AFC East power rankings: Bills, Patriots battle for the top spot
4. AFC East Power Rankings: Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins brought up the rear in the AFC East a year ago and the same may happen again in 2020. It is worth noting that the talent gap between Miami and the rest of the division is shrinking, which could foreshadow a longer-term threat from the Dolphins.
2019 was a tale of two seasons for Miami, which started off as the worst team in football when the organization traded off pretty much everyone with some semblance of talent to accumulate draft picks. Questions of tanking subsided when head coach Brian Flores managed to pull five wins out of an overachieving group, headlined by a season-ending victory in New England over former boss Bill Belichick.
The Dolphins also invested a ton of money to add talent this offseason, signing Byron Jones and Kyle Van Noy to bolster their defense while Jordan Howard, Ereck Flowers and Ted Karras were among their notable offensive additions. The draft also proved fruitful for Miami as they were able to land Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth pick, giving them their best shot at a franchise quarterback since Dan Marino retired.
Tagovailoa’s medical issues may require him to go through a redshirt year so Miami was wise to retain Ryan Fitzpatrick as a bridge quarterback for the 2020 season. The improved roster and some excellent coaching from Flores mean the Dolphins won’t be a pushover even if they fail to significantly improve on last season’s win total.