QB is set, but more than one position on the 2017 Dolphins is up for grabs.
Miami needs some rookies to step up and take a veteran’s position
The Miami Dolphins OTA’s are underway, which means position battles have begun.
There are some positions that aren’t going to be a battle at all, such as QB, LT.
But Miami spent a lot of money and time adding depth and competition to their roster, so there’s also quite a few positions that the starting position is totally up for grabs: OG, CB, DT, LB, and S.
These OTA’s will be our first chance to get a sneak peek at which players will rise to the competition–hopefully, there will be a few with bite.
NFL odds provided by the best pay per head review sites are on the Guard and Cornerback position being the two most hotly contested position battles throughout camp. Both of these positions have an influx of players competing for starting positions… and competition fosters performance, so it’ll be exciting to see which players end up earning the starting roles.
At Guard, the Dolphins have Jermon Bushrod and Ted Larsen penciled in as the starters. However, nothing is guaranteed, and there are quite a few other players that will have their chance to earn a shot at starting. Rookie Isaac Asiata along with veterans Anthony Steen and Kraig Urbik all have the potential to push their way up the depth chart.
The most intriguing of these players is Asiata, who was recently drafted by Miami in the fifth round after a slide in the draft. If Asiata can fix some technical issues and pick up the offensive blocking scheme quickly, then he may have a real possibility of bypassing Bushrod or Larsen for one of the starting guard positions.
Good depth puts Miami in a position of strength when it comes to injuries
The other position that appears up for grabs and is loaded with possible starters is Cornerback. Even though the Dolphins were hit with the injury bug last year at CB, this unit still played relatively well. As of now, the penciled-in starters are Byron Maxwell and Xavien Howard. Both players missed games due to injury last year, so the first thing to see will be how healthy they are. Even if they are 100% healthy they are still going to be pushed by Tony Lippett, Bobby McCain, and rookie Cordrea Tankersley.
Lippett filled in nicely last year and showed a lot of growth, so it will be interesting to see if he continues to show improvement. Considering that he made a position change from wide receiver to cornerback when he got to the NFL, it appears that he may just be scratching the surface of his potential.
The other player that I am very keen on seeing is Tankersley, who was a stud for Clemson the last two years and proved to be a true ball hawk with 9 interceptions during that time. Considering that Miami has Maxwell scheduled to make $10 million in 2018, but with no dead cap hit, if they choose not to keep him, it will be interesting to see if Tankersley can truly develop into Maxwell’s potential replacement.
Ultimately, I see a lot of battling for 3rd and 4th string, but only Asiata looks to actually take a starting position–an interesting side note is he has also played at Center… hmmm. Well, I’m sure there will be other surprise players–at least we hope so. What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins’ thoughts about these two position battles and any others that you may be especially interested in seeing develop?
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