Mills helps Phins fill a hole… But Defensive End is still a question
Once Free Agent acquisitions no long affected the compensatory draft pick formula, the Phins made a quick move to sign Right Tackle Jordan Mills.
They filled one hole… but according to bookie website software, another appears wide open.
Most Phins fans wanted Chris Grier to be frugal in the 1st phase of Free Agency. The Dolphins proved wise to not add players in the 1st round of Free Agency because now they are poised to receive two compensatory draft picks in the 2020 Draft. Early indications are they’ll get a 3rd for James and a 5th for Wake. This gives Miami 12 draft picks to use in the next draft.
The downside to this approach is they appear to have some weak spots in both depth and starting talent.
In this second phase of Free Agency, it was assumed Miami would add a couple of free agents to continue to bolster their roster.
Nope… not yet at least.
So let’s focus on Tackle Jordan Mills, who was waived by the Buffalo Bills.
The best thing that can be said about Mills in the 6 NFL seasons is he has started in 82 games and all 16 games for the past three seasons. Mills is a seasoned vet and still young, but he has warts.
Over the past three seasons he has been penalized for holding 9 times, and 8 false starts. You’d like more discipline, but it’s not terrible in the least. The biggest knock on him is his inconsistency, especially in the run game. Clearly, he was a free agent for a reason. But considering the Dolphins are thin at Right Tackle, Mills is an improvement over Zach Sterup. His acquisition also allows Jesse Davis to stay at Right Guard.
So, the good news is that Miami added a ‘potential’ starter at best or quality back up at worst on the offensive line.
However, why has Miami still not added more depth at Defensive End?
The Dolphins didn’t have a great pass rush last season with only 31 sacks during the season. This had the ranked 29th in the league. Last I checked, this isn’t good.
The Dolphins responded to this by moving on from Wake and Quinn, who both led the Dolphins in sacks last season. The two players produced 40% of the Dolphins sacks last year. The belief was Miami would add at least 1 DE during the draft. However, that was not the case. Maybe 5th round pick Andrew Van Ginkel will be used in the DE rotation? For now, he’s listed as an Outside Linebacker.
It would be nice to see the Dolphins add one more body at Defensive End. However, the main concern is there isn’t much talent left available at that position. At this point, whatever is left is unsigned for a good reason.
The theory is that Flores’ scheme will work around this.
There’s one player to keep an eye on in Nick Perry the former Green Bay Packer that has played DE and OLB. His best season was in 2016 when he racked up 11 sacks… but he is a long way from that level of performance. Perry has struggled with injuries and only played 9 games in 2018 and only had 1.5 sacks.
It has been reported by the Miami Herald that the Dolphins may have interest in Perry. Considering we have a bunch of nobodies at the DE position, would it help the situation to add Perry on a short term prove it contract? Or would he suck a roster spot of a developmental player and end up going down?
What are the rest of the Dolphins thoughts about what Miami can do to help improve the DE position?