No NFL guard has allowed more quarterback pressures than Dolphins rookie Jonah Savaiinaea’s 16.
No NFL guard has permitted more sacks in October than Savaiinaea’s two.
Only four (of 78) have worse run-blocking grades, if you believe the analysis of Pro Football Focus.
But the Dolphins seem to believe that moving Savaiinaaa back to the right side — where he played in college — is not the solution. Coach Mike McDaniel has said that playing on the left side has no correlation to his struggles.
Would moving him to the right side help?
“I don’t know if that’s the easy solution,” offensive coordinator Frank Smith said Thursday. “Everyone wants it to be perfect and ready to go. He’s confident and working to improve.”
The Dolphins moved Savaiinaea from right guard (where he played last season at Arizona) to left guard immediately after drafting him. At Arizona, Savaiinaea played some left tackle but not left guard.
Smith said the Dolphins did that because they wanted him to play on the same side as left tackle Patrick Paul.
“You’re looking at the long-term vision and plan,” Smith said. “Putting him on the same side as Pat and building chemistry and rapport is what we want to attain.”
The decision to play him on the left side was “not [about] the result now. It’s what we could have in the future.”
Asked if he believes he’s a better right guard than left guard, the rookie did not answer directly.
“It’s wherever,” he said. “I’m here to learn. Wherever [offensive line coach Butch Barry or McDaniel] want me at, that’s where I’m at.”
Of playing on the left side, he said, “there’s no excuses for what’s been happening on the field. I had time over OTAs and training camp to work on it.”
By moving Savaiinaea to left guard, the Dolphins were able to play free agent pickup James Daniels at right guard, where he has had his most NFL success. But Daniels sustained a pectoral injury in the opener and remains out indefinitely.
So why not experiment with the rookie at right guard while Daniels is on injured reserve? What has surprised him about the NFL? “How athletic these three techs are,” he said. “They move just as fast and quick as the D-ends. They can move…. Especially these bigger guys, I’ve got to trust I’m more athletic than them, make them run outside in the B gap… Nothing is going to take my confidence away. I will pick it up and do my best to protect the quarterback as good as I can.”
D-tackle fallout
Among the 15 defensive tackles who are rated best against the run by Pro Football Focus, the Dolphins cut one of them (Teair Tart, who is rated second best); didn’t re-sign another (Calais Campbell, who returned to Arizona) and passed on signing a third, Sheldon Rankins, who signed a value deal in Houston.
Though Tart has thrived with the Chargers, the Dolphins’ decision to release him in mid-August 2024 — just three weeks into camp — seemed justified because he was out of shape and playing poorly in practice.
This offseason, the Dolphins felt that re-signing Benito Jones and Matt Dickerson would suffice before the draft. After selecting Kenneth Grant, Jordan Phillips and Zeek Biggers in the draft, they decided they didn’t need to sign a starter and would be fine simply adding backup Matt Butler.
None of those decisions has worked out — at least not yet, though defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver said Jones played well against Carolina and will play more.
Among 118 defensive tackles rated by PFF, all five Dolphins are rated 97th or lower. Phillips is 97th, Butler 99th, Zach Sieler 108th, Jones 109th and Grant 117th.
The Dolphins are allowing 5.6 yards per carry; only Chicago, at 6.2, is worse.
What’s more, Dolphins defensive tackles have combined for just three tackles for loss in five games (two by Sieler).
According to a source, Campbell did not believe the Dolphins’ offer was appealing enough. He was happy to go back to where he started his career; the Cardinals gave him $4.5 million guaranteed in a one-year deal that could be worth as much as $7.5 million.
Campbell has been impactful to Arizona, with three sacks and four tackles for loss. PFF rates him the No. 14 interior defensive lineman in the NFL and 15th against the run.
Instead of simply signing Jones and the journeyman Dickerson, Miami could have added a better player on a value deal early in free agency. Rankins was one option; he signed a one-year, $5.25 million deal with Houston. PFF ranks Rankins 10th among all defensive tackles and 12th as a run defender.
Run defense by the safety opposite Minkah Fitzpatrick also has deteriorated. PFF ranks offseason pickup Ashtyn Davis the worst of all 74 qualifying safeties against the run; he took multiple bad angles on long runs by the Jets and Carolina.
Conversely, the two safeties that the Dolphins opted not to re-sign after 2023 — Pittsburgh’s DeShon Elliott and Denver’s Brandon Jones — are both ranked well above-average run defenders, with Elliott slotted fourth. The decision to sign Jordan Poyer last year turned out poorly, and the team’s new safeties — aside from Fitzpatrick — haven’t played especially well.
Some of the Dolphins’ edge defenders also have struggled against the run, but there’s nothing the team could have done about that because Miami was fully invested in those players. Among edge players, PFF rates Jaelan Phillips third worst against the run and Chop Robinson 18th worst.