Saturday Dolphins Mailbag: Hill, Waddle, Tua, and More

What are the chances Miami will draft a quarterback? Is the search still on for a Christian Wilkins replacement? Tackling those and other Miami Dolphins questions

Part 1 of a mid-April Miami Dolphins mailbag:

From Jeff Golden (@Goldenjeff72):

Do you think we can say that Hill and Waddle are the top (ish) WR tandem when they struggle to the finish line?

Hey Jeff, I hear what you’re saying, but if we look at the totality of the work for 2023, I don’t know how any list of the top five wide receiver tandems in the NFL doesn’t include them. There just aren’t many duos that produce the way those two do.

From Pat McCollum (@PatMcCollum):

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a roster overhaul like this. Lost players/gained players, do you see this as an upgrade or downgrade? Also, I think Smythe played well last year. Does Jonnu Smith really improve the TE room? If so, why?

Hey Pat, we have to go back only to 2019 for a roster overhaul that was more severe than this, but the circumstances clearly were different. If I have to assign an upgrade or downgrade verdict on the roster moves overall, I think you have to go downgrade because the Dolphins have lost more significant players than they’ve gained at some key spots, starting with Christian Wilkins and Robert Hunt. As for Smith, he’s not necessarily an upgrade over Smythe, but he does bring an element that’s not a major part of Smythe’s game, and that’s YAC or being a seem threat at tight end.

From Mark Lever (@MarkFinsfan):

Hey, should we draft Tua’s brother in the later rounds? Seems like he’d be a good fit and could really learn from Tua and may be a good back up plan in the future.

Hey Mark, while he was very productive at Maryland, Taulia Tagovailoa is viewed as a long shot to have any kind of NFL career. There would be no harm in bringing him as a camp body to see if there’s something there, as long as no valuable assets are used and everybody understands he shouldn’t get preferential treatment because of his last name.

From Jorge boyd (@raga1922):

Hi Alain, in all those Dolphins Free Agent DT acquisitions this year, have the Dolphins found a true replacement or is it in the draft that they could probably find his replacement?

Hey Jorge, I don’t know that the Dolphins were looking for a pure one-for-one replacement for Wilkins, which is why they went with a volume approach. If we’re looking for that one guy who could come at least close to providing what Wilkins did, he's probably not on the roster yet.

From RobMan (@RobMan91641992):

What are the chances of Miami drafting a QB this year? Tua has shown growth in the past two seasons but has he hit his ceiling?

Hey Rob, the question of whether Tua has hit his ceiling is one that I’ve posed and we just don’t know the answer. Regardless, it’s just flat out not the Dolphins’ M.O. to bring a high-level QB who could be seen as competition for their incumbent and everything the Dolphins have said publicly suggests they’re riding with Tua all the way. So the chances of a QB being drafted (other than maybe the sixth or seventh round) is very small indeed.

From Roger Dodger (@RogerDolfan):

Why would any top free agent or top draft pick ever want to play for Fins when they know for a fact they are only being exploited for cheap labor and will only be jettisoned as soon as they start playing at top $$$ level, aka Christian Wilkins.

Hey Roger, sorry to do this, but the premise of your question is off the mark. Do you actually think anybody takes bad deal just to play for the Dolphins right now? Those who sign do so because they choose to play in Miami because of weather, no state income tax, whatever the reason might be, or become they have no better option at the time. Nobody signs here for way-below-market money. And what happened with Wilkins had nothing to do with free agency; Wilkins was a draft pick who played out his rookie contract. And while you might say he was “jettisoned,” I invite anybody to jettison me from my job for another for the kind of pay raise that Wilkins got.

From Tim Ski (@TimSkii22):

If it takes WRs and OL into the second year of this offense before they truly know it, can Miami poach any players from SF for depth purposes?

Hey Tim, I’ve said many times the notion of having to learn an offense sometimes gets overblown because learning schemes and systems is something football players have done their entire playing careers. Having said that, Mike McDaniel absolutely would love having 49ers players, and we’ve already seen that with Mostert, Wilson, Cracraft, etc. But it’s also not like the Dolphins can just get whoever they want off the 49ers roster.

From Mario Gonzalez (@MarioGo67676256):

Who is the one guy you'll be upset with if the Dolphins drafted him in the first round?

Hey Mario, I tend to not get in my feelings because of who the Dolphins do or don’t draft and looking at a list of the top prospects, I honestly can’t pick a single prospect whose selection would bother me. The only issue I would have is if I felt the Dolphins overdrafted somebody, but there’s not one prospect where I would say “stay away from him.”

From Jeffrey Batcher (@JeffreyBratche1):

If you could change 1 NFL rule, what would it be? I was thinking about the salary cap, having the top 51 count against it doesn’t make sense to me, what if they changed the rule to where the bottom 52 counted, essentially giving a team pass on 1 player’s salary each year?

Hey Jeffrey, the top 51 rule applies only for the offseason; after that, every player on the roster counts. I have two rules that stand out for me: I would change replay to give coaches two challenges per game, but with a strict 30-second limit to review the play and no loss of challenge if the coach is correct; and secondly I would adopt the Eagles’ proposed rule of giving each team a chance to keep the ball after scoring (when trailing) by converting a fourth-and-15 or fourth-and-20. The expected onside kickoff is just too boring for me.

From Dave (@angryvet59):

With no news on anything on a Tyreek contract restructure/extension, is this is a signal that Miami's patience with off-field situations is getting thin?

Hey Dave, Tyreek not having his contract extended or adjusted in an offseason when the Dolphins were trying to create cap space indeed was interesting and, yes, the off-the-field incidents that keep popping up might be an issue, along with the fact that Tyreek is now in his 30s and also finished his two seasons in Miami at less than 100 percent. And then maybe the Dolphins want to keep some flexibility when it comes to roster construction for 2025.