Saturday Dolphins Mailbag: Jackson, Eichenberg, DTs, and More

Part 1 of the latest SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From Michael McDonald (via email):

Hi Alain, here are some over/under targets I came up with for 2023:

Tua: 4,250 passing yards.

Hill: 1800 receiving yards.

Phillips: 10 sacks.

Dolphins wins: 10 games

Tua FULL games (start to finish): 14

Hey Michael, it’s a very interesting list you put together and I’d almost be inclined to think that if Tua, Hill and Phillips reach those numbers, then the win total will be higher than 10. Out of those, though, I think Hill reaching 1,800 yards might be the most amibitious considering he was at 1,710 last season without missing a game and having easily the most productive season of his career in that category.

From Hebert Gutierrez Morales (via email):

Hi Alain, I hope you’re doing fine. Thank you as usual for your work. I hope you can answer me a couple of questions. I understand the offseason is not over yet, and the compensatory picks will be defined after the end of next season, but with the movements made until today, do you think the Dolphins receive any compensatory pick? Maybe a 5th? I know you’re fan of R.E.M., and I’ve just read that “Shiny Happy People” was a protest song versus the Tiananmen Square protest in China. And then I’ve read the band hate that song, maybe because it seems only a simple happy song. Do you like that song? Or do you hate it too?

Hey Hebert, very cool questions as always. First off, the compensatory pick formula is so complicated it makes my head spin (or maybe I’m just not that sharp), but it’s based on salary with new team with playing time and postseason honors, then balanced out if a team signs more “compensatory free agents” than loses. From my understanding, based on the good folks at overthecap.com, the Dolphins would get nothing right now because the free agent additions wipe out the players lost like Mike Gesicki and Elandon Roberts. As for R.E.M. and “Shiny Happy People,” you’re right, that might be my all-time favorite band. I actually like the song, but probably wouldn’t put it in my top 30 R.E.M. songs.

From James Cassettari (via email):

Alain, if you were GM, what would you offer, if anything, for Mac Jones?

Hey James, hmm, good question. Not necessarily a huge fan of his game, but he is a recent first-round pick, hasn’t been a total bust, his signing bonus is the responsibility of the Pats, so there’s some value there in terms of an asset but not necessarily in terms of what he could for the Dolphins. So the only offer I would make would be for a late-round pick.

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FOR EVEN MORE COVERAGE ON THE MIAMI DOLPHINS, CHECK OUT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S MIAMI DOLPHINS PAGE ON SI.COM.

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From Earl Gottfried (via email):

Hello Alain, I just went through your piece on Dolphins contract status, which seems to confirm an "all in" and Super Bowl or bust position for the next year or 2. Is Steven Ross so desperate for a title that he doesn't care about the long-term success of the team? Looks like it could be a quicker process than when Brian Flores was hired with less overhead should they go bust!

Hey Earl, you’re right that it’s an all-in approach for the next two years and what everybody has to understand is that Steve Ross will turn 83 in May and, yes, is desperate for the Dolphins to experience big success or a Super Bowl run.

From Steve Weissenborn (via email):

Hi Alain, long-time fan of your coverage, going back to college! Quick question: With Lamar Jackson being stood off by owners and GMs on a fully guaranteed expensive long-term deal this offseason, with owners wary of turning Deshaun's contract into any type of precedent, what do you think owners will do next year when so many good young QBs will be up for extensions? Do you think any owner will cross that "fully guaranteed" line next year? Is there any possibility the Patriots, with no faith in Mac Jones, do it this year?

Hey Steve, big thanks first of all. There actually are several QBs eligible for extensions this year, including Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurst and Tua. My inclination is that owners absolutely want to make sure the Watson contract is a one-time-only aberration (though, yes, Kirk Cousins previously got a fully guaranteed deal as well). So I’m thinking there will be some huge QB contracts this offseason, but would be very surprised to see a fully guaranteed long-term deal for anybody.

From Chris Robinson (via email):

The draft generally ends with some head-scratching picks. Asking you to guess, what position do you think the Dolphins draft that on paper it looks like there is no need? What position do they not draft that on paper it looks like there is a huge need?

Hey Chris, interesting question and I’ll go with cornerback with a position where there is no (or little) need after the acquisition of Jalen Ramsey and the re-signing of Nik Needham. As for the position the Dolphins won’t address that looks like a need, hmm, I’d have to go with offensive line.

