Dan Marino retired 14 years ago, and the Miami Dolphins have never been the same. Since 2000, the Dolphins have made the playoffs only three times, and two of those occasions were in 2000 and 2001. Since then, there's been a few good, but unlucky, seasons (10-6 in 2003, 2nd place in AFC East, didn't make the playoffs) and a few awful seasons (2007, where they finished 1-15 and came very close to going 0-16.) They've gone through a myriad of quarterbacks, and while they've had their fair share of talented offensive talents, they haven't yet had the proper combination of a good quarterback and a good attacking corps.
Last season, the first under then new Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, was a disappointing one, albeit with a few bright spots. Rookie QB Ryan Tannehill, the Dolphins' first draft pick last season, provided a glimpse of hope at times, but also put in some truly terrible performances in some games. Still, Tannehill is the team's QB for now, and it's only the best of quarterbacks who can dominate in their rookie season.
With the QB situation finally stable, the Dolphins made some good off-season moves this year to provide Tannehill with some more offensive support. Indeed, along with the offensive line, perhaps the Dolphins' biggest need is improving their offense. They ranked 27th in the league for yards per game and points per game last season, but they have since bolstered their attack by signing ex-Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace will join Brian Hartline, who had a breakout season last year as Tannehill's main targets.
Now, what about the draft? We see that the Dolphins have addressed some needs in costless agency, they have also suffered some losses. For example, Reggie Bush signed the with Lions and, more importantly, there is the loss of offensive tackle and former overall number one pick Jake Long, who signed with the Rams. This brings us to their biggest need for the draft: the offensive line.
There are some very talented tackles in the draft this year, but seeing as how the Dolphins are picking at 12th overall, they will likely have to trade up to pick one of the premier tackles. Recently, ESPN has reported that the Dolphins are trying to trade their second round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for left tackle Branden Albert, a move which would costless up the Dolphins to fulfill a different need with their first round pick.
There's also been talk (all hypothetical) of the Dolphins trading up, in order for them to secure an OT like Lane Johnson from Oklahom, one of the top prospects of this year's draft class. Now, I can't see Johnson styaing unpicked through the 12th pick, especially when teams like Eagles, Browns, and the Lions, who all need an OT, pick before the Dolphins.
One player who might be available when the Dolphins make their first pick is Menelik Watson. Watson, who played for Florida State, has tremendous athletic ability, but his skills are very raw, and this rawness could pose a problem in the NFL, where his lack of technique could lead to Watson getting in trouble with the referees, and thus costing the Dolphins offense yardage and (in the long run) points.
Another Florida State player, Xavier Rhodes, is another potential choice for the Dolphins. Rhodes, a CB, will probably be available by the time the Dolphins pick, and the secondary is their second biggest need behind the offensive tackle situation. Like his Seminole teammate Watson, Rhodes is an amazing physical specimen, but Rhodes is a bit more formed as a player than Watson is. Rhodes has his problems too, mostly in terms of consistency, but in my opinion he's a safer bet at CB than Watson is at OT.
The Dolphins could also select a tight end, as their replacement for Anthony Fasano was ex-Jets TE Dustin Keller. Keller is a good attacking tight end, but he's not a great blocker when it comes to the pass rush, so look for the Dolphins to select a tight end at some point. However, I think this is not nearly as important as the CB or OT spot, so the Dolphins will probably wait until the later rounds to pick a tight end.
The Dolphins have a way to go until they become a consistent, credible playoff threat, but with a good draft class this year they can greatly improve their squad and fill some holes made by costless agent departures. Losing Jake Long hurts, and as a young quarterback it's imperative that Ryan Tannehill stay protected from the pass rush, but there are several promising prospects in the OT department and the Dolphins have options there. However, a bad draft class could prolong the Dolphins' stay in football purgatory.