It appears as though the Miami Dolphins have a type along the offensive line. Last May, after the 2020 NFL Draft, we took a look at some of the trends developed along the Dolphins’ offensive line under the direction of Chris Grier and Brian Flores — hoping to uncover some trends for what exactly the Dolphins seem to be looking for.
What we found was that the Dolphins covet two things from their offensive linemen: size & lower body explosiveness. Entering the 2020 season, Miami had brought seven prominent offensive linemen into the picture:
- iOL Michael Deiter (2019 3rd-RD)
- OT Austin Jackson (2020 1st-RD)
- OL Robert Hunt (2020 2nd-RD)
- iOL Solomon Kindley (2020 4th-RD)
- OT Julien Davenport (2019 trade)
- iOL Ted Karras (2020 free agency)
- OL Ereck Flowers (2020 free agency)
And you can now add 2020 1st-round pick Isaiah Wilson to that list. The Dolphins are taking a low risk gamble to bring Wilson onto the roster; he’s struggled to stay out of trouble off the field and Tennessee appeared to be glad to get anything at all in return for the No. 29 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
But what is most interesting about this transaction isn’t the bet by Miami. It is that Wilson is a continuation of the same trends we found for the Dolphins in May, suggesting that we can eliminate potential offensive line candidates for the Dolphins based on meeting the thresholds that recent history has indicated is necessary to become a Dolphins investment along the line.
The average weight of the seven linemen added to the fray ahead of the 2020 season was 320.7 pounds. Wilson tips the scales at approximately 350 pounds, making him the biggest addition yet. But that size doesn’t come at the expense of lower body power. Each of the other new linemen added during the Dolphins regime tested in the 70th percentile or better in the standing broad jump. Wilson’s 110″ jump from the 2020 NFL Combine landed him in the 88th percentile of offensive tackle prospects.
So as you look for more offensive linemen to fit the bill for the Dolphins, start with those two benchmarks: size & lower body power. If prospects come up short in those areas, odds are pretty high they’re not going to move the needle very much for this Dolphins regime.
