Heading into Week 11 of the 2021 season, the Miami Dolphins’ rushing attack was the worst in the league. The group, headlined by Myles Gaskin, had averaged 73.6 yards per game on the ground, ranking 32nd.
Luckily, Miami was able to get some help when they called up veteran Duke Johnson to the active roster and claimed Phillip Lindsay off of waivers. They finished the year averaging 92.2 yards per contest, ranking 29th.
This offseason, while bringing in offensive-minded head coach Mike McDaniel, the Dolphins put forth a concerted effort to bring in talent and create competition. They tendered Salvon Ahmed before signing Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel. Oh, and they still have Gaskin, Gerrid Doaks and undrafted rookie ZaQuandre White on the roster as well.
Looking around the NFL, it would be reasonable to assume that all of the veteran additions would improve the standing of Miami’s running backs among analysts.
Well, Pro Football Focus’ Ben Linsey took it upon himself to rank the running back groups for all 32 teams in the league, and the Dolphins landed in his third-tier called “Gets the job done (good starter or good depth)” and No. 28 overall.
Here’s what Linsey wrote about Miami’s stable of backs:
“The Dolphins are certainly more talented at running back than they were in 2021, but it’s a hodgepodge collection of talent that will have to settle into order over the course of the offseason.
Raheem Mostert has the familiarity with new head coach Mike McDaniel’s offensive scheme and the speed that works well in it, but he’s struggled to stay healthy. Chase Edmonds was Miami’s most expensive offseason acquisition at running back, but he has yet to hold down a lead role over the course of his career. Sony Michel and Myles Gaskin round out the group, ranking 52nd and 49th respectively in PFF grade last season out of 62 qualifiers.”
The Dolphins are only ahead of the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons. They’re just behind the Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers.
In their career, the expected top three backs in Miami have had varying levels of success. Sony Michel has averaged 4.2 yards per carry, Edmonds has averaged 4.7 and Mostert has averaged 5.7.
Now, it’s obvious that all three are in new roles, behind a new offensive line, and there are questions about them, but to put a group that has a career 4.9 yards per attempt average near the bottom of the league is questionable.
