The Miami Dolphins went into the offseason with a ton of work to do. General manager Chris Grier had a 53-man puzzle with holes and some pieces that didn’t fit.

The Dolphins lost a few homegrown cornerstone players, such as Christian Wilkins, Robert Hunt, and Xavien Howard, to start the offseason. Still, Grier put on his work boots, clocked in, and churned out another playoff-caliber roster.

What started as a “capacolypse,” turned into a place of prosperity with a pack of new faces

ready and eager to make an impact with the league’s most explosive team.

Fresh Face or New Place

As we know, the Dolphins were in disarray to start the offseason but quickly went to work to fill some holes left by key players and fix some of the problems that presented themselves down the stretch of the 2023 season.

The first impactful signing of the offseason was tight end Jonnu Smith. Smith made a name for himself with the Tennessee Titans and cashed in a 4-year, $50 million New England Patriots. Unfortunately, he could only cash in one touchdown in two years with the Patriots before being traded for a 7th round pick to the Atlanta Falcons.

While with the Falcons, Smith’s career got back on track, putting up his best numbers in three years and ranked third in yards after catch among tight ends in 2023 with 7.1. His physicality, speed, and underrated hands can flourish in this offense that’s begging for a receiving tight end that isn’t a liability in run blocking.

After releasing long-time linebacker Jerome Baker, the Dolphins had to find a replacement with a nose for the football and a ton of tackling fuel. With the signing of Jordyn Brooks, they did just that.

Brooks just finished his third season in a row with 100+ tackles, including 184 in 2021 and 161 in 2022. He should serve as an early-down linebacker because the one hole in his game has been as a cover linebacker. Luckily, that’s where the signing of Anthony Walker Jr. comes into play.

Although Walker Jr. only had 44 tackles in 2023, he is widely regarded as one of the best cover linebackers in the league. He will likely serve as a third-down linebacker matching up against the better tight ends in the league. Brooks and Walker Jr. could be a strong, interchangeable, duo alongside David Long Jr.

With a shift in defensive philosophy under new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, the Dolphins invested in the back half of their defense. They went out and signed one of the best corners on the market for a steal of a deal in Kendall Fuller.

He replaces one of the franchise’s best corners in Xavien Howard and does have big shoes to fill, but he’s two years younger and graded much better (83.1) than Howard (55.1) in 2023 per Pro Football Focus as the top corner on the Washington Commanders. As a number two corner behind Jalen Ramsey, the duo could pressure the other team’s offense and give more time for the Dolphins rushers to get home.

The last big piece that the Dolphins added on defense, at least in my eyes, was Jordan Poyer. He may be on the older side of 30, but he’s still got more than enough left in the tank and brings a leadership presence that the Dolphins have needed for years on the defensive side.

He’s a leader and a playmaker on the Buffalo Bills defense that has given the Dolphins problems for years. That playmaker now plays in Miami and knows Josh Allen, having practiced every day against him for several years. That could give the Dolphins an edge during those crucial division games against the Bills, and get them over the hump.

The highest profile signing of the offseason was Odell Beckham Jr. He brings a veteran presence among young receivers but has Super Bowl experience and played well through the Rams playoff run and into that Super Bowl. He makes plays when the lights are at their brightest, and the Dolphins can use all the help they can afford in those moments.

Beckham Jr. has been an injury liability the last handful of years, but with a decreased workload as the Dolphins WR3, he could bring some juice and make big plays when they’re needed. He still has some of the best hands in the league and is a man-breaker. Depth at receiver is crucial, especially when most of the receiving core is small and susceptible to injuries.

If Jaylen Waddle or Tyreek Hill get injured, Beckham Jr. filling in as a WR2 is not much of a gap like the case was in 2023. I see big plays coming from Beckham Jr. in 2024.

What About The Kids

I know that the draft isn’t considered a pickup like the title refers to, but I want to bring them in because they are new faces to the team, and there are almost a handful that could make an immediate impact.

Edge rushers in first-round pick Chop Robinson, who’s already showing flashes in camp, and fifth-round pick Mohamed Kamara will get plenty of snaps from the start. Robinson will be a starter alongside the returning Emmanuel Ogbah (who could also make an impact, so let’s not forget about him), and they are going to be who the Dolphins heavily rely on, with Kamara backing them up until Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips come back from their injuries.

On the offensive side, the rooks are just as exciting, but none are starting yet. Second-round pick Patrick Paul is the heir apparent to left tackle once Terron Armstead retires, but with no one locking up the right guard position, I could see Paul sliding over there and making an immediate impact. If there’s a hole at guard, and you have a guy who could play well in that spot, there’s no reason to have him warming the bench, especially if you already have a solid backup tackle in Kendall Lamm. He can learn the nuances of the tackle position from Armstead and play guard his first year, as many have done before.

