Saturday Dolphins Mailbag: A Hill-Diggs Debate, Noah-Jackson at Crossroads, State of the O-line, and More

Tackling various issues on the minds of Miami Dolphins fans, such as the right tackle position and the latest on Melvin Ingram and Reuben Foster

Part 2 of this week's SI Fan Nation All Dolphins mailbag:

From Mcdrip’s twin (@TheGreatPhinsby):

Yo Alain, it's been pretty quiet lately. Any Intel on Reuben Foster and Ingram?

Yo, nothing has really surfaced since both players visited the Dolphins, but logic says any move with Ingram would depend on finding the right price to satisfy both sides, while I suspect taking a look at Foster was more of an exploratory meeting with the results to be filed for future use.

From Cliffy Mac (@mclifford36):

Do you think Miami is waiting until after training camp cuts to sign more players or do you see them making more moves before then?

Hey Cliffy, I don't think training camp cuts necessarily is the time to make a lot of moves if you have a playoff-contending team. By contrast, it's why the 2019 Dolphins were so busy on the waiver wire that September. The pause right now is to see what teams do or don't do after the draft. That's the next key period as far as I'm concerned.

From Isaias Boffill (@BoffillIsaias):

Hello Alain, seeing as the dolphins have made major upgrades at WR. Will this team be a pass-heavy team or will we be a run-first team?

Hey Isaias, if you look at Mike McDaniel's time with the 49ers, that clearly was a run-oriented team and I don't see any reason why that would be different in Miami. Having said that, when we say run-oriented, it's not quite the same thing as run-first because you absolutely have to pass in the NFL to win and even the 49ers passed more than they ran last season.

From d. Edward (@Syr2Pitt2SD):

How did right tackle go from being our biggest need last season to people seemingly unconcerned about it this season, and many going so far as to now say center, ILB, CB, DI and edge are our biggest needs?

Hey Edward, not sure I'd agree that "people" are unconcerned about right tackle, but I do believe the perception is that the returning talent is a lot better than it showed last year and maybe the answer already is on the roster, whether it be Austin Jackson making a big Year 3 jump or moving Robert Hunt back to right tackle or Liam Eichenberg getting the shot at that position. The addition of Terron Armstead also brought of a sigh of relief to the overall view of the offensive line.

From Rob Reimer (@RobReimer76):

I don't pay attention too much about the Miami Dolphins this time of year, Alain. Not much going on until the draft and ... it's baseball season.

Ha! Good one, Rob. One thing for sure, it's not going to be as eventful a draft for the Dolphins as it has been the past two years, though I would suspect they'll make a trade or two to recoup some picks. As for baseball, I truly wish I could say I was as excited about it as I was as a kid because it was number 1 for me, but that ship has sailed. I do enjoy watching Vlad Jr. rip 450-foot home runs, though. Oh, and I became a huge Brett Phillips fan this week after previously not even knowing who he was (Google it, it's worth it).

From Ricardo Hernandez (@Ricardo96451182):

In a recent article you suggested that S. Diggs may be better overall receiver than T. Hill. Regardless of him now being a Dolphin, I didn’t think of anyone being more explosive, nor did I see him as undependable, injury-prone, etc. So what is it that Diggs can provide over Hill?

Hey Ricardo, it's a fair question to ask, but make sure we're clear that the comment was "overall receiver," and not most dynamic or explosive. I would give Diggs the edge in terms of route running and ability to make contested catches, though he won't run away from defenders the way Hill will. Their stats from last year, by the way, were awfully similar and if you wanted to tell me that Hill is the one who's the best receiver, I wouldn't call you crazy for that opinion.

From Stanford J. Young (@SportsMDE):

Anything Dolphins? Is there any way we can fast forward 5 months to week one??? ;) ... Truly, though: Do you get the impression the Dolphins staff wants some of the OL (eg Austin Jackson) to be in better shape? Maybe play at 310-315 instead of 327-330? A-La Armstead? Esp in ZBS?

Hey Stanford, any coach wants his offensive linemen to be in better shape regardless of scheme or circumstances. If you want to single out one Dolphins offensive lineman who needs to be on top of his conditioning this offseason and summer, it's not Jackson or Armstead, though, it's Solomon Kindley.

From Dave (@angryvet59):

No one likes to move on from a 1st-round draft pick. But, if you had to guess, between Igbinoghene, Eichenberg and Jackson who gets traded/released or put on practice squad? Thanks & keep up the good work Alain.

Thanks for the kind words as always, Dave. I'll first have to eliminate Eichenberg from your question because he was a second-round pick and because he's had only one season, therefore he's not going anywhere. Between Igbinoghene and Jackson, I would think that Noah is in the more vulnerable position of the two because he just hasn't developed enough to where coaches trust him, though that might change now with Mike McDaniel as head coach and Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain coaching cornerbacks. That said, he also might have more trade value than Jackson because he's also more of an unknown and some coach somewhere might think he can get him to turn his athletic ability into a productive NFL player. One last thing, for either to end up on the practice squad, they would have to be released and clear waivers, and I'd suspect a former first-round pick would get claimed by another team looking to take a shot at reviving a career.

From John Kerns (@yitwail):

Alain, this isn’t of great importance, but do you expect McDaniel will be scripting the first 15-25 plays as is customary with Shanahan/West Coast offense? Thanks

Hey John, we haven't addressed that with McDaniel just yet, but having spent so many years with Shanahan and seen up close his success, I can't imagine McDaniel would deviate from that practice.

From Mason28 (@Mason2816):

Alain, thank you for answering my question. The Dolphins adding Armstead and Williams in free agency. Do you think they have done enough to make the line better?. Do they have enough with the players on the roster?.

Hey Mason, my answer is a resounding yes. I wrote before the start of free agency that perhaps the biggest key for the offensive line was progress from all the young linemen on the roster and then added that one or two free agent pick-ups would do the trick. In getting Armstead and Williams, the Dolphins absolutely have taken care of that position and I still would expect major progress from any number of the young guys, whether it be Eichenberg, Jackson or Deiter (Hunt already is pretty good).

From J Soto (@dolphin_4life):

Hi Alain. If you had to guess what position the Dolphins will draft with their 1st pick (3rd rd), what would you pick?

Hey J, going back to the previous question, it's certainly not the offensive line. At this time, I would say the best prospect among running backs, wide receiver, edge defender, linebacker or cornerback.