From Frank (via email):

Hi Alain, I always enjoy reading your articles, mailbag, and talks with Big O and now Omar Kelly. I am concerned like everyone about the right tackle position. You listed a number of free agent tackles available as of April 3rd. I noticed that Isaiah Wynn, only 27, and Cameron Erving are former first-round draft picks. Also, Wynn is listed as the 49th free agent on Pro Football Talk’s list of top 100 FAs. Do you have any information why they are still available? Could they be better than Austin Jackson? Thank you.

Hey Frank, first off thanks. What I can tell you about Wynn is that he’s dealt with various injuries, starting with spending his rookie year on IR with an Achilles issue. He’s spent time on IR all five of his NFL seasons except for 2021. And his play when in the lineup hasn’t been good enough to make teams overlook the injury issues. And it’s kind of the same deal for Erving, who’s been on four teams in eight seasons.

From Thomas Hudson (via email):

What do you think about identifying defensive tackle as a major draft need? I know the team does not need one for 2023, but they can take some time to develop, and as of right now there is a major need for the position for 2024. As much as I would like to see the Dolphins bring back both Wilkins and Sieler, I doubt they will be able to keep them both.

Hey Thomas, it’s an excellent point you bring up and you also could have included Raekwon Davis, whose contract also expires in 2023. We advocated for the signing of veteran Akiem Hicks in free agency in a column Friday, but also could see the Dolphins using one of their four draft picks on a promising long-range prospect at this position.

From Jeff (via email):

Hey Alain, in my view, going into last season's draft one of the big things I wanted was for a backup/future LT to be groomed. Arguably, that is still high on my draft board. Armstead is a great player and has a lot of skill to pass on. He's also a risk and the season did nothing to change that. We also don't *really* have a center. But, the key conversation this whole season has been RG and RT. If we can have long-term security at the center, move Connor out, or draft a good tackle, what helps more long term for the skill we have at OL? A very quick follow-up based on the last question if I may! Suppose we get a good LT talent, couldn't they play RT with the "skill" of a LT? Drafting a proven center helps with snaps and we have Connor next to Armstead and a bit of LT depth. What am I missing? As always, thank you for all the great conversations.

Hey Jeff, thanks. From a long-range view of the roster, what you say makes absolutely perfect sense, but we can’t forget the Dolphins are in a win-now mode and ideally they use their second- and third-round picks on players who can help quickly, though, yes, that could include a starting-caliber offensive lineman. And I would not discount the idea of a center, though, I wouldn’t include snaps in the equation because it really wasn’t an issue for Williams once the regular season started.

From Chris Svensson (via email):

Hi Alain, greetings from Vancouver from a longtime fan. Love your articles and honesty. What do you see McDaniel working on himself going into next season? For all the good that happened last year there were opportunities for him personally (even though I’m a big fan from what I’ve seen so far).

Hey Chris, hello from South Florida. The two areas where McDaniel will focus heading into his second season as head coach will be clock management (particularly as it pertains to getting plays in quicker) and then sticking to the running game more than he did in 2022.

From David Roland (@DavidRo22864683):

Do you think that CG tries to trade back this year to get more picks?

Hey David, I would say that absolutely should be under consideration and it’s probably more than 50-50 it will happen. For example, I easily could see the Dolphins trading their second-round pick for two third-round selections.

From Lloyd Heilbrunn (@LloydHeilbrunn):

I don't think I've seen a single fan or media member that agrees with the Dolphins' position on Jackson or Eichenberg. That's pretty scary. Do they just not want to admit that they made a mistake on these guys?

Hey Lloyd, the problem here is that you’re suggesting that fans and/or media members know better when it comes to offensive line play than the Dolphins. Do we also really believe that the Dolphins would stick with Jackson and Eichenberg even they thought they couldn’t perform just so they wouldn’t have to admit a mistake? That said, is it possible they’re being overly stubborn in their belief they can make it work with both players? Maybe. Personally, I’m not necessarily ready to give up on either player, though at the same time I’d like to see both being forced to win the starting job in training camp and not have anything handed to them.

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Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Dolphins news and analysis year-round. Also, you can follow me on Twitter at @PoupartNFL, and that's where you can ask questions for the regular All Dolphins mailbags. You also can ask questions via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.