The Dolphins Offensive Line Outlook in 2024 per Warren Sharp

Where does the Dolphins offensive line stack against the league going into 2024?

When you look at the Miami Dolphins roster going into 2024, the two position groups that didn’t upgrade were both sides of the trenches. I mean that’s what losing a $20 million player on each side of the ball and a Pro Bowl center does to you.

The Dolphins went out and made upgrades across the roster at skill positions, and they did draft players on each side of the trenches early, but we still can’t consider that an upgrade in 2024. They’ll need some time to get their footing in the league and adjust to NFL speed.

I’m not expecting Chop Robinson or Patrick Paul to be big-time contributors or upgrades over players the Dolphins lost in terms of value. You can’t replace the value of a Christian Wilkins or a Robert Hunt in the draft that following year. That’ll take a few years of development in most cases. Though the signing of Calais Campbell gives an extra boost to the defensive line, the offensive line was a problem down the stretch in 2023, and those problems weren’t addressed enough going into 2024.

Is the offensive line going to be a problem down the stretch again, or do the Dolphins have another trick up their sleeve to fill in the gaping hole at right guard? It remains to be seen.

As of now, this is where the Dolphins offensive line stands against the rest of the league, according to our friends at Sharp Football Analysis.

The Miami Dolphins’ offensive line finishes at number 25 and makes them a bottom-fourth unit in their eyes. Here’s what they had to say about the Dolphins line:

“It can be hard to separate talent from scheme at offensive line, which likely explains how Miami received votes ranging from eighth to 32nd. In 2023, the unit allowed pressure in 2.5 seconds or less on 19.8% of dropbacks, the league’s fifth-lowest rate. The key to the unit, however, is the health of Terron Armstead, who has missed 11 games in two years with Miami.” – Sharp Football Staff

Looking at their explanation, I don’t see anything I want to pull my hair out about. It seems accurate. The Dolphins disguised their offensive line issues with a scheme designed to get the ball out early before the defense pressure gets home. It worked like a charm in the first half of the season, even when guys like Terron Armstead and Isiah Wynn were hurt.

That covered the Dolphins struggles in pass blocking, and the numbers back it up. The Dolphins were 31st in the league in pass-blocking win rate of 49%. That means they got beat on their blocks half of the time. Let me say that again. They got beat half of the time, half. It almost seems unfathomable that the Dolphins had such a prolific offense despite their offensive line losing half of the battles in the trenches.

I will say that the area they did shine was in run blocking. They scored 72% in that category, making them the eighth-best run-blocking unit in the league. That’s a silver lining, and maybe the Dolphins should take advantage of that.

By the looks of what’s happened through the offseason, the Dolphins are going to cover up their offensive line struggles with a mix of their quick scheme, upgrading their skill positions even more, and relying on the quickness of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to get them out of trouble when it’s needed.

Sharps’ placement of the Dolphins offensive line feels fair, and the Dolphins should look at that and know the job isn’t done with upgrading that side of the trenches if they want to make a meaningful run in January.

Let us know in the comments how you feel about the state of the offensive line and if Sharp’s team got the rankings right.