Dolphins Friday Mailbag: Ross, Achane, Cam Smith, and More

Part 1 of a pre-NFL league meeting Miami Dolphins On SI mailbag:

From Thee Dolphins Dum Dum:

What free agent currently available (not contemplating retirement) would have the biggest impact on the Dolphins in 2025, if he were signed today?

Hey Dana, yes, Calais Campbell would be great. Since your question say to exclude him (that is who you meant, right?) … I’ll go with either Stephon Gilmore or Rasul Douglas to line up at cornerback opposite Jalen Ramsey. Those are two high-end veterans who shouldn’t break the bank.

From FinsNJ:

Does a mid-season McDaniel firing mean Grier is out also?

Let me start by saying, I would take a catastrophic start for the Dolphins to make a move away from Mike McDaniel during the season. And if that were to happen, teams just don’t (usually) change GMs in the middle of a season, so even with your hypothetical I never would expect a full housecleaning during a season.

From Scott F Kenward:

Your pick for a mid-to-late round QB?

Hey Scott, so if we start at “mid,” then eliminates a few QBs like Ward, Sanders, Dart, Milroe, maybe Ewers, maybe McCord. The one player who’s intriguing to me is Tyler Shough from Louisville, but he also might be gone before the mid-rounds. Milroe is very intriguing to me, but I see him gone by Round 2, 3 at the latest. I also don’t see a Joe Milton this year, and that was a guy I really liked because of his freakish natural gifts (worth a shot in the later round despite his shortcomings).

From Greenview Construction:

CB or DT at 13?

I will always preface my answers to these kind of questions by saying this is assuming that the prospects available at each position are equal or very similar in readiness and potential ceiling. Having gotten that out of the way, I think corner is a more premium position, so that would be my choice there, though the need right now is greater at DT because the Dolphins simply don’t have numbers there right now.

From Jason Kirkland:

Hi Alain, I get that Miami is being frugal with their signings. Being frugal, most of the time, means signing guys that are average. These aren't going to improve on last season's average team. To me, it's another excuse for the Management of Mediocrity to return. Thoughts?

Hey Jason, ouch, that is a harsh assessment! I’m also not sure it’s totally out of bounds. What I think the Dolphins have done is flush out the roster with depth players, but the overriding philosophy seemingly is hoping that the front-line players stay healthy this time and the team can go back to being closer to the 11-6 group of 2023 than the one that crumbled last season. Is it a dangerous approach, if that’s indeed the game plan? Without question. I’d also say the Dolphins were frugal while hoping some gambles pay off, such as James Daniels coming back to who he was before the Achilles tear, Ifeatu Melifonwu proving he’s starter material, Zach Wilson being coached to live up to his draft status, etc.

From Jayco:

At 85 years old, does Stephen Ross have another hard reset in him?

Hey Jayco, I think he would like to avoid it (almost) at all cost but he also wants to have NFL success to match his real estate and Hard Rock Stadium success. So I do believe he’d accept having to go through a hard reset if he had a conviction things weren’t going to get better with the current group. We clearly weren’t there yet after the 2024 disappointment.

From WesleyNickelson:

Is Cam Smith officially a bust?

Hey Wesley, not yet, but we’re unfortunately on that highway. Smith simply hasn’t been on the field enough to call him a bust yet, but this is a crossroads year where he has to show significant strides, and that means off the field as well.

From Bob:

Hi, are the players who didn’t show up to meetings, late, etc. still on the team?

Hey Bob, that’s a tough question to answer because we don’t know for sure who the culprits were, though it’s clearly been suggested (in many places) that Tyreek Hill was one of them. And he’s still on the team. What I can tell you is from personal observation is that Hill and Jalen Ramsey always walked onto the field after all of their teammates (usually after stretching) at practice.

From Devin Cooper:

Can Dolphins run game be a strength with Achane being a lead back that lacks power or is it better for him to be a 15 touches a game guy with a bigger back sharing the workload?

Hey Devin, if it were up to me (which is not happening), I like your second option. I think Achane absolutely would be a killer in a change-of-pace role where he gets 15 carries a game. It’s sort of what the Dolphins did in 2023 with him and Raheem Mostert when he had so much success, but for a couple of reasons he became the focal point of the offense last season. And I’m not sure that serves the Dolphins best. So maybe there’s a move this year to get Jaylen Wright more involved.

From Samuel Lamphere:

Hi Alain, do you see the Fins having three QBs on the 53-man roster, Huntley to the practice squad or pick up a QB in 7th round and release Huntley? I heard that the Fins don't want to invest in a QB in the 4th or 5th round because the coaches will be too busy training Wilson.

Hey Samuel, first off, the Dolphins don’t have to release Huntley if they don’t want him because he’s currently a free agent. The Dolphins absolutely will go with at least three QBs in training camp and very well might keep three on the 53-man roster after what happened last season. My guess is the third one would be a veteran like Huntley willing to accept that No. 3 role or a mid-to-late-round draft pick.

From Jeff:

Hello Alain, given everything that you know right now with the roster as it currently is, which round in the 2024 draft do you do a mulligan on and what position do you fill it with? Have you heard any rumblings that the Dolphins will do anything special for Marino this season? (His dedication to the team after 25 years of being retired from playing.) Thank you as always for what you do.

Hey Jeff, thank you and let me start with the last question first: No, I have not heard of any plans regarding Marino and celebrating the 25th anniversary of his retirement (nor would I expect anything, to be honest, considering they honored him big time after he retired). As for a mulligan, that’s an easy one for me. I would have skipped OLB Mohamed Kamara in the fifth round and taken a flyer on QB Joe Milton III simply because of his insane size, mobility and arm strength. I said this at the time and I’ve said it before, so it’s not like I’m playing the results because he looked so good in his one appearance at the end of the 2024 season (admittedly against the Buffalo backups). He was the kind of backup that merited taking a shot. Don’t forget that the Patriots took him even though they had selected Drake Maye with the third overall pick.

From mark berger:

How badly is Ross wanting to win or is he OK with mediocrity?

Hey Mark, Ross is most definitely not OK with mediocrity. That’s a silly suggestion, to be honest.

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