MIAMI — Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier had quite the self-assured take on the offensive line play to start the 2024 NFL season.

Coach Mike McDaniel “and I were talking about this the other day with the offensive line how every year, you guys are like, ‘not good enough, not good enough’ but then, offensively we’re a pretty good offense the last two years, and a number of you guys have talked about how the guys have improved,” Grier said in late August. “Those guys on the offensive line have worked their tails off. We feel confident in them.”

By early January following a disappointing 8-9 finish, the general manager had changed his tune.

“When I said that — and I’m not trying to backtrack, I believe in that — but I will always support a group of guys that have worked with a coach that we believe in that tirelessly works to improve, and that group did nothing but work,” Grier said Tuesday, explaining that “unfortunately, injuries got to us, we didn’t finish well.”

Added Grier: “We’re going to have to invest in the offensive line now.”

Despite the quarterback injuries, several one-score losses and a top-10 defense, the Dolphins’ disappointing season can ultimately be attributed to a lack of investment in the offensive line. It was clear the loss of center Connor Williams and right guard Robert Hunt hurt more than expected; the Dolphins dropped to 28th in yards per carry in 2024 after leading the league in that category in 2023. There were certainly stars in the unit — specifically center Aaron Brewer and tackle Terron Armstead — but the health on the edge as well as lackluster guard play ultimately doomed the Dolphins season.

Granted, the Dolphins did an admirable job in quarterback protection. The unit had the fifth-best blocking efficiency rating, according to Pro Football Focus, giving up just 21 sacks on 668 pass plays. Still, the Dolphins couldn’t run the ball — Miami’s rushing offense fell from sixth in 2023 to just 21st the following year — which ultimately limited their ability to effectively pass.

It also didn’t help that Robert Jones and Liam Eichenberg, their starting guards for the majority of the season, ranked 61st and 48th, respectively, at their position in terms of run blocking, per PFF. For comparison, Hunt finished the 2024 season as the 23rd overall guard when it came to run blocking.

“It has to be the foundation of our offense because it opens up everything in the passing game and the other plays and gadget plays that Mike wants to install, but you don’t really get the defense’s eyes or they don’t really respect a lot of their fakes unless you’re running the ball effectively,” Armstead said in October. “So in order to bring linebackers up, get the safety eyes and Tyreek [Hill] and [Jaylen] Waddle to get behind them, got to run the ball effectively.”

A successful run game was one of the most unheralded pieces of the 2023 Dolphins’ NFL-leading offense. Without it, McDaniel had to rely on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s quick release for short pass plays to replace what had been a middling rushing attack. It somewhat worked, however, as ESPN’s Mina Kimes said, “you cannot create an offense that’s so dependent” on how quickly Tagovailoa throws the ball.

“This team is not well-constructed,” the NFL analyst said before explaining where Miami finished in Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA), a term that sports analytics platform For the Numbers describes as a measurement of “a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent.” “The Dolphins finished the season 30th in run DVOA. You cannot succeed in this current era of football with as bad a run game as Miami has and everything they do this offseason has to be based in fixing that.”

As Grier alluded to, injuries did come into play. First came guard Isaiah Wynn’s setback during his recovery from a quadriceps ailment that cost him most of the 2024 season. Then right tackle Austin Jackson had season-ending knee surgery after he sustained a torn meniscus during the Dolphins’ Week 9 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, something McDaniel said destroyed Miami’s rushing attack.

“We haven’t done a good enough job executing in the run game, I think, since Austin Jackson left, and that’s been a focus of ours because he’s a very good player at the point of attack, but we have other good players too and how do we get that consistent,” McDaniel said Dec. 18. “I think, like anything in football, it’s a group effort and it starts with focusing on the right thing, not just the result but more of what does it look like and where are the failures at the point of attack.”

Nagging injuries to Armstead’s knee and backup tackle Kendall Lamm’s back left both veterans hobbled for the final stretch of the year, resulting in even poorer offensive line play. At one point, the Dolphins called up tackle Jackson Carman from the practice squad to start a game due to the plethora of injuries.

“It was like a slow bleed out the rest of the year with guys just playing through stuff, being nicked, battled and bruised,” Grier said.

With the 2024 season in the rearview mirror, the Dolphins have a chance to totally remake the offensive line. Three players — Brewer, Jackson and Armstead — remain signed through next year. Barring Armstead’s retirement, a real possibility considering he will turn 34 before the 2025 season, Miami can only potentially find serviceable replacements at both guard spots but also find at least one serviceable backup tackle considering rookie Patrick Paul should be improved. If not, the 2025 season will be more of the same: disappointment, unrealized expectations and early exit postseasons, if they even make the playoffs at all.

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