Are the Miami Dolphins Legit?

The Miami Dolphins have made some of the biggest noise this offseason, an amazing draft class, big trades and noticale signings, will do such. Besides 2016 and 2008, the franchise has been in ruins since 2006. Last season they finally finished close to playoff contention for the first time since making the Wild Card in 2016. The Dolphins due to these factors, are being given high expectations for this year. But are they legit Super Bowl contenders? 

NOTE: There are many different factors into a Super Bowl team, some are unpredictable and just luck such as injuries. But I will breakdown the known factors of Super Bowl caliber teams 

The Roster

The Miami Dolphins on paper, may have one of the most interesting depth charts in the league. At QB, Tua Tagovailoa, the prize possession of last offseason was underwhelming this past season. He looked great at times, but Ryan Fitzpatrick really played well when he came in for Tua. Making most overlook the bright spots Tua showed this past season. He is the centerpiece of this team, and with no more Fitzmagic to back him up we’ll see what the Dolphins actually have in Tua. His weapons are fantastic, RB Myles Gaskin, WR DeVante Parker, WR Will Fuller V, WR Jaylen Waddle, TE Durham Smythe, TE Mike Gesicki, TE Hunter Long. With a solid offensive line, amazing weapons, Tua now gets his most realistic Alabama like situation now in Miami. This offense should be good as long as Tua can make something great happen. 

The defense is great, Christian Wilkins, Emmanuel Ogbah leading the way on the defensive line. Jaelan Phillips (He is playing LB not ED), Andrew Van Ginkel, Jerome Baker and crew running the linebacker room. With a secondary with Xavien Howard, Byron Jones, Eric Rowe, Jason McCourty, and Jevon Holland. The defense looks really good, possibly not as good as last years but still a solid room full of guys. 

This is a young team, not much leadership and playoff experience which could hurt them later on in the postseason.  

The Competition 

The Dolphins have a stacked division, the Patriots and Bills both improving this offseason and the Jets looming in the background. It will be tough to go out and completely dominate games, and consistently winning games is very important as that is what the playoffs is like except the stakes are higher and better competition. The Bills in my opinion are the better team, and the Patriots may not be that far off but the Dolphins are still better than them and the Jets. The AFC also breeds teams like the Chiefs, Ravens, Browns and the Colts who could all beat the Dolphins. The NFC is also stacked, with the Buccaneers, Rams, Packers and more who could be big threats to the Dolphins 

The Coaching

The Dolphins have one of the best coaching staffs in the NFL. In only 2 seasons Brian Flores turned this team from consistent top ten picks to 10-6. He has good schemes, and also good playing time distribution and substitution skills. 

The Conclusion

The Miami Dolphins are really good, and this is one of their best teams in recent memory this season. But the question marks at the QB position, and the immense amount of amazing teams around them leads me to believe that they aren’t legit Super Bowl contenders.