Dolphins Mailbag: Starters at LB and S; the 2021 Captains; the Direction of the Team, and More

Will either Jaelan Phillips or Jevon Holland be opening-day starters? Is the high number of players in contract years a good thing or a bad thing? Those topics and many more in the latest All Dolphins mailbag

From jorge boyd (@raga1922):

Hi Alain who do you think are going to be the starting linebackers for the Dolphins; will Phillips start?

Hey Jorge, I’m going to assume, because I expect New England to be run-heavy in Mac Jones’ first start, that the Dolphins will open in a 3-4 look as opposed to a 3-3-5. That said, my linebackers would be Jerome Baker, Elandon Roberts, Andrew Van Ginkel and Brennan Scarlett. I don’t envision Phillips being an immediate starter.

From Eric S (@kindsir15):

Overall, after everything that has happened in the offseason, what does it say about the direction of this team?

Hi Eric, I’m not convinced that any definitive statements can be made in terms of “direction” based on what the Dolphins did in the offseason. This is an organization that’s trying to win now while not losing track of their objective, which is to build a consistent winner.

From Tony Figueroa (@tonyfigcis):

How much change do you expect in OL during season? Is there a chance Eichenberg supplants Davis or other changes? Thanks

Hi Tony, I think the answer to your question depends on how things go in the first few weeks of the regular season. That said, I don’t think there will be any hesitation to make changes if the group struggles, though I’m a firm believer in Jesse Davis being able to do a solid job, so I’m not sure that’s necessarily where the change will take place. That's the long-term view because everything is up in the air for Week 1.

From Rute (@Rutey17):

How would perception be if we traded for Watson w/out giving up Tua and letting the best man win?

Hey Rute, that’s a very good question, but it’s hard for me to envision the Dolphins giving up a lot of assets to get Watson without giving him the job. The only reason to make this trade — if that's what winds up happening — is if the belief is that Watson is such an upgrade that he makes you that much better, in which case he’s an automatic starter after a trade.

From Oscar Rodriguez (@oscar_rdz88):

From your perspective, who are gonna be this year’s captains?

Hey Oscar, let me see … Jesse Davis was a captain in 2020, so he figures to be one again, and the other(s) on offense just might be Tua and/or Myles Gaskin. On defense, I would go with returning captain Elandon Roberts, along with Jerome Baker and Eric Rowe, with returning captain Clayton Fejedelem for special teams.

From Greenview Construction (@CrispyChicken30):

Who leads team in receiving yards?

That’s a very good question because I do believe you’re going to see the ball going to a lot of different receivers and it’s going to be a new guy leading the way every week. Best guess right now has to be DeVante Parker, which always is a dangerous assumption given his injury history.

From Senator Ted Coups (R-MX) (@BasedCorp):

Where does Albert Wilson fit into this receiving corps when Fuller and Waddle are both available? … And (for fantasy) what’s your projected carries split? I see national media heads saying that it’s a split between Gaskin and Brown, but I think Gaskin is a superior talent and will get 75% or so.

Hi Ted, yeah, if everybody is healthy among the wide receivers, logic says the top three are Parker, Fuller and Waddle, which puts Wilson on the back burner. But I do think he’ll get some touches every week regardless. I do that Gaskin will get the most touches at running back, but not sure I'd go as high as 75 percent.

From Jake (@JakeMc945):

Is the starting Free Safety Holland next Sunday?

Hey Jake, I really like Jevon Holland and I think he’s got the look of a future star at safety, but I’m thinking the Dolphins will be going with Jason McCourty as the starting free safety in the early going of the 2021 season because of the experience factor.

From Jack Dixon (@jccdixon33):

Is the number of “contract year” players higher than normal? Just seems like we have more than normal guys that if not re-signed for 2022 they are gone. Good and bad, right?

Yes on all counts, but while it’s higher than normal for the Dolphins, a quick around the league shows it’s in line with many other teams and in fact not as many as some others. The Dolphins do have some prominent players scheduled to become UFAs, with the three who jump out being Emmanuel Ogbah, Mike Gesicki and Will Fuller V. There’s a clear gamble involved in not doing extensions with any UFA-to-be in that they’ll become more expensive to re-sign with a big season.