Kelly: Are the 2024 Dolphins better than last year’s team?

Super Bowl talk is cute, but it’s important to put realistic expectations on this 2024 Miami Dolphins season in Year 3 of the Mike McDaniel era.

McDaniel’s team has made steady progression each of his first two seasons, but is it fair to expect this franchise to take another step forward — a playoff win, an AFC East division crown — while the coaching staff is working with an inferior roster?

Say whatever you would like about the team general manager Chris Grier produced this offseason. Despite facing a ton of financial challenges, which led to a mass exodus of free agents, Miami took a step back in four areas based on what’s on the roster heading into Sunday’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Allow us to break down the 2024 roster and analyze if Miami made progress, or regressed in each unit.

Quarterbacks

▪ Players: Tua Tagovailoa, Skylar Thompson, Tim Boyle (practice squad)

▪ Analysis: Tua Tagovailoa, who has lost a little weight and gained a little velocity on his passes, is entering his third season in McDaniel’s offense, and should be one of the NFL’s passing leaders in 2024 if he can stay healthy. Thompson unseated Mike White as Miami’s No. 2 quarterback and has a knack for improvisation. Boyle has played in 20 games with five starts.

▪ Comparison: BETTER because Tagovailoa, who is 26, should show continued growth.

RUNNING BACKS

▪ Players: Raheem Mostert, Devon Achane, Jaylen Wright (rookie), Jeff Wilson Jr., Deneric Prince (practice squad).

▪ Analysis: Mostert and Achane combined for 1,812 rushing yards and scored 32 touchdowns last season, and should put up similar numbers if the offensive line is decent. Wright has a promising rookie camp, proving he has the talent to enter the playing rotation. Wilson is an inside zone specialist with starting experience.

▪ Comparison: BETTER because Achane is blossoming and Wright flashed during training camp and the preseason.

RECEIVERS

▪ Players: Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Odell Beckham Jr. (physically unable to perform list), River Cracraft (injured reserve), Braxton Berrios, Malik Washington (R), Grant DuBose, Erik Ezukanma (PS), Robbie Chosen (PS), Dee Eskridge (PS).

▪ Analysis: The vision was for Hill, Waddle and Beckham Jr. to be Miami’s trio of receivers, but Beckham began the season on the PUP and won’t be eligible to play until October. Neither will Cracraft, who is nursing a shoulder injury that got him placed on injured reserve. That means Berrios, Washington and DuBose are competing with practice squad players Chosen, Ezukanma and Eskridge for the No. 3 role. Eskridge, a former second-round pick, has returner skills.

▪ Comparison: BETTER because Beckham’s a difference maker when healthy, and the biggest loss from last season’s unit was Cedrick Wilson Jr.

TIGHT ENDS/FULLBACKS

▪ Players: Jonnu Smith, Durham Smythe, Julian Hill, Tanner Conner, Hayden Rucci (PS), fullback Alec Ingold.

▪ Analysis: All six players in this group have varying skill sets that work well together. Smith is a run-after-catch specialist. Smythe and Hill excel as in-line blockers. Conner, a former college receiver, can handle the most roles and has the best hands. And Ingold possesses a toughness Miami needs to rely on more in short-yardage situations.

▪ Comparison: BETTER because Smith adds an element missing from last year’s offense.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

▪ Starters: LT Terron Armstead, LG Robert Jones, C Aaron Brewer, RG Liam Eichenberg, RT Austin Jackson. Backups: OT Patrick Paul, OT Kendall Lamm, C Andrew Meyer, OG Lester Cotton, OG Isaiah Wynn (PUP), OG Chasen Hines (PS), OT Bayron Matos (PS), OT Anderson Hardy (PS).

▪ Analysis: Armstead’s an All-Pro-caliber offensive tackle when the 11-year veteran is healthy. Jackson is coming off his most impressive season. Brewer is an effective run blocker who needs to improve his pass protection. Jones, Eichenberg and Cotton will compete for the starting guard spots while Wynn, who is on the PUP reserve list, rehabs a quadriceps injury that cut his season short in 2023. The Dolphins need this unit to stay healthy to avoid the late-season struggles they had last year.

▪ Comparison: WORSE because Connor Williams was a top performer last season while Brewer has struggled in pass protection. Also, there’s a massive drop-off from Hunt to whoever replaces him.

EDGE PLAYERS

▪ Players: Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb (PUP), Emmanuel Ogbah, Quinton Bell, Chop Robinson (R), Mohamed Kamara (R), Cameron Goode (PUP), Williams Bradley-King (PS).

▪ Analysis: Jaelen Phillips, who is nine months into rehabbing an Achilles injury, is healthy enough to begin the season on the active roster as a starter. Chubb (ACL) and Goode (patella tendon), will begin the season on the PUP, which means they will be sidelined till at least October. Ogbah and Bell will compete for the starting role while Chubb is sidelined, and Robinson, Miami’s 2024 first-round pick, will be the Dolphins’ pass rushing specialist while he learns to set the edge for run plays.

▪ Comparison: WORSE because Phillips, Chubb and Goode are all coming back from serious injuries and Robinson is a one dimensional player right now. Oghab was once good, but is a year older.

DEFENSIVE LINE

▪ Players: Zach Sieler, Calais Campbell, Da’Shawn Hand, Benito Jones, Brandon Pili, Jonathan Harris (PS), Naquan Jones (PS).

▪ Analysis: The Dolphins held opponents to 3.8 yards per carry and set a franchise record with 56 sacks in 2023, and it was the defensive linemen who served as that unit’s pillar of granite. To repeat that type of performance Miami will need career seasons from Hand and Jones, the two rotational defensive lineman, who will be asked to complement Sieler and Campbell.

▪ Comparison: WORSE because Wilkins will be a difficult player to replace, and most of the backups are unproven.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS

▪ Players: Jordyn Brooks, David Long Jr., Anthony Walker Jr., Duke Riley, Channing Tindall, Dequan Jackson (PS).

▪ Analysis: Brooks, Long and Walker all have accomplished NFL resumes. They each bring something different to Miami’s inside linebacker unit, and hopefully their skill sets allow them to mesh well, masking their deficiencies. Riley is a core special teamer, and Tindall is a third-year player who is finally starting to live up to his draft status and talent level.

▪ Comparison: BETTER because Brooks and Walker have a skill set that compares favorably to Jerome Baker.

CORNERBACKS

▪ Players: Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller, Kader Kohou, Ethan Bonner, Cam Smith (IR), Storm Duck (R), Siran Neal, Isaiah Johnson (R-PS).

▪ Analysis: Ramsey, Fuller and Kohou are Miami’s starting cornerbacks. Bonner and Smith are the top backups when healthy. But Smith is nursing a hamstring strain that got him placed on injured reserve. Neal made it onto the 53-man roster because of his special teams contribution. Duck and Johnson are promising rookies who need time to develop.

▪ Comparison: WORSE because Xavien Howard was a top performer for the Dolphins for many years, and depth in this unit is relatively untested.

SAFETIES

▪ Players: Jevon Holland, Jordan Poyer, Marcus Maye, Elijah Campbell, Patrick McMorris (IR), Nik Needham and Jordan Colbert (R).

▪ Analysis: Poyer and Holland are viewed as Miami’s starters, but both have struggled with injuries this camp. Holland’s in a critical contract year, so expect him to soldier through his issues. Poyer, a 11-year veteran, must prove he has the range to cover deep center field. The Bills didn’t trust him to do it last year, maybe because he’s lost step. Maye, who has started 77 games, is a capable starter. Campbell and Needham have some special teams value.

▪ Comparison: BETTER because Poyer and Maye are more accomplished than Brandon Jones and DeShon Elliott, the two safeties they replace.

SPECIAL TEAMS

▪ Players: K Jason Sanders, P Jake Bailey, LS Blake Ferguson.

▪ Analysis: Miami cut Ferguson for roster configuration reasons, but re-signed him last Thursday, keeping this unit status quo. As for returners, Berrios, Washington and Eskridge can fill those roles.

▪ Comparison: SAME since re-signing Ferguson last week keeps things status quo.