Chris Perkins: Dolphins’ priority in free agency should be running back

I’ve said this before, and I’ll continue to say it — the quickest way for the Dolphins to make Tua Tagovailoa a better quarterback is getting him a strong running game.

The Dolphins took a major step in making Tagovailoa a better quarterback last year by trading for wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who most likely is headed for the Hall of Fame.

Now, the Dolphins need to finish the job in free agency this year and get a workhorse running back.

In fact, acquiring a No. 1 running back should be the Dolphins’ top priority in free agency. Game-changers are available.

Cost is almost irrelevant.

This current window of opportunity might not be open long.

Franchise tags, which must be issued by Tuesday, are more relevant than price tags in this case.

If the Dolphins could acquire a free agent running back such as Las Vegas’ Josh Jacobs, Dallas’ Tony Pollard, Philadelphia’s Miles Sanders, or the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley, the offense certainly would be more balanced and much improved, making Tagovailoa’s job much easier.

The workhorse running back shares offensive responsibility with the quarterback, gives the offensive play-caller more options, and offers a chance for the offensive line to be physical. All of those would greatly benefit the Dolphins.

The Dolphins don’t have a starting-caliber running back under contract. Starter Raheem Mostert and recently-acquired Jeff Wilson Jr., both of whom played for coach Mike McDaniel in San Francisco, are free agents.

The Dolphins could return either Mostert or Wilson (my preference would be Wilson), but it should be with the understanding they’re the No. 2 running back.

Of course, the Dolphins won’t necessarily have their pick of the free-agent running backs.

Jacobs, Pollard and Barkley could all get the franchise tag.

That would leave the Dolphins to battle it out for Sanders with teams such as, perhaps, Buffalo. It’d be a worthwhile fight.

Sanders, 27, rushed for a career-best 1,269 yards last season and 11 touchdowns. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry, which is right at his four-year career average of 5.0 yards per carry.

He had nine runs of 20 or more yards last season. The Dolphins had 10 such runs as a team.

Sanders, who had 50 receptions as a rookie, isn’t known as a receiver. He had 20 receptions for 78 yards last season.

But combined with Wilson or Mostert or someone else, receptions from the running back position shouldn’t be an issue.

None of this is to say Sanders should be the Dolphins’ No.1 target.

The Dolphins’ No. 1 target in free agency should be Jacobs or Pollard, even in light of Pollard’s leg injury and surgery.

Barkley, who could get the franchise tag if the Giants work out a long term deal with quarterback Daniel Jones, is a bit of an injury risk. On the other hand, he’d fit in well with the Dolphins’ other injury risks (Tagovailoa, left tackle Terron Armstead, edge rusher Bradley Chubb, cornerback Xavien Howard, etc.).

Regardless, Sanders might be the most attainable considering Jacobs, Pollard and Barkley could all get the franchise tag.

Of course, others are out there, too. Tailbacks such as Cleveland’s Kareem Hunt, Chicago’s David Montgomery, and Detroit’s Jamaal Williams are also available but they’re not necessarily significant upgrades over Mostert and Wilson.

Ideally, the Dolphins get a running back who offers a durable, load-sharing offensive option to go along with Tagovailoa, Hill and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

The running game would have been a welcome option late last season when the passing game struggled during the Dolphins’ five-game losing streak.

The Dolphins had the league’s second-fewest rushing attempts last season at 390. Their 4.3 yards per carry average was tied for 18th and their 99.2 rushing yards a game was tied for 25th.

All of this from an offense that averaged 23.4 points per game, third-best for the franchise in the last 10 years. The Dolphins averaged 24.0 points per game in 2014 and 25.3 points per game in 2020.

Simply put, the Dolphins’ quarterback, and the Dolphins’ offense, needs a boost from the running game.

But that’s been the case for several years.

What the Dolphins did offensively last season barely worked.

They made the playoffs, but in their final six regular-season games they averaged just 19.2 points per game.

A strong running game could have changed all of that.

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