Sunday Dolphins Mailbag: Armstead, White, Wilkins, and More

Part 2 of the latest SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From John Kerns (@yitwail):

Given that Terron Armstead is likely to miss games, should the Dolphins prioritize LG over RT, so that there will always be at least one capable player on the left side of the line?

Hey John, I understand your point, but if we’re going to be honest about it, Armstead is a massive difference-maker on the offensive line, and that was proven last season. I also would make the argument you should have “capable” players everywhere on the offensive line at all times. If you’re suggesting that Liam Eichenberg isn’t “capable” at left guard, then the issue would be that the Dolphins need to play somebody else at that spot. But I don’t think the Dolphins feel the way.

From Chris Roney (@ChrisRoney0):

If Over/Under of games Mike White starts in Miami this year is 3.5 ... what's your bet?

Hey Chris, wow, that’s a great number considering Dolphins backups started five games last season if you include the playoff game. Jacoby Brissett started five games as Tua’s backup in 2021. So logic says we’d take the “over,” but I’m going to take the optimistic approach and say this is the year Tua avoids the injury bug and go with the “under.” Besides, if Tua sustains what appears to be a significant injury early in the season, are we so sure that it’ll be White in the lineup and not, say, a certain recently “retired” quarterback?

From Brice (@BricefromLA):

Agree with Omar’s take that Tua should not have admitted to thinking about retirement? And why.

Hey Brice, I tend to have strong opinions on just about everything, but this might be an exception because I can see Omar’s point, though I’d lean more the other way because I don’t think what he told the media isn’t anything the Dolphins didn’t already know. And however they feel about Tua in relation to his future probably wasn’t affected by the comment. But the argument also could be made that maybe it didn’t need to be publicly put out there. How’s that for a wishy-washy answer?

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice):

Totally unfair question, considering how much time is left in the offseason. What is the Dolphins’ biggest weakness right now? Is there still path to correcting this weakness?

Hey Dana, until proven otherwise to me, I think the biggest weakness — if that’s the term we want to use — it’s the offensive line because I just didn’t like what I saw last season when Armstead was out of the lineup. The path to correcting it, I would suggest, is continued improvement from guys like Liam Eichenberg and Austin Jackson, although adding a veteran right tackle to compete with Jackson (Brandon Shell, Billy Turner) would help.

From Nick (@Unrelentless):

Do you think it’s a hesitancy to use resources for it, or do you think the front office genuinely believes in our O-Line?

Hey Nick, I do think the Dolphins are confident they can get the best out of Liam Eichenberg and Austin Jackson. Let’s also understand they have not been afraid to use resources to try to fix the O-line if you consider all the high draft picks of recent years (Eichenberg, Jackson, Robert Hunt) and the signings of Terron Armstead and Connor Williams.

From Olive Grove Jon (@Owlizee):

Alain, Chris Grier said a couple of teams have reached out to the Fins about trading down. Some say the Dolphins are in win-now mode. Can you see them trading up for a Day 1 starter or do you think they still have an eye on the future and would rather draft project guys?

Hey OGJ, I’d start by saying that we need to be careful about GM comments before the draft because there are a lot of smokescreens being put out. Grier said he didn’t believe in the notion of being in win-now mode, but the moves they’ve made the past two years suggests they absolutely are in win-now mode (but Grier is smart to downplay that to tamper expectations in case things don’t go right). I do think the Dolphins would like a quick-impact player in this draft, but to make any kind of move up they’d have to have a strong conviction on a particular prospect. I still say it might likely they trade down than trade up.

From Marco A. Briceño (@marco091090):

Hey Alain, if you had to guess, what player will the Dolphins draft at pick 51? (Barring trades of course).

Hey Marco, I hate being that guy, but I haven’t zoned in on a player yet and I’ll be doing that when I put out a Dolphins-specific mock draft Thursday morning.

From Dave (@angryvet59):

Alain, I'm notoriously a cheap guy (except tips) & wouldn't give up a '24 1st for a 1st & whatever this year. I'm also a cynic & remember a 1st rnd OL named Jackson. Is there a slam dunk, legit day 1 starter OL worth giving up capital/players for?

Hey Dave, the two OL prospects who stand out based on most projections are tackles Paris Johnson Jr. from Ohio State and Broderick Jones from Georgia, and a lot of draft analysts also like Pete Skoronski from Northwestern, but as a guard. From where I sit, I’m good with trading the 2024 first-round pick for a 2023 No. 1 because you get that first-rounder a year earlier, but then it depends on what else you have to give up.

From Chris Robinson (via email):

Hey Alain, appreciate you answering questions. Per overthecap.com, the Dolphins have $1.9M in dead cap money to Eric Fisher. What is creating that? I thought Fisher signed a one year deal for 2022. Secondly, is there any cap savings possible if Fisher would re-sign as OL depth for the 2023 season?

Hey Chris, I’m not a salary cap expert (I only play one on TV), but the $1.9 million of dead cap space is a signing bonus the Dolphins gave Fisher last December on what was a one-year deal with a voidable year. That cap space is gone, even if the Dolphins were to re-sign Fisher.

From Hebert Gutierrez Morales

Hello Alain, thank you for all your work before the draft’s week. I have a couple of questions about Chris Grier and I hope you can answer them. The first one is, did Mr. Ross made the wrong decision when he fired Gase and Tannenbaum but not Grier? In my opinion, yes, but I would like to know your opinion. The second one is, if the Dolphins don’t get at least one playoff win, Grier will be fired. True or False.

Hey Hebert, Chris Grier has been with the Dolphins organization for more than 20 years and Steve Ross clearly values him. Also understand that Adam Gase said upon being hired by the Jets that the Dolphins had given him personnel control, and that’s with Tannenbaum having an Exec VP title. So exactly how much control did Grier have as GM in 2016-18, which leads to my answer that, no, I don’t think Ross made the wrong decision. As for the second question, I don’t think it’s as clear cut as no playoff win and Grier should be out because it would depend on circumstances, but let’s just say nobody would suggest it’s unfair if it happened that way.

From Earl Gottfried (via email):

Hello Alain, you, Omar and Dante do impressive jobs on the articles you write — excellent content and subject matter! keep up the good work. Having just read Omar's piece on re-signing Christian Wilkins with the likelihood of in not getting done by preference, what then would be the purpose of drafting DL in the first or second round? He went thru the list of guys allowed to walk (or run) elsewhere and not really any come to the level of Wilkins, plus they went out and signed Suh to his giant contract a few years back. His stats weren't that much better than Wilkins considering Suh was a #2 overall pick vs. Wilkins in the middle of the first round (with lower expectations). Why draft him if he isn't expected to be signed? Or is Omar stirring the pot?

Hey Earl, no, I don’t think Omar is simply stirring the pot (Omar would NEVER do that) and he’s not advocating the Dolphins letting Wilkins walk as much as he’s pointing the team’s history in regards to re-signing DTs. I hate speaking for him, but his viewpoint here is that Wilkins is a really good player but not necessarily in the elite class of DTs like Jeffery Simmons or Quinnen Williams and the Dolphins shouldn’t pay him as much. This is where I jump in and say the one thing that’s missing from Wilkins’ resume to reach that level is more pressure (not necessarily just sacks) and I don’t think it’s out of line to wait to see how well he performs in the new scheme before giving him a big-money deal.

From Jeff (via email):

Hello Alain, let's say we still had the first-round pick. Who would the Dolphins use it on?

Hey Jeff, which is the two first-round picks are we talking about? The No. 21 they forfeited for tampering or the No. 30 they gave Denver in the Bradley Chubb trade? Some name I would throw out for either scenario would be TE Michael Mayer, TE Dalton Kincaid, T Broderick Jones or maybe S Brian Branch.

From Larry Blandford (via email):

Hey Alain, I am serious with this question. With all the concern with Tua’s concussions, a new and improved helmet and Tua taking jiu-jitsu, I have an idea. Why not train with someone who is adept at taking falls and preventing injuries while doing it? Someone like pro wrestlers (sports entertainers). I’m amazed at how they take all those body slams, German Suplexes, etc. and usually don’t get injured. Just a crazy thought.

Hey Larry, I like the thinking, but I’m guessing a lot of the techniques he would learn from a pro wrestler, he’ll be getting from his jiu-jitsu instructor.