The Miami Dolphins were very active last offseason despite their touchy salary-cap situation, bringing in a lot of veteran newcomers before adding seven draft picks.

During the offseason, we evaluated what positions had been upgraded the most in terms of personnel, so now is a good time to revisit that ranking to see how things played out.

This was our ranking in early May of the 10 positions in terms of personnel improvement since the end of the 2023 season, along with an analysis of how the position performed.

1. LINEBACKER

Additions: Jordyn Brooks, Anthony Walker Jr., Cam Brown

Subtractions: Jerome Baker

Offseason breakdown: Brooks very well might represent an upgrade over Baker as the starter alongside David Long Jr., and Walker brings additional veteran depth.

2024 season analysis: There were additional changes along the way, such as Tyrel Dodson coming in from Seattle to replace Long, but the bottom line here is that Brooks had the most productive season for a Dolphins off-the-ball linebacker since probably Kiko Alonso in 2016. So his performance alone provided a clear upgrade.

2. FULLBACK/TIGHT END

Additions: Jonnu Smith, Jody Fortson

Subtractions: Tyler Kroft

Offseason breakdown: The addition of Smith was big for an offense that really didn’t make much use of the tight end in the passing game, as evidenced by the alarming stat of zero touchdowns by any Dolphins tight end in 2023.

2024 season analysis: It looked for a while as though the addition of Smith wouldn’t make much of a difference, but that’s before he took off in October and put together the most productive tight end season in Dolphins history, a performance good enough to earn him a spot in the Pro Bowl. So, yeah, clear upgrade here in terms of personnel.

3. RUNNING BACK

Additions: Jaylen Wright

Subtractions: None

Offseason breakdown: The addition of Wright as a fourth-round pick just brings additional depth and, more importantly, more speed to the skill positions.

2024 season analysis: While Wright had some good moments, in particular the game at New England in Week 5, he really didn’t make much of a difference and the story at running back was the emergence of De’Von Achane as the focal point of the offense and the massive regression of Raheem Mostert after his dream 2023 season, in part because of an injury in the opener, in part because of fumble issues.

4. EDGE DEFENDER

Additions: Shaquil Barrett, Chop Robinson, Mohamed Kamara

Subtractions: Andrew Van Ginkel, Emmanuel Ogbah

Offseason breakdown: Losing Van Ginkel in free agency was painful given how productive he was, but the Dolphins did a solid job of building up the depth at the position to deal with the uncertainty associated with the health status of Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb.

2024 season analysis: After a slow start, Chop Robinson really came on as a pass rusher, playing well enough and making enough of an impact to earn All-Rookie honors. We all know what happened with Shaq Barrett, but Emmanuel Ogbah replaced him admirably after being re-signed in July. Watching Van Ginkel have a great season in Minnesota was painful, though.

5. WIDE RECEIVER

Additions: Odell Beckham Jr., Malik Washington, Tahj Washington

Subtractions: Cedrick Wilson Jr., Chase Claypool, Robbie Chosen

Offseason breakdown: Beckham has the ability to give the Dolphins their best third wide option behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, while the two draft picks could help more down the line.

2024 season analysis: What a letdown this was! The Dolphins basