The Dolphins made a huge splash this offseason and are one of the most promising young teams in the NFL on both sides of the ball. The issue is they’re still looking up at Tom Brady and the Patriots at the top of the AFC East mountain. The Phins were the last team to dethrone the Pats and will look to do it again this season. With a talented young quarterback, an up-and-coming WR corps, a 1,000-yard rusher and a nasty defense, the Dolphins are hoping this will be their year to take that next step.

Quarterback

Entering his fourth season, Ryan Tannehill appears to just be hitting his stride. In just two seasons his completion percentage has gone from 58.3 percent to 66.4 percent, and he has improved his TD:INT ratio from 12:13 to 27:12. Last season he put up QB1 numbers throwing for 4,045 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also added 311 yards and a TD on the ground. In his second-year in offensive coordinator Bill Lazor’s offense, Tannehill is reportedly looking much more comfortable this season. He also has a plethora of new weapons to target this season including Kenny Stills, Jordan Cameron, Jay Ajayi and first-round pick DeVante Parker. The one aspect of his game Tannehill could really stand to improve is his deep ball. If he can add that to his arsenal, watch out!

Running Backs

Lamar Miller is coming off a 1,000-yard season, 1,099 to be exact. He averaged an impressive 5.1 yards per carry behind a less than stellar offensive line. The former Miami Hurricane also punched in eight touchdowns and added 38 receptions for 275 yards and an additional TD through the air. However, Miller did struggle a bit in two areas, pass-catching and at the goal line. It just so happens the Dolphins stole second-round projected Ajayi in the fifth round. Last season at Boise State, Ajayi totaled 2,358 yards from scrimmage with a ridiculous 32 touchdowns. He also managed to snag 50 passes. Look for him to steal a lot of the receptions and goal-line touches this season. Damien Williams will win the RB3 job. Miami’s RB corps is in great shape heading into 2015.

Wide Receivers

The new look Dolphins’ WR corps was overhauled this offseason. Jarvis Landry is the only remaining top-three wideout from last season. Brian Hartline is now in the quagmire that is Cleveland and Mike Wallace was shipped off to Minnesota after issues in the locker room. Almost immediately after trading away Wallace, the Dolphins traded for Stills. Veteran Greg Jennings also signed in free agency, and, most importantly, they drafted Parker with the 14th-overall pick. Landry will almost certainly lead Miami in receptions after catching 84 passes from the slot as a rookie. Parker will develop into the WR1. Last year in just six games at Louisville, Parker went off for 43 receptions, 855 yards and five TDs. Stills will serve as the deep threat being that he has a career average of 16.5 yards per catch. This is a scary trio that complements each other very well. Don’t expect much for the soon to be 32-year-old Jennings, he may fall behind WR5 Rishard Matthews at some point this season.

Tight Ends

The Dolphins were outbid by the Bills this offseason for Charles Clay who was paid in a similar fashion to Rob Gronkowski for some reason. Clay was replaced by Cameron. In 2013, Cameron caught 80 passes for 917 yards and seven TDs. Unfortunately injuries have been a factor, particularly concussions. Cameron struggled through 2014 catching only 24 passes in 10 games in Cleveland. Should he suffer an injury this season, Dion Sims could emerge as an impact player.

Defense

Miami’s defense has the potential to among the best in the league now that Ndamukong Suh has taken his talents to South Beach. He will make Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon so dangerous off the end. Wake could very well top his career-high sack mark of 15. The line should help mask a subpar linebacker corps. Although the group of LBs is below average, they do have a very talented young LB named Jelani Jenkins who made 110 tackles last season. The secondary consists of top-five corner Brent Grimes and Pro-Bowl safety Rashad Jones. Louis Delmas is a very good safety as well and is projected to start despite tearing his ACL last season. The No. 2 corner is the one glaring hole. That is the one truly weak link on this defense. Nonetheless, this could be a top-five fantasy defense in the league this season.

Player to Watch

The player to watch is Landry. He has a great shot to catch 100 passes and could hit the 1,000-yard mark as well. By the end of the season he may surface as an invaluable PPR asset. This season he’ll make a huge leap.

Key Stat

Tannehill has been sacked 104 times in the past-two seasons. He went from being sacked a league-high 58 times to 46 times last season. The Dolphins have to improve their pass protection this year. With left tackle Branden Albert on track for Week 1 after tearing his ACL last season, the line should be improved from the O-line that sputtered down the stretch last year.

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