MIAMI GARDENS — The designated starting five on the offensive line coming out of training camp for the Miami Dolphins has had one start entirely together, a total of 43 snaps in unison.
That group of, from left to right, Terron Armstead, Isaiah Wynn, Connor Williams, Robert Hunt and Austin Jackson, may not play together again all regular season.
But through the constant shuffling, the blocking up front has remained largely consistent. Miami’s line has anchored an offense that ranks first in passing, scoring and total offense, is tied for second in rushing and is third in the NFL in sacks allowed, giving up just 15.
Sure, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been taken down more in the Dolphins’ three losses, against the Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, but that will naturally happen against those tougher defensive fronts and pass rushes.
Dolphins offensive line coach Butch Barry attributes the line’s consistency, despite the moving pieces, to the way the unit as a whole has communicated with one another.
“Communication keeps gaining ground in a positive manner because of their approach,” Barry said Thursday, adding that cross-training at various positions for players has helped. “It was a challenge in (offseason organized team activities). It was a challenge in camp, but we want those challenges to be able to play multiple spots because, when this does happen now, it’s not a brand new experience. They have built-in experiences that they can move forward with.”
First, Armstead missed the season’s initial two games with a preseason ankle injury, meaning Kendall Lamm was filling in at left tackle.
By the time he returned to the lineup, Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, Williams went down in the second half of that game. Liam Eichenberg finished the day at center, while starting four of the next five there. The one game Williams was back, against the New York Giants, Armstead was then on injured reserve for a knee injury the previous week at Buffalo.
Both Armstead and Williams were back, but before either could return, Wynn went down in Philadelphia with a quadriceps ailment. Insert Lester Cotton. A week later against the New England Patriots, Hunt suffered a hamstring injury. Then, it’s Robert Jones with Cotton at the two guards, but he had to exit against the Chiefs in Germany, so Eichenberg, now relieved of his starting center duties, is back in at guard as Hunt has already been ruled out against Las Vegas.
Eichenberg, playing 14 snaps at left guard at the end of the loss to Kansas City, has now been practicing at right guard ahead of Sunday’s Raiders game — the key being he’s more comfortable on the right side and Cotton can handle either guard position the same.
Should he start at right guard, Eichenberg would hit for the proverbial offensive line cycle in starting at each of the five positions on the line in his career — the two tackle spots as a rookie in 2021, left guard last season and center earlier this year.
“Liam Eichenberg holds the crown of versatility,” coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
The organization believes his experience earlier this season playing center has helped him become a better guard.
“The thing that really opened our eyes was the residuals of him playing center at other positions on the offensive line,” McDaniel said. “You have to know the assignments, but you kind of get an extra window into the vulnerabilities of a play. You understand if you’re in a combination block, as a center trailing the guard, what you need from the guard.”
Barry likened it to having a child play multiple sports.
“I have a young son, and you want him playing as many sports as possible because the cross-training of things helps you be a better athlete overall,” he said. “When you’re able to do other positions on the line of scrimmage, there’s applications and there’s eye-opening experiences that allow you to be better at what you do.”
Offensive coordinator Frank Smith noted it’s no easy task for a lineman to flip from one side of the line to the other.
“The hardest thing for linemen is you’re on one side and then the other side,” Smith said. “You’re switching your whole stance and switching a lot of different things. So when you’re coming off a backup role to a starting role or a playing role, it’s just getting used to the one side. There is that acclimation that comes with it.”
Barry has had his linemen become versatile blockers, capable of filling in at various positions at a moment’s notice in just a few months with the team. He has proven to be an impressive hire by McDaniel this offseason after Barry was maligned for his job in the same role with the Denver Broncos last season. He also didn’t have a strong showing last time he was in South Florida, with the 2019 Miami Hurricanes.
McDaniel, however, was familiar with him from working together with the 2021 San Francisco 49ers, and he was not going to simply eliminate someone he knew was a qualified candidate merely off of outside perception.
“When I’m making decisions like that, I don’t want to take the path of least resistance at all,” McDaniel said. “That irks me. Immediately, I thought of Butch. I thought it would be a great fit, and then, you do your checks and balances to make sure you’re not chasing familiarity. When you do things like that, you come full circle and become that much more convicted he’s the right guy for what you want.”
A similar rebound story to Barry this season, right tackle Austin Jackson, the one lineman who has remained at his post through all the shuffling, has become a revelation in his fourth NFL season. Jackson was up and down through his first two professional campaigns and missed most of 2022 with back-to-back ankle injuries before transforming into a consistent force at right tackle this year.
“No one wants to be labeled as a bust,” McDaniel said of Jackson, a 2020 first-round pick that is just starting to pan out in Year 4. “That’s hard. A lot of people don’t have the mental fortitude to withstand narratives, which is why he’s doing an abnormal thing, because he’s 24 years old, got in this league before he could drink alcohol and has been the focal point of many people’s conversations and opinions.
“Fortunately, he’s the type of person he is and, fortunately, Butch and (assistant offensive line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre) do the job they do for him.”
