The Dolphins’ offensive line was a mess last year, both on and off the field. This year the line has been overhauled, and Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill likes what he sees.
“It’s been great. You can tell it’s a talented group,” Tannehill told the Dolphins’ website.
The new talent in Miami includes free agent signings Branden Albert and Shelley Smith, first-round draft pick Ju’wuan James and third-round draft pick Billy Turner. The biggest question is whether those players can mesh quickly, especially with the leader of the line and only holdover from last year’s starting unit, center Mike Pouncey, out for training camp, the preseason and at least a few games of the regular season with a hip injury.
“You see Branden, who was a Pro Bowl player from last year,” Tannehill said. “We bring in Shelley Smith, draft Ja’Wuan James, Dallas Thomas is already here but had to transition from playing tackle last year over to guard. It’s been a learning process for those guys just getting comfortable playing as a unit, but if you look back from day one until now you can see them start to jell together, start to understand the calls, see the calls happen before they’re made, and when that happens it’s really a dangerous weapon to have to help in the run game and pass game.”
Tannehill sounds optimistic, but we at PFT expect the Dolphins to be one of the worst teams in the league this year.