2. Who Will Step Forward at Offensive Guard?
Miami entered training camp needing to find two players worthy of starting: one at left guard and the other at right guard. Heading into the first preseason game, the Dolphins have yet to find either. They did, however, need to pencil in two names on the depth chart and Dallas Thomas and Billy Turner get the first crack at it. Thomas (6-foot-5, 315 pounds), entering his third season, has yet to find a home after bouncing around from guard to right tackle last season. While Thomas was a disaster on the outside last season, he did not allow a sack while playing inside. Turner (6-foot-5, 315 pounds), a year two player out of North Dakota State University, has been touted as an intriguing prospect, but he has yet to make a mark.
Those two are primarily competing with journeyman Jeff Linkenbach and rookie Jamil Douglas for the two first team spots. Linkenback (6’6″, 325 pounds) came to Miami after a year in Kansas City, following four years in Indianapolis to begin his career. He has started 36 of his 76 games played. Meanwhile, Douglas (6’4″, 304 pounds), who was selected in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Arizona State University, was projected to take a year or two to develop and it is looking like that is exactly what will happen.
None of these players seem to be very effective at slowing down the interior of the Dolphins defensive line in practice, although in all fairness, Miami has Pro Bowler Suh and should have one of the best and deepest defensive lines in football. To illustrate just how out of water the Phins have been at the position, Miami has inserted fourth team guard Jacques McClendon into the starting unit, as recently as Tuesday. Will Thomas and Turner prove worthy against Bears rookie Eddie Goldman, who, despite being behind Jeremiah Ratliff at nose tackle, could emerge as a starter to begin the season? Or will the Dolphins be forced to spend big dollars to bring in free agent Evan Mathis to help solve the equation?
Next: Will the Deep Ball be there Consistently?
