As a Dolphins fan, January and February are always freed up on my schedule. Why is that? The Dolphins are never in the playoffs, and I blame the organization from the top down for this. Trading away star players for draft picks, refusing to address certain positions of need and the complete inability to draft all points back to one person: General Manager Chris Grier.
Before I go in on him, I must give Grier his props. His 2021 draft picks look very promising in Jaylen Waddle, Jaelan Phillips and Jevon Holland, and they will be building blocks for the future. Though he has somewhat redeemed himself, the mistakes from 2016 to 2019 are horrible. The Dolphins made 29 draft picks during that time frame. Of those 29 players, only ten of them are still on the roster in 2022.
The 2017 draft may be the worst in Dolphins’ history. It was known that the team was going to pick an edge rusher, and they ended up selecting Charles Harris who spent three seasons with the team, playing 41 games and recording a disappointing 3.5 sacks. Guess who the next edge selected was? Three-time First Team All-Pro, four-time Pro Bowler and the NFL’s single-season sack leader T.J. Watt. That type of mistake is just inexcusable. Hindsight isn’t even an issue with this situation because I remember feeling the exact same way as the pick was announced. In 2021, no players from the Dolphins 2017 draft class are members of the team.
Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene was the worst pick of the first round in 2020. Not because of talent, but because of the situation. After re-signing cornerback Xavien Howard to a five-year, $75 million deal and signing free agent cornerback Byron Jones to a five-year, $82.5 million contract, what does Grier do? He drafts a cornerback round one, instead of addressing the glaring holes within the team. After two full seasons in the NFL, Igbinoghene has started just three games. Just a mind-boggling decision.
When was the last time the Dolphins invested in a running back? Maybe Grier is scarred by what happened to Jay Ajayi, but the past few years have been filled with nothing at the running back position. Since Grier has taken over, except for Ajayi in 2016, no running back has rushed for more than 750 yards in a season as a Dolphin. Grier keeps using late-round picks and refusing to invest in the position, resulting in the team having a bottom ten rushing offense in four out of the last five years. With a good running back, maybe the team will see more success. Offensive line is also a large part of the issue
If Grier hasn’t noticed yet, he can’t draft linemen. He always seems to pick the wrong one. How can Grier solve this issue? He can sign proven offensive linemen in free agency. Your franchise quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa has an extensive injury history, and how does Grier choose to protect him? He drafts three rookie linemen in Austin Jackson, Robert Hunt and Solomon Kindley and puts two washed up veterans out there to finish out the line. The line Grier built finished the 2021 season as the worst in the league according to Pro Football Focus’ rankings. They allowed the most quarterback pressures in the league with 235 and had just two players in Robert Hunt and Michael Deiter with over a 60 PFF grade.
Fire Chris Grier. Until that happens, I have zero confidence in the Dolphins competing for the Super Bowl.
