What Stood Out on the Week 1 Dolphins Depth Chart?
The first Miami Dolphins depth chart of the regular season didn't provide the kind of major news we saw with the Pittsburgh Steelers and QB Mitchell Trubisky, but it did have its share of thought-provoking situations.
To be specific, three things jumped out when the depth chart was released Tuesday:
DOLPHINS WITH 12 STARTERS ON OFFENSE
Yeah, that one clearly would be unusual since, you know, teams are allowed to field only 11 players on any given play.
The Dolphins actually had 12 players listed as first-team players on the depth chart throughout the preseason, but the thought was that perhaps it would be adjusted for the start of the regular season.
The position where there's clearly an extra starter is running back, where both Chase Edmonds and Raheem Mostert are listed on that first team.
This probably should be a good indication that head coach Mike McDaniel views both players on a par — and his prior experience with Mostert certainly could be a factor here — and that the work load at the position very well might end up being split fairly evenly between the two.
With Mostert and Edmonds, the offense features two running backs, one fullback, one tight end and two wide receivers to go along with QB Tua Tagovailoa and the five offensive linemen.
THE DOLPHINS DEFENSIVE ALIGNMENT
Unlike the offense, the defensive depth chart lists the normal 11 players as first-teamers, though it differs from the 2021 season-opening depth chart in alignment.
The depth chart for the opener Sunday features three defensive linemen, four linebackers and four defensive backs, whereas the one last year had three linebackers and five defensive backs.
What we can expect here is different alignments on defense and certainly frequent use of five or six defensive backs, even seven at times, based on what the Dolphins did in 2021 and considering they have 11 starters back along with the same defensive coordinator, Josh Boyer.
With two starters listed at cornerback and Byron Jones on PUP, the Dolphins have Nik Needham listed as the starter opposite Xavien Howard, though that doesn't mean he'll be lining up outside if the Dolphins start out in a nickel formation because he could line up in the slot with somebody else — Noah Igbinoghene and Keion Crossen are listed as the second-team corners — starting outside.
THE DOLPHINS RETURN GAME
Head coach Mike McDaniel made it clear he wouldn't hesitate to use front-line offensive or defensive players in the return game, though it was Lynn Bowden Jr. and Preston Williams who handled the chores in the preseason.
Well, Bowden and Williams are both gone, and the depth chart for punt returners lists Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Jevon Holland. And if they're not the top three position players on the team, they're up there.
McDaniel made the point that return yards count just the same as offensive yards gained or defensive yards allowed, but there are many coaches who are hesitant to take the chance of losing a star player on a return. The Dolphins just have to look back to 2019 when Williams saw his really impressive rookie season cut short when he sustained a torn ACL while returning a punt against the New York Jets.
While there's nobody else listed on the depth chart for punt returns, it should be noted that wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. returned 11 punts for the Dallas Cowboys last season and practice squad wide receiver Freddie Swain had 22 returns for the Seattle Seahawks — if the Dolphins were inclined to elevate to handle that role.
The kickoff returner job has lost importance over the years because of the large number of touchbacks, but we still were surprised to see Waddle listed as the second-team member there behind Mostert. And if Mostert indeed does end up splitting carries with Edmonds, maybe it would make more sense to use somebody like Noah Igbinoghene, who has NFL experience returning kickoffs and who's listed third behind Waddle and Edmonds for this role.
However the return assignments shake out, it's also entirely possible that McDaniel will rotate players and, for example, use Hill on punt returns only if the team needs a spark or it's late in the half and only a long punt return would give the team a realistic chance to getting points before halftime.
Put simply, this is a fluid area, maybe the most fluid on the entire depth chart.
