Sep
1
Grading Miami Dolphins’ Final 53-Man Roster
Filed Under EN
RB1: Knowshon Moreno
RB2: Lamar Miller
RB3: Damien Williams
RB4: Orleans Darkwa
IR: Mike Gillislee
Here’s a position Miami desperately needed more depth in, yet their biggest addition came via subtraction.
Since the departure of Reggie Bush, running back has been a difficult position for the Dolphins to really fill. Last season saw Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas unsuccessfully split carries. Each did have at least one good game to their name (and the team rushed well in quite a few more games than you might remember), however when they stunk, they stunk.
Some of that is due to the offensive line, which has now been revamped. The backs themselves did have issues of their own though.
One of those issues was pass blocking, which led to Miami bringing in Knowshon Moreno. Moreno would battle knee injuries during the offseason, not taking a preseason snap until Week 3 against Dallas. That game saw Moreno break out in a big way for Miami, running for 64 yards on 10 carries.
Lamar Miller, who’s preseason was quite uneven, seemed to get into the groove in that same game, running for 34 yards on seven carries.
Orleans Darkwa had a tremendous 53-yard run that helped set up a touchdown in that game, and that combined with a good training camp got him onto the roster.
Darkwa will not only be looking up at Moreno and Miller, but also at Damien Williams, who will serve as Miami’s return man at times, likely splitting the role with wide receiver Jarvis Landry.
Mike Gillislee is on injured reserve to start the season, and Daniel Thomas is no longer a Miami Dolphin despite dealing with injuries throughout the preseason. In his one game back, Thomas ran for 38 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, which wasn’t quite good enough to take the last slot, especially with how tentative he had run in gaining those yards.
Grade: B
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