Sporting News magazine predicts Dolphins will finish third in AFC East

Written by Matthew Cannata
In the most recent edition of the Sporting News magazine, they predicted that the Miami Dolphins will finish third in the AFC East and ranked them the 22nd best team in the NFL.

They graded each position on the team and gave the following: Quarterbacks (B-), Running Backs (B), Wide Receivers (B), Offensive Line (C+), Defensive Line (A-), Linebackers (C+), Secondary (B) and Special Teams (B)

Their candidate for the breakout player on the team is wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who was drafted in the second round in the 2014 NFL Draft. Landry is expected to compete with Brandon Gibson and Rishard Matthews as the slot receiver in this offense.

The magazine predicted that if the Dolphins don’t make the playoffs this season, owner Stephen Ross will clean house. Unfortunately, they see the New England Patriots as a legitimate Super Bowl contender and call the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills much improved. They do say they believe the Dolphins have a top ten defense as well as a lot of athleticism on offense.

Like just about everyone is saying though, this year will depend on quarterback Ryan Tannehill and his development. Ironically, they blamed him for being sacked last year but didn’t mention anything about the offensive line. While some of the sacks were his fault, the vast majority were due to a breakdown of protection. I don’t think Tannehill needs to do a whole lot better than what he did last year – the offensive line are the ones who need to step up and improve on last year’s numbers.

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