MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins are weak at three of the most crucial positions in football — quarterback, edge rusher and cornerback.

Where do they start building?

We don’t have any idea.

This is the fun of watching the Dolphins’ new regime of general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley. This is the excitement of team construction.

Usually the offseason frustrates me. It’s basically an extended period of yapping. There’s no football, so nothing gets settled for months.

This offseason is different.

We don’t know how the Dolphins’ new regime thinks.

Sullivan and Hafley said this team will be physical and tough.

I love that.

No more finesse football.

But exactly how do they get where they want to go from here?

We’ll watch every move with over-the-top curiosity.

They’ll all be insightful.

Me? I’d start the building on defense. I’d go cornerback, edge rusher, offensive line and then defensive tackle while being on the lookout for quarterback.

Let’s go through this quickly. Defense is where most of your attitude and aggression resides.

Linebacker Jordyn Brooks. Defensive tackle Zach Sieler. Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. Safety Dante Trader. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Cornerback Kader Kohou.

Those guys have physicality, nastiness, speed, smarts. 

At this point I’d draft a cornerback in the first round and make that a position of strength.

Consider the talent. A first-round pick. Kohou. Storm Duck. Perhaps JuJu Brents. Maybe Rasul Douglas. Possibly Jack Jones. Jason Marshall Jr. Isaiah Johnson. Ethan Bonner.

Let ’em battle it out in camp.

Honestly, the Dolphins aren’t far from making the offensive line a position of strength. They have Aaron Brewer at center and Patrick Paul at left tackle. Austin Jackson is solid at right tackle if he stays healthy. Perhaps left guard Jonah Savaiinaea takes a step forward in his second season. Maybe right guard James Daniels stays healthy.

But that’s wishing for a lot of good health and development.

Defensive tackle has potential among Sieler and Phillips. There’s hope for Kenneth Grant, last year’s first-round pick, and Zeek Biggers, a 2025 seventh-round pick. However, that position takes a while for youngsters to develop, and the Dolphins have three 2025 draftees among Phillips, Grant and Biggers.

Running back could be a position of strength among De’Von Achane, Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II. But Wright and Gordon are unproven.

Quarterback must be totally rebuilt. I wouldn’t bring Tua Tagovailoa back. I’d designate him a post-June 1 cut and split his salary cap hit into two years — $67 million in 2026, and $32 million in 2027. I’d allow Quinn Ewers, a 2025 seventh-round pick, to compete with a veteran free agent and a youngster, perhaps a rookie draftee selected no later than the third round (any later and there’s little chance he’ll develop into a legit starter), for the starting job.

Edge rusher, a vital position, must be totally rebuilt. There’s a chance veteran Bradley Chubb is released due to his $31 million salary cap charge. Chop Robinson, the 2024 first-round pick, doesn’t seem trustworthy after 10 sacks in two seasons.  

The Dolphins’ approach to building this team in the first year under Sullivan and Halfey will be captivating.

I acknowledge the value of the offseason.

The offseason gives us insight into how a team builds (draft or free agency), how it rewards (contract extension), how much risk it’s willing to take (players with injury history), how much it’s willing to spend (free agency), and so on.

The offseason tells us how a team thinks, what it values.

This Dolphins team has to have an identity, a position of strength, a style.

I say it should start at cornerback where the Dolphins can aspire to a duo as good as Houston’s All Pro Derek Stingley Jr. and Pro Bowl selection Kamari Lassiter.

Combine the first-round pick with Kohou in the slot and perhaps Douglas on the other side, and build depth, which you always need at that position, with guys such as Duck, Brents, Johnson and Bonner.

Then you start building edge rusher and then offensive line and then defensive tackle with an eye on the quarterback position the entire time.

Turnarounds are happening fast nowadays. These things are done within three years, and sometimes sooner. New England. Seattle. Chicago. Jacksonville. Denver. Detroit. 

The Dolphins have played each of those teams in the past three years. They’ve surged while Miami has slumped.

We’ll see if Sullivan and Halfey can put the Dolphins in the positive part of that discussion.