The Miami Dolphins are a team that appeared to be on the rise in the 2023-24 NFL season. However, they had a disappointing ending to this past season. Miami gave up the AFC East division lead in the final week of the regular season.
Then, the Dolphins lost a wild card game on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs and performed poorly in said game. The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl. Despite this finish, the Miami Dolphins stood out among the rest of the NFL according to the players.
Miami Dolphins Get Straight A’s
If the NFL had an honor roll, the Miami Dolphins would be on it. The team received straight A’s on their report card from the NFLPA. Considering there were 11 different categories that the players could grade for each team, this is extremely impressive.
Overall, the Miami Dolphins had the highest grades of any team in the NFL. Some of the notable categories here include head coach Mike McDaniel receiving an A grade and owner Stephen Ross receiving an A+ grade. Ross was voted the owner most likely to invest in the team by the players.
Mike McDaniel and Tyreek Hill
McDaniel and Hill are arguably the two faces of this recent surge by the Dolphins. Both men have been on the team for two seasons. They both played critical roles in helping the Dolphins make playoff appearances in back-to-back seasons.
So, what has each done to help the cause? Hill has simply continued playing at an elite level like he always has. He had 1,799 receiving yards and 13 touchdown receptions in 16 games this past season.
McDaniel has taken advantage of the offensive talent that he has to work with. Most notably, McDaniel’s influence has helped resurge QB Tua Tagovailoa. How much improvement has Tua made?
In 2021, Tua had 2,653 passing yards and 16 touchdown passes in 13 games. Let’s just say Tua showed remarkable improvement in 2023. He had 4,624 passing yards and 29 touchdown passes in 17 games this past season.
Miami Dolphins Moving Forward
After an early exit from the playoffs this past season, the Miami Dolphins will certainly want to build off of that loss. It certainly appears that the players fully support the moves that this organization has made. Now, we will have to see if there is any progress in 2024.
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