolphins had to take.
"If you miss and let someone else take him, are you looking at the lefty Drew Brees that haunts your dreams seven years down the road," asked Davis. "That's what Chris Grier decided he wasn't going to have happen. He took the opportunity and then built around him in the draft. And then, of course, the pickups in free agency like Byron Jones, they're trying to build."
The good news is the team does have veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick under contract for 2020, allowing plenty of time for Tagovailoa to acclimate himself in what is a different offseason than expected. Pairing Fitzpatrick with new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey, who orchestrated the signal caller's career-best season with the Jets in 2015, appears to be a savvy move as well.
All told, the Dolphins offseason seems to have set the franchise moving in the right direction. How quickly it all comes together will be the story to watch in 2020.