NFL Today Analyst Nate Burleson: 'I Really Like What Miami Did'
(CBSMiami)- The Miami Dolphins have had a busy offseason. They were one of the most active players in the free agency market, signing 10 players away from other teams.
General manager Chris Grier followed that up by selecting another 11 players in last weekend's draft and using another draft pick to trade for San Francisco 49ers running back Matt Breida. All of that movement and theoretical improvement (we won't actually know about level of improvement until they take the field) has caught the eye of NFL Today analyst Nate Burleson.
Burleson, along with the rest of The NFL Today crew hopped on a Zoom session to discuss this offseason's winners and losers this week. The former wide receiver says he was impressed that the Dolphins decided to go with their gut, select Tua Tagovailoa and build their franchise around the hope that he is the QB of the future.
"Fitzpatrick is a great quarterback to learn from. And I think it's great that Tua takes care of the ball. He's an intellectual QB," said Burleson. "But he also is going to learn how to be a little risky at times, because that's what Fitzpatrick does. I can appreciate the fact that they shored up the offensive line as well. So you can tell they're building for the future."
In addition to Tagovailoa, the team selected three offensive linemen to protect him. USC tackle Austin Jackson, Louisiana-Lafayette guard/tackle Robert Hunt and Georgia guard Solomon Kindley. It was clear that a main goal was to protect their investment in Tua.
The praise for the Dolphins offseason didn't stop with what the team did in the NFL Draft however, Burleson pointed to the signing of Kyle Van Noy as a big key primarily because he expects Van Noy will teach the young locker room how to prepare like a champion following years in New England.
"Now they got a guy that can literally walk in that locker room and tell these young guys, this is how you prepare, this is how you set yourself up for a season, this is how you work on and off the field, his is how you make a run for a Super Bowl," said Burleson. "So I really like what Miami did. It's going to take some time for these building blocks to fall in place. So Miami number one on the list of teams that did well in the draft."
There is no doubt that the excitement level surrounding Brian Flores' squad has ratcheted up in the last month with all of the moves the organization has made. Now comes the difficult part. Translating that hype and excitement to on-field success.
