Which free agent running back makes most sense for Miami Dolphins?
The Miami Dolphins run game in 2020 could be be described as a “work in progress”. The unit was much more effective than it was in the previous season. 2019 offered just 1,156 rushing yards collectively as a team for the Dolphins — 2020 saw that number climb to 1,688. The best of the bunch was second year pro Myles Gaskin, who logged nearly 1,000 yards from scrimmage in just 10 games on the year after injury and COVID-19 claimed nearly half of his season.
As the Dolphins look to continue to upgrade their ground game, even Gaskin’s role as the primary back shouldn’t be considered safe. After all, Gaskin was a 7th-round draft choice by GM Chris Grier in 2019 for a season — he’s a solid all-around back but doesn’t necessarily have a trait to hang his hat on. Ideally, Gaskin would step into more of a complementary role. He’s an effective pass catcher and would do quite well serving in a 3rd-down and change of pace role.
But regardless of who the Dolphins hire as their new offensive coordinator, you get the impression that this is a team that wants to run between the tackles. Miami’s offensive line is filled with big, dense road graders in the run game who will be best served creating creases by releasing vertically at the snap. Which means we’ll likely see the Dolphins add someone with a little extra “pop” between the tackles. The popular choice is Alabama running back Najee Harris in the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s 230 pounds and has a film reel filled with spectacular cuts and eye popping hurdles.
But what could the Dolphins do in free agency to help ensure it isn’t “reach on Harris or bust” at the running back position?
There are a slew of very good running backs scheduled to be available in free agency this offseason:
Green Bay’s Aaron Jones
Seattle’s Chris Carson
Pittsburgh’s James Conner
Kansas City’s Le’Veon Bell
The challenge with each of these will be cost. Jones is expected to command eight figures per season. And while Carson, Conner and Bell are not entering free agency with their most productive seasons of their respective careers, they’re well established names featured backs and will likely expect to be paid as such.
Jf the Dolphins are intent on not drafting a back early in the draft, then either Carson, Conner or Bell will certainly make a lot of sense for Miami. But if the Dolphins do plan on investing in a running back sooner rather than later in April’s draft, Atlanta running back Brian Hill is a sleeper to watch for a value buy in free agency.
Hill, who is 6-foot-1 and 218 pounds, will be a financial value and has done well to make the most of a limited role with the Falcons behind running back Todd Gurley. Hill, who is 25 years old, accounted for 664 yards for the Falcons in a contract year and is hoping to parlay that action (a career best) into a biggest contract. He played this past season for the Falcons for $2.13M.
For Miami, that’s the right kind of value to add further depth to a running back room filled with late draft picks and UDFAs without handcuffing the appeal of drafting a running back early in April’s draft. Or perhaps value isn’t so much of consequence for Miami as it is finding the best supporting cast for Tua Tagovailoa — in which case we may see heavy free agent and draft investments in the backfield instead. But if thriftiness is the name of the game for the Dolphins’ backfield, keep an eye on Brian Hill.
