Miami Dolphins Free Agent Rumors: Ben Tate, Jimmy Graham, Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew, Branden Albert 2014 Targets?

Jan 31, 2014 11:52 AM EST
New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham
Team Rice tight end Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints (80), defensive end Cameron Jordan of the New Orleans Saints (94), and running back Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears (22) talk during the 2014 Pro Bowl media day at J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa."

The Miami Dolphins barely missed the playoffs last season and after all their locker room drama, the team has free agents to consider this offseason and some of the top targets may include Ben Tate, Jimmy Graham, Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew, Branden Albert and Knowshon Moreno.

The Dolphins come into the offseason needing to focus on offense and not defense so much, as they signed names like Dannell Ellerbe, Phillip Wheeler and Brent Grimes last season and after the way the offense sputtered at the end of the year that should be the primary area to look at for the offseason. Mike Wallace was not as good as expected and while Ryan Tannehill showed some flashes of greatness, he was not consistent and the offense completely broke down at the end of the season, getting shutout by the Bills and losing to the NY Jets while scoring a combined seven points in their final two games and that marked a disappointing end to the season. In fact, the Dolphins offense was so bad last season that they scored over 30 points just one time and that means they need to figure out some things and after the offensive line and the running backs struggled, that could be an area they try to fix.

The tight end position should be interesting as well and while Graham is likely out of the question, the team needs to make a move after Dustin Keller was injured last year and he will be a free agent and while Charles Clay emerged last season, the team needs more from the position. The Dolphins hit free agency with needs at the running back position at the right time, as a number of players are going to hit the market and there is depth with that group, including names like Ben Tate, Darren McFadden, Maurice Jones-Drew, Knowshon Moreno and Donald Brown.

The team ranked 26th in the league in rushing yards last season and they did not get enough production out of Daniel Thomas and Lamar Miller and now they could be looking for an upgrade. Tate is sure to leave the Texans after rushing for over 700 yards and showing that he could be a starter in this league while playing with broken ribs and Brown could be on his way out of Indy after the Trent Richardson trade, while McFadden also should be changing teams since the Raiders have not been happy with his injuries, aka he has missed nearly half of the Raiders last 41 games.

The team could also look to upgrade the offensive line and after rumors last season that they wanted to trade for Albert, he will be on the market and that could be a great option to replace Jake Long, which the team did not really do after he left last season. Jones Drew could be a cheaper running back option but he has healthy issues too and he rushed for over 800 yards last season on a bad Jaguars team. The Dolphins have money to spend, but they need to be smart about where they put it.

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