Last season the Dolphins finished in last in their division at 5-11. To be honest with you though, If I were a Dolphins fan, I would be ecstatic with how the season went for what it was. They traded many players including star corner Minkah Fitzpatrick, Kenny Stills, Laremy Tunsil and Kenyon Drake resulting in 14 draft picks including three first rounders in the 2020 NFL Draft. Although the Dolphins didn't have the first overall pick, they got their franchise quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa. Tua does have an injury history so he does come with a risk, but clearly head coach, Brian Flores, and general manager, Chris Grier, think he's the guy. The Dolphins also had some big free agent signings such as Byron Jones, Kyle Van Noy, Shaq Lawson, and Jordan Howard. Although the Dolphins significantly improved, I don't think they are ready to compete with the NFL's best teams. Below is my regular season prediction for the Dolphins.
Week 1: @ New England Patriots - loss Week 2: vs. Buffalo Bills - loss Week 3: @ Jacksonville Jaguars - win Week 4: vs. Seattle Seahwaks - loss Week 5: @ San Francisco 49ers - loss
Week 6: @ Denver Broncos - loss Week 7: vs. Los Angeles Chargers - win Week 8: vs. Los Angeles Rams - loss Week 9: @ Arizona Cardinals - loss Week 10: vs. New York Jets - win Week 11: Bye Week Week 12: @ New York Jets - loss Week 13: vs. Cincinnati Bengals - loss Week 14: vs. Kansas City Chiefs - loss Week 15: vs. New England Patritos - win Week 16: @ Las Vegas Raiders - loss Week 17: @ Buffalo Bills - loss
I think the Dolphins have a very solid young core, but this will be a transition year for them. They will go 4-12 and get a very solid player in next year's draft to make them division contenders in 2021. This year, the two most exciting games are when Tua goes head to head with the two other top QBs in his class, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow. The Dolphins host Herbert and the Chargers in week seven. We don't know for sure if Herbert will have the starting job and that Tua is healthy but for the purpose of this blog, let's go with it. I see the Dolphins beating the Chargers by double digits in this game. After going 1-5, Tua has to prove to the Dolphins that he is better than the QB picked right behind him (Herbert) and that they didn't make a mistake. On the other hand, when the Dolphins host the Bengals and 2020 number one overall pick, Joe Burrow, the Dolphins will lose. Burrow and the Bengals fast paced offense will simply be too much for the Dolphins defense to keep up with. I think it will be very competitive but I got to take the Tiger King (Joe Burrow) in the first head to head, between Burrow and Tua, of hopefully many more to come.
*At the end of this series, once I have gone through every team, I will give my playoff predictions as well as season awards.*
Love the detail