As we approach 2023 NFL Draft, I thought it might be fun to build a Miami Dolphins depth chart. Not their current depth chart, we did recently and we’ll take a look again after the draft, but rather the depth chart all along. The rules were very simple – we had to fill out the 53-man roster as if we were trying to play it this season. We couldn’t stack five quarterbacks on the roster because that wouldn’t give us the team we’ll need for the season.
Below, you’ll find the 52 players selected along with some discussion of each position group. I only picked 52 players because I wanted to see where you would add another player. This gives you a chance to fix what you messed up. Who did you forget? You can let me know in the comments.
Now, on to my version of the dolphin depth chart for all times:
Rear pimp (3)
And Marina
Bob Grace
Toa Tagovailoa
The first two were the obvious choices for the position. Tagovailoa’s selection over players like Chad Pennington, Ryan Tannehill, Jay Fiedler, Earl Morrall, Ryan Fitzpatrick, etc. simply came down to passer rating. Tagovailoa has a 95.0 professional passer rating, which is the highest in team history for anyone who has thrown at least 15 passes. I really thought I’d go with Pennington or Tannehill here, but Tagovailoa felt like the better option.
running backs (4)
Ricky Williams
Mercury Morris
Ronnie Brown
Jim Cake
The jogging back comes down to two pairs of runners. Williams and Brown became the Wildcat offense, while Morris and Kiick were together for the Dolphins’ power Works in the seventies. That’s a total of 18,772 yards rushing with a 4.3 yard per carry average and 143 touchdowns. There are power and speed options in the suite, and it feels perfect.
Defenders (2)
Larry Csonka
Polite Lusaka
Yes, I’m totally cheating by putting Csonka in the linebacker group because he’s the all-time leading linebacker in Miami, but technically he was a linebacker, so I could get him here without using a spot on top. I’d hold two running backs, though, because Csonka was a rusher, while Polite was a true defensive player who would make a 1-yard gain when needed. This gives me more options, but it means I have to lose a spot elsewhere on the roster to create an additional quarterback spot.
narrow ends (3)
Randy McMichael
Keith Jackson
Jim Mandich
If this were the 2022 season, Mandich likely wouldn’t have made the roster, with Mike Gesicki sliding down the depth chart. However, Gesicki’s down season last year kept me from putting him on the depth chart all-time. Anthony Fasano could make a case for dropping down the list too, while Durham Smith are in a position to continue moving up the rankings.
wide receivers (7)
Mark Dawber
Mark Clayton
Paul Warfield
Chris Chambers
Nat Moore
OJ McDuffie
Aurond Gadsden
Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle could easily be put on this list, but I’m going to wait at least another year before I make the move. I really thought of putting Jarvis Landry here as a slot receiver option.
Offensive Marines (9)
LT: Richmond Webb
LG: Bob Kuchenberg
A: Jim Langer
RG: Larry Little
Sirte: Norm Evans
Dwight Stephenson (C)
Jake Long (T)
Keith Sims (G)
Tim Ruddy (centre)
When you don’t have Hall of Fame selection Stephenson starting at center, you know your team’s offensive line has some serious talent. Webb and Keuchenberg should both be in the Hall of Fame, Langer and Little should be in the Hall of Fame, Evans was twice inducted Pro Bowl He was chosen because he managed the right tackle position from 1966 through 1975. Long was a dominant player at the left tackle position until his body broke down, while Sims and Ruddy are great choices as the deep back players. All that, and I don’t even have a three-time Pro Bowl player for the Dolphins (four times for his career) on the list where Mike Pouncey is overlooked—even though he did play and earn an All-Star selection at both center and protect.
Defensive Marines (6)
Jason Taylor
Bob Boomhauer
Cameron Wake
Tim Bowens
Verne Dun Herder
Bill Stanville
Well, this one needs a little massage. Is Taylor a lineman or a linebacker? Should we have gone with the in-house cleaners and edge backers to match Miami’s current 3-4 scheme? I think the easiest way to do that is just to use the most played position – was he on the line or was he a fullback? Some skill sets may overlap, but if you look at today’s team there is no reason why Emmanuel Ogbah can’t function as a fullback, but he does play as a fast-paced defensive lineman in a 3-4 scheme. It’s not a clean alignment all the time.
Taylor is the obvious top piece for the linebackers, while Baumhower is the defensive/nose upper. Wake, Bowens, Den Herder and Stanfill should all be on the depth chart, but that means I miss some good linemen like Paul Soliai, Randy Starks and Daryl Gardener.
Lenny Byers (6)
Zack Thomas
Nick Buniconti
AJ Duhe
Brian Cox
Channing Crowder
Kim Bocamper
The lineup of midfielders is dominated by inside-back/center types, but can you really argue against most of these options? Thomas, who finally made the Hall of Fame this year, is the top pick, while Buoniconti is another Hall of Famer. Duhe provides a running rush, qualifying for the linebacker role by spending five years there compared to three years as a defensive end. Cox was a three-time Pro Bowl selection as Miami’s averaged over 100 tackles a season during his five years with the team. Playing his entire six-year career with Miami, Crowder had choppy seasons, but when he worked, he worked — which made me feel good about having him as a deep defense option.
I broke my own rule here by putting Bocambre in the full-back group, but I feel fine about it. He began his career with four seasons as an outside linebacker, with five years as a defensive end, and played 60 games at linebacker and 67 at defensive end—but made 59 starts at linebacker and 44 at linebacker. He can go either way, and I just felt like he should be on the list, so he’s a fullback.
Cornerbucks (5)
Sam Madison
Patrick Sirtin
Zavian Howard
Tim Foley
Brent Grimes
No one should be able to complain about Madison and Sirtain being named the top two on the depth chart, while Howard is certainly in a position to challenge for one of those spots, especially with another solid year this season. Foley has spent 11 seasons with the Dolphins, including two Super Bowl years and will provide good depth. Grimes was only with the team for three years, but was selected to the Pro Bowl each of those years and was a Second-Team All-Pro selection for one year. You can certainly find other players, like Curtis Johnson or Terrell Buckley, who can replace Grimes, but in a defense where you can play Grimes as a nickel cornerback, you have a good secondary.
safety (4)
Jake Scott
Dick Anderson
Brooke Marion
Jevon Holland
There are several options out there for the safety position, but these four, including Holland entering just his third season, give Miami plenty of options. They can cover, they can play in the penalty area, they can attack, they can play midfield. This looks like a good group of players running the back of Miami’s defense.
Special Teams (3)
K: Olind Marie
P: Reggie Robbie
Lisa: John Denny
Kicker was a tough pick. Cody Parkey and Guy Feely both lead the team with a field goal conversion rate of 91.3 percent, but each attempted only 23 field goals. Jason Sanders is second with 82.9 percent, and qualifies for the all-time lists with 152 kick attempts, followed by Dan Carpenter with 81.9 percent on 155 attempts. I really thought I’d go with either Garo Ypremian or Pete Stoyanovich with that pick, but everything kept pointing to the 10-year Mare being Miami’s best, with an 80.9 percent conversion rate on 303 attempts.
Robbie didn’t have the best average in team history (Brandon Fields), best net yardage average (Thomas Mortshead), nor the most kicks in the 20th side (Brandon Fields), but you can’t convince me he’s not the right choice here. .
I really like Blake Ferguson, the current long snapper for the team, and I hope he stays with the team for a long time. But there’s no denying that 14-year-old Denny is the tall snapper on this depth chart.
This brings us to position 53. Who did I forget? Where would you add the last player to the list? Are you going to provide extra depth somewhere? Can a special team player be added to complete the list? Tell us who your 53rd player will be.