Evaluating the Dolphins O-Line Options
Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores said he still was evaluating his offensive line options Friday after the team placed rookie left tackle Austin Jackson on injured reserve.
The Dolphins have several alternatives from which to choose, each of them with their pros and cons, as we examine more closely:
Julien Davenport starts at left tackle and the rest of the offensive line remains the same, with Ereck Flowers at left guard, Ted Karras at center, Solomon Kindley at right guard and Jesse Davis at right tackle
Pros: Davenport has the most starts at left tackle of anybody on the roster other than Flowers and he had a solid performance in the 25 snaps he played against the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday after Jackson was injured.
Cons: While he clearly has improved since the team he joined the Dolphins, Davenport had some rough moments during his nine starts last season and there's no way of knowing how he'll respond if given the start.
Robert Hunt starts at left tackle and the rest of the line remains the same
Pros: This gives the Dolphins their first look at what Hunt, their first of two second-round picks in the 2020 NFL draft, can do in a starting assignment and see if he can start working his toward reaching his potential.
Cons: There was a school of thought heading into the draft that Hunt was better suited for the right side in the NFL, so is it putting too much on him to have him make his first career start at left tackle.
Adam Pankey starts at left tackle and the rest of the line remains the same
Pros: Pankey showed enough promise that the Dolphins decided to bring him back for a second season with the team after he arrived last December and then liked him enough to keep him on the 53-man roster.
Cons: Pankey was inactive for each of the first four games of the regular season, so moving him from the inactive list to the startling lineup is quite a leap.
Michael Deiter starts at left tackle and the rest of the line remains the same
Pros: Even though he's listed as a guard/center, Deiter started all season at left tackle at the University of Wisconsin in 2017 and did it well enough to be named second-team All-American.
Cons: Playing left tackle in college is a lot different than playing left tackle in the NFL, and Deiter hasn't done at this level yet. It's a risky proposition to put him there to protect Ryan Fitzpatrick's blind side.
Jesse Davis moves from right to left tackle and Julien Davenport starts at right tackle:
Pros: This actually was the way the Dolphins lined up in the 2019 season opener, though that lineup last only one game because Davenport was injured in practice a few days later. Davis is the more accomplished of the two players, so that puts a better option protecting Fitzpatrick's blind side.
Cons: Davis clearly is better at right tackle, based on what we've seen over the past two seasons.
Jesse Davis moves from right to left tackle and Robert Hunt starts at right tackle:
Pros: This puts Hunt in a more favorable situation for his first NFL start, and gives Fitzpatrick the veteran to protect his blind side.
Cons: By having Davis switch sides and putting a rookie making his first start at right tackle, one could argue this is weakening two positions.
Ereck Flowers moves from left guard to left tackle, and either Michael Deiter, Adam Pankey or Robert Hunt starts at left guard
Pros: Flowers has plenty of experience at that position, having started 55 games at left tackle for the New York Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Cons: Flowers' career was revived in Washington last year after he moved from tackle to guard, so it's difficult to see the wisdom of putting him back at his old position.