Fourth-round pick Jaylen Wright and sixth-round pick Malik Washington are both down in the depth chart due to the depth of their positions. Players at those positions on the roster have had a history of injuries, and they could get time in 2023. Both players could make an impact if those positions weren’t so deep. Maybe we won’t see them early, but they could flash on your screen later in the year so be on the lookout for them.

The Dolphins went from a team most people thought would take a step back after their initial losses in free agency, but Grier and his team got after it and filled every need with fresh faces ready to step up.

My question is, which player will have the most impact in the upcoming season?

After a successful start to fall camp, the Miami Hurricanes will continue to push forward as they start to ramp up for the opening game less than 30 days away. Many takes have already been said about this version of the Hurricanes team, but that will not stop the people from inside the building from working as hard as they can.

Many of the top players got a chance to talk to the media and they got to talk about some of the fine-tuning that needed to be done as camp is underway.

There is a lot to go off of with how huge Tyler Barron is compared to how other people see Cameron Ward as a leader to many in the city of Coral Gables. This will continue to progress like head coach Mario Cristobal said as the season is quickly approaching.

Canes’ In The Olympics

Canes’ In The Olympics

30 Days.

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In 2023, the Miami Marlins returned to the postseason for just the second time since 2003. (That’s the generous version, which requires you count the shortened 2020 season.) They rolled out this lineup in their first Wild Card game against the Phillies:

1. Luis Arraez 2B
2. Jorge Soler DH
3. Josh Bell 1B
4. Jazz Chisholm Jr. CF
5. Jake Burger 3B
6. Bryan De La Cruz LF
7. Jesús Sánchez RF
8. Jon Berti SS
9. Nick Fortes C

Not one year later, three of those guys remain on the team. Berti was traded to the Yankees this past offseason; Soler signed with the Giants in free agency; four more departed in the Marlins’ prolonged season sell-off, which began back in May and ended with surely the busiest deadline day in MLB on Tuesday.

The Marlins had begun the year 9-25 when newly hired Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix decided to call it a wrap and trade Luis Arráez to the Padres, a rare early-season flicker on the hot stove. At the time, Bendix told a reporter that it was a “difficult type of move to make” and one he knew sent “a difficult message in the short term.” If Arráez is a polarizing player—a one-tool guy whose one tool has won him batting championships—he was also a fan-favorite All-Star and the face of the 2023 team. The trade no doubt felt familiar to Marlins fans, who know never to grow too attached.

Marlins fans probably won’t miss a scuffling Josh Bell, whom the Diamondbacks picked up yesterday to be an injury replacement for Christian Walker at first base. The 26-year-old Jazz Chisholm Jr., who socked four towering home runs in his first three games in Yankee pinstripes, may be a different story. Also, Bryan De La Cruz is on the Pirates now. And those are just the position players. The Marlins also dealt closer Tanner Scott and middle reliever Bryan Hoeing to the Padres, sent a controllable lefty starter in Trevor Rogers to the Orioles, traded righty reliever Huascar Brazobán to the Mets, shipped lefty reliever A.J. Puk to the Diamondbacks, and jettisoned JT Chargois to the Mariners. It’s enough to make a blogger need more synonyms for “trade.”

By the end of Tuesday, the Marlins’ roster was nine major-league players lighter, and Miami’s farm system had essentially absorbed San Diego’s. Only the fan who bought a Jake Burger jersey is safe—and who knows for how long?

“It’s certainly been stressful, but it’s been exceptionally exciting. We have an opportunity here to really build a first-class organization and I’ve been entrusted to make that happen and I’m very honored by that,” Bendix told the Marlins Radio Network after the deadline. “The last month in particular, I think we’ve been able to add a tremendous amount of talent to the organization that’s going to serve us well.” 

There were reasons for Bendix to doubt the existing version of the Marlins. They made the playoffs last year with a record-low negative-57 run differential, and possibly record-high levels of dawg and clutch; the 2023 Marlins went 33-14 in one-run games. After being bounced from the playoffs in two games, Miami paid the price for all that good fortune in rotation injuries this year: Sandy Alcántara, the runaway Cy Young winner in 2022, was shut down late last season and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery. Precocious Eury Pérez delivered on the “baseball’s best pitching prospect” hype in his brief call-up last year, but also needed Tommy John this spring. When the club scratched Jesús Luzardo from a start because of back inflammation in late June, he became the seventh starter on the injured list. At 38-68 before the deadline, the Marlins were long doomed to a lost season.

Conventional MLB wisdom goes that the team stripped for parts is a “deadline winner.” But whether the Marlins have won the deadline depends on a lot more: whether the new front office can actually develop the “tremendous amount of talent” they’ve acquired, and whether they can make the necessary investments to retain them. It’s easy to sell. It takes a lot more courage to be a Marlins fan.