The Miami Dolphins have high hopes for the 2024 season, but the team’s offensive line is causing concern – at least to outsiders.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa say that’s not a big problem, with the latter saying it hardly matters who’s up front.

“Brother, I get the ball out quick, so I’m confident about whoever we have up there,” Tagovailoa said with a laugh on Monday. “I can tell you that. I’m confident about whoever we have out there.”

That’s a fair point. In McDaniel’s quick-strike offense, Tagovailoa averaged 2.34 seconds per throw last season – the fastest in the NFL among starters. Several of the NFL’s other top quarterbacks, including Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson, averaged more than three seconds per pass.

Thanks largely to this lightning-fast passing attack, Tagovailoa was sacked 29 times – 23rd in the NFL. Daniel Jones of the Giants only played in six games and still managed to get sacked more often.

Still, the Dolphins were among the worst in the NFL when it came to converting fourth down, largely because their offensive line struggled to apply pressure in short run situations. The fact that both Robert Hunt and Connor Williams were allowed to leave as free agents could exacerbate that problem.

However, McDaniel says he is not worried about that.

“There’s more depth than I think people really appreciate, and there’s a lot of technical growth,” McDaniel said of the offensive and defensive lines. “For what we do, we require guys to be technicians and focus on certain techniques that other players rely on and want to use. It’s been a really good training camp for both of those units, especially the central defense.”

But it’s hard to really believe him. With Isaiah Wynn on the PUP list – where he will remain for the regular season – and Aaron Brewer temporarily out of action, the Dolphins could start the season with Robert Jones, Liam Eichenberg and Jack Driscoll on the interior. That’s far from an encouraging trio.

Tagovailoa is fast, but can the Dolphins continue to compete against a group that appears subpar at best?