Last week, former and now-retired Terron Armstead compared Tua Tagovailoa to Drew Brees. Over the same weekend, he defended his take by backing up his comments with his own personal experiences playing with both quarterbacks.

The lone difference between Tagovailoa and Brees, it seems, is the offensive line. The New Orleans Saints made sure Brees was fully protected over his career, whereas the Dolphins have yet to fully invest in their line, at least not enough to make Tua feel comfortable.

The issue seems to stem from the quick release Tua has. That release lessens the need for timing protection, but defenses are figuring out how to take his quick reads away, leaving the offensive line to hold their blocks longer.

Miami invested this year. They drafted Jonah Savaiinaea and signed James Daniels in free agency. Austin Jackson is expected to be healthy again, and while there is still a question about Patrick Paul, the left tackle position isn’t horrible.

Dolphins’ offensive line backups could be the worst in decades

On paper, the Dolphins’ line should be much improved over last year’s unit, but there is still a problem. The Dolphins have limited depth should one of their starters go down. Consider that Liam Eichenberg may be the best of what sits behind the starters, and that isn’t reassuring.

Miami has 10 players listed at “OL,” and that includes Aaron Brewer, Jackson, and Savaiinaea. Of the remaining seven, Eichenberg and Larry Borom have played five seasons. The other five have a combined four seasons of NFL experience.

The Dolphins list only one guard on their roster: Daniels. They list five players at tackle. Of those five, Jackson Carman is the only player with any real experience, outside of Paul, who played snaps last season.

Overall, the Dolphins are walking a thin (offensive) line heading into 2025. Chris Grier still has time to fix it, as players will be released prior to the start of the season, and there are still several veterans available as free agents. The question is, will he look at his roster and see how bad it is behind an already questionable starting unit? Probably not.