Will Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker Expose New-Look Miami Dolphins Offensive Line?

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — There’s no easing into the season for the Miami Dolphins‘ offensive line.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are up first, and they’re bringing arguably the NFL’s best pass-rush tandem to town.

Jacksonville Jaguars DL vs. Miami Dolphins OL Breakdown

The Jaguars, in Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, had two double-digit sack defenders in 2023 — the only team in the league with two players who totaled 10 or more.

And the arrow continues to point straight up for Walker, the former No. 1 overall pick who is still just 23 years old.

He went from 3.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits as a rookie to 10 and 19 in Year 2.

“Not just on pass, but in your run [game], you’re scared of Walk making a play at the point of attack or from the backside of a play,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Monday. “I just saw little glimpses of evolution that you know is coming.

“You can tell that they’re preparing to put him in positions to make plays and be a primary area of focus, so that’s going to have to be something that each one of our offensive players along the line of scrimmage, including tight ends and receivers, we’re going to have to be aware of his game. It’s going to take several people to slow him down, for sure.”

That’s doubly true for Josh Hines-Allen (formerly Josh Allen), a two-time Pro Bowler who ranked second behind only T.J. Watt in sacks in 2023 (19). Hines-Allen’s advanced stats were even more impressive. His pass rush success rate (18.3%) was the highest of any player with 490 or more opportunities.

The two of them together would be a handful for any offensive line, but particularly one that lost two starters from last year (guard Robert Hunt and center Connor Williams). And the players that replaced them in the lineup — Aaron Brewer and Liam Eichenberg — didn’t play a single snap together in a preseason game.

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“It’s a very timely matchup when you’re looking at all their pass rushers and the problems they present,” McDaniel said. “… Any time you have speed with adept rushes, particularly on the edge, they can really expand your pocket. And if you’re not tied together with your launch point and where your blockers are, you can have individual pass protectors get edged pretty quickly, and there’s a lot of space that is tough to protect against.

“I think they’re a great group to start with because they’re super talented that if you’re not on your game, you will be exposed, and I think that’s something that you have to be used to in the National Football League in terms of protecting the passer because you don’t get a week off from elite pass rushers and unified fronts.”

If there is a silver lining for the Dolphins’ offensive line this week, it’s this: The Jaguars don’t generate much pressure up the middle, which is Miami’s line’s weak spot.

Tackles Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson will do most of the heavy lifting against Walker and Hines-Allen on Sunday. The Jaguars’ projected starting defensive tackles — DaVon Hamilton and newcomer Arik Armstead — had just five sacks combined in 2023.

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“I feel very confident in where we’re at from the offensive line position, and that confidence comes from not 2023 or a version that maybe people are exposed to,” McDaniel said. “I’m talking about 2024, these individuals and the group and what I’ve watched every practice, even to the point of how we blocked Atlanta’s defensive line in joint [practice] versus a year ago.

“The group itself has given me confidence because I don’t base any of my thoughts or opinions of the former production or the former self of someone; I let them define what they are right in front of me that day. The group has given me more confidence at the O-line position, really, in general, than I’ve had since I’ve been here.”