Do the Dolphins Really Need to Take an Offensive Lineman Early in the 2022 NFL Draft?
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How many is too many?
It's a simple, but important, question when it comes to the Miami Dolphins and taking offensive linemen on one of the first two days of the NFL draft.
As you peruse through the countless mock drafts already filling up the Internet, you will see quite a good number of analysts projecting the Dolphins to take an offensive lineman with the 29th overall selection in the first round.
If they do go that route, or take an offensive lineman in any of the first three rounds, that would make it five O-linemen taken in Rounds 1-3 in four drafts.
Again, how many is too many?
The Super Bowl-winning offensive lines of the past five years
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, whose career resume includes scouting time with the Ravens, Browns and Eagles, touched on the philosophy of building an offensive during his pre-combine conference call and his words should resonate when it comes to the Dolphins.
"I think it was just a few years ago," Jeremiah explained, "when the Cowboys had the best offensive line in the league and it was all these first-round picks, and OK, you've got to dedicate all these resources and high-value picks to your offensive line, to now, hey, your offensive line is as good as your worst player, so you don't need five Tony Bosellis. You just can't have any tomato cans out there.
"And you can build that in the middle rounds. You can find really good offensive linemen in the second and third round. I went back and looked up the five last Super Bowl teams. If you go back and look up the last five Super Bowl teams, that's Super Bowl winning teams, that's 25 starting offensive linemen. Of the 25 starting offensive linemen, three of them were home-grown first-round picks; four of them were day two picks; seven were day three picks; one was an undrafted free agent; and 10 were veterans that were acquired in free agency or via trade. You can build an offensive line without using all your first-round picks to do it."
The number that jumps out in Jeremiah's stat is that only seven of the 25 starting offensive linemen for the past five Super Bowl champions were drafted in Rounds 1-3.
The Dolphins' recent draft history on the O-line
This brings us back to the Dolphins, who already have invested this draft capital since 2019: One first-round pick used on Austin Jackson; two second-round picks used on Robert Hunt and Liam Eichenberg; two third-round picks used on Michael Deiter and for moving up in the second round in 2021 to be able to select Eichenberg; and we could even throw in one fourth-round pick on Solomon Kindley.
That's six picks right there for five offensive linemen, which at last check constitutes a starting unit.
Now, Hunt might be the only one of the group heading into 2022 as a bona fide solid NFL starter, the possibility does exist that any one of the other four can take a big step forward next season through better coaching or even just natural progression.
With that, let us bring back Austin Jackson's NFL.com draft profile before the Dolphins took him with the 18th overall pick in 2020: "Early-entry tackle prospect who is raw but gifted and is likely to be coveted by a variety of teams, thanks to his true left tackle traits. Jackson has loads of athletic ability and play talent that is waiting to be developed and harvested. Inconsistent hand placement and footwork could be exploited early on if teams try and rush him into the starting lineup, but issues are correctable. He's scheme-diverse with potential guard flexibility if he improves his strength. He could become an early starter but may offer a wider split between floor and ceiling than some teams might like."
See the line about Jackson being rushed into the starting lineup? Well, Jackson started 12 games as a rookie, including the opener.
The bottom line is the Dolphins offensive line very well might improve in 2022 simply because of individual improvement across the board, and to help facilitate that the Dolphins loaded up on new assistant coaches with experience working with that group.
Offensive coordinator Frank Smith coached the Chargers offensive line, including rookie Pro Bowl selection Rashawn Slater, last year and Matt Applebaum was brought in from Boston College to oversee the group, while the 2021 O-line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre was retained to serve as an assistant.
And that's not even mentioning new head coach Mike McDaniel's background as a run game coordinator.
So, yes, there's reason to think guys like Jackson, Eichenberg and Deiter will be better.
And it says here that maybe what the Dolphins need on the offensive line is a veteran addition to serve as a glue, whether that player arrives via trade or free agency.
Drafting another offensive lineman early? Been there, done that.
Maybe it's time for a different approach.
