Breaking down film of Evan Mathis, a free agent offensive lineman

Evan Mathis has been linked to the Miami Dolphins since at least the beginning of this off season with trade rumors. So when a week or so ago the Philadelphia Eagles released Mathis, Dolphins’ fans started going a bit crazy. What makes a player who the Dolphins cut, a player who is 33 years old, and a player who reportedly wants a boatload of money so appealing to the Dolphins?

The first reason is simple - left guard is the biggest questions mark on Miami’s offense. The left guard positon is most likely going to be Dallas Thomas who is at best, average and Jamil Douglas, who is a promising rookie but is still a rookie.

The second reason - Mathis is coming from a very similar offense. Bill Lazor came from the Eagles and runs a similar zone blocking scheme. If Mathis comes in, it wouldn’t take much time to pick up the playbook or the blocking play calls.

The last reason is Mathis’ skill set. Mathis has the athleticism and experience to make a question mark at left guard turn into an exclamation point. Mathis fires off the snap. Mathis is very quick. Mathis’ quickness would give the Dolphins an extra layer in the running game with more plays that would include an effective pulling guard, and in the passing game with screen plays.  

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This film analysis was completed by Matthew Knowles. Follow him on Twitter: @blueflamespcl