3 Under-the-Radar Players who Must Play Key Roles for the Miami Dolphins in 2024

The Miami Dolphins have had the depth of their roster questioned in recent seasons – maybe rightfully so since injuries derailed each of the last two playoff years when key starters went down right before the postseason. This offseason, Miami’s front office took steps to ensure that the club’s depth chart was deeper than ever – albeit, at the cost of losing a couple of quality, high-priced free agents.

Yes, the Dolphins are truly taking a “team approach” this year, with many players signing on cheap, one-year contracts in hopes of bringing a Lombardi Trophy to South Florida for the first time in over 50 seasons.

Many players who are not directly in the media’s spotlight will be asked to play important roles for the Dolphins when the whistles blow and the regular season kicks off in a little over two months. Today, we aim to identify three under-the-radar players who will have a big say in whether Miami finally gets over their playoff woes, or if the 2024 campaign ends like the 2023 and 2022 seasons did before it.

Shaq Barrett – OLB

Once upon a time, Shaq Barrett was one of – if not the single best – pass rushers in the National Football League. In 2019, he led the entire league in sacks – finishing the season with a whopping 19.5 quarterback takedowns. Barrett – now 31 years old – will be counted on by Miami in 2024 to “hold down the fort” while the Dolphins wait for a couple of star pass-rushers in Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips to regain form after each suffered season ending injuries late last season.

Barrett feels he has a lot to prove after being cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “The Dolphins are going to be happy they signed me. Tampa is going to be mad they let me go because this year that I’m planning on having and the success that we’re about to have as a team is going to be amazing.”

Liam Eichenberg – OG

Liam Eichenberg was a solid offensive line prospect coming out of Notre Dame. During the 2021 NFL Draft, the Dolphins not only selected the former offensive tackle in the 2^nd round, but traded up to do so. Unfortunately for the club, the selection hasn’t panned out the way the team – and the player – hoped it would. Eichenberg was forced to play multiple positions along Miami’s offensive line early on, which could have stunted his development as a young player in the league. Injuries have also played a part in slowing the progress of the young player – most notably an MCL injury suffered in October of 2022 which cost the lineman a significant chunk of time.

Last year, when Connor Williams went down with a gruesome ACL injury, Eichenberg became the team’s de facto starting center – once again playing out of position. This year, he’ll be competing with free agent addition Jack Driscoll for the starting right guard role, but will likely find himself starting somewhere at some point in the season anyway due to the precarious injury histories of some of Miami’s projected starting linemen. When his name is called for duty, many are hoping that Eichenberg can take an Austin Jackson-like leap that finally shows why Chris Grier had such high hopes when selecting the player four seasons ago.

Jonnu Smith – TE

Wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle rightfully get most of the praise and attention when discussing Miami Dolphins pass-catchers. Another receiver in Odell Beckham Jr. joined the South Florida squad to much fanfare this offseason as well. One addition to Miami’s pass-catching corp that is lurking somewhat in the shadows is that of veteran tight end Jonnu Smith.

Smith comes to Miami after spending seven seasons in the National Football League with the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, and Atlanta Falcons. During that time, the soon-to-be 29-year-old has amassed 219 receptions for 2,423 yards and 20 receiving touchdowns.

The Dolphins are hoping that Smith brings a “yards after catch” element to the tight end position that the team hasn’t seen since perhaps the Charles Clay days of more than a decade ago. After all, the 3^rd fastest speed reached by a tight end in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016) came when Smith took a reception 60-yards for the score while playing for the Falcons last season.

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There are high hopes for the Miami Dolphins this year after two disappointing playoff exits against the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 and 2023. If the team is to achieve ultimate success and recapture the glory from decades past, these three players – among others – will have to play key roles while helping to make that happen.