Breaking Down the Dolphins Depth Chart

The Miami Dolphins joined every team in the NFL in releasing their first depth chart of 2020, and it included a couple of interesting nuggets

The highly anticipated first depth chart of the year arrived Monday, much to the pleasure of information-thirsty fans and much to the dismay of coaches who wouldn't ever make a depth chart public if they had their choice.

The truth is the depth chart is a great source of debate among fans, journalists and analysts, but it's not necessarily reflective of playing time.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores was like all coaches Monday when he cautioned against reading too much into it, but that's not going to stop anybody from analyzing it and breaking it down.

So away we go.

QUARTERBACK

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tua Tagovailoa

Breakdown: No need for analysis here after Flores officially named Fitzpatrick the starter for Game 1. The big question, of course, centers around whether this pecking order changes in 2020 and, if so, when.

RUNNING BACK

Jordan Howard, Matt Breida, Myles Gaskin, Patrick Laird

Breakdown: Again, nothing surprising here. Howard figures to get the most carries of any running back in 2020 and he looked like the best back on the team during training camp. As for Gaskin and Laird, Gaskin clearly was the better of the two second-year players in camp, though in fairness Laird did miss some time with a shoulder injury.

FULLBACK

Chandler Cox

Breakdown: Cox is the only fullback on the roster, therefore he was listed as a first-team player, though it's questionable he'll get much playing time on offense in his second season.

WIDE RECEIVER

Preston Williams, Jakeem Grant, Malcolm Perry, Lynn Bowden Jr.

DeVante Parker, Isaiah Ford, Mack Hollins

Breakdown: Parker and Williams clearly are the two best wide receivers on the roster, so it makes sense to see them as the starters. Though there's no clear indication, the feeling here is that it's Ford who's the third wide receiver at this time. We wouldn't let the depth chart give you the wrong impression about Bowden because he should get some action on offense when he catches up after just joining the team.

TIGHT END

Durham Smythe, Mike Gesicki, Adam Shaheen

Breakdown: This certainly is an eye-opener ... until you realize that it was Smythe and not Gesicki who started the most games at tight end last season. Besides that, new offensive coordinator Chan Gailey is more run-oriented than his predecessor Chad O'Shea and Smythe easily is the best blocker on the team. Gesicki figures to get more than his share of playing time on offense, though he could line as a slot receiver or split out wide quite frequently.

OFFENSIVE LINE

LT Austin Jackson, Julién Davenport

LG Ereck Flowers

C Ted Karras, Michael Deiter

RG Solomon Kindley, Adam Pankey

RT Jesse Davis, Robert Hunt

Breakdown: The big news here, we suppose, is Kindley starting at right guard, though it's not a surprise if you've been following along through trainining camp practices. The Dolphins list Hunt as a guard/tackle on the roster, so it's interesting to see him at right tackle on the depth chart. If anybody is surprised to see Deiter as the backup center after he started 15 games at guard last year, don't be. That's where he practiced throughout training camp.

DEFENSIVE LINE

DE Christian Wilkins, Zach Sieler

NT Davon Godchaux, Raekwon Davis

DE Emmanuel Ogbah, Jason Strowbridge

Breakdown: Of note here is the fact the Dolphins depth chart reflects a 3-4 alignment. The big thing here is at nose tackle, where Godchaux took a lot of snaps last year but will be pushed for playing time by the rookie second-round pick Davis, who looked impressive in camp.

LINEBACKER

LB Shaq Lawson, Andrew Van Ginkel

LB Elandon Roberts, Calvin Munson

LB Jerome Baker, Kamu Grugier-Hill

LB Kyle Van Noy, Sam Eguavoen

Breakdown: What stands out here clearly is Lawson listed as a linebacker, though he easily could put his hand on the ground to turn the front seven into a 4-3. As we said before, Roberts was the best player in training camp from this vantage point.

SECONDARY

CB Byron Jones, Nik Needham

CB Xavien Howard, Noah Igbinoghene, Jamal Perry

S Eric Rowe, Clayton Fejedelem

S Bobby McCain, Kavon Frazier, Brandon Jones

Breakdown: Nothing unexpected here, except maybe Fejedelem being listed ahead of the rookie third-round pick Jones considering the former is considering a special teams specialist.

SPECIALISTS

K Jason Sanders

P Matt Haack

KO Jason Sanders

H Matt Haack

LS Blake Ferguson

KOR Jakeem Grant, Noah Igbinoghene

PR Jakeem Grant, Preston Williams, Malcolm Perry

Breakdown: The name that sticks here, of course, is Williams because of the fact he's starting at wide receiver and his torn ACL against the Jets last year came on a punt return. The Dolphins would love nothing more than for Grant to handle both roles, but he's got to make sure he fields every punt cleanly, which was an issue early last season. Once Bowden is up to speed, he gives the Dolphins another reason to keep Williams away from punt returns because he took two back for touchdowns at Kentucky in 2018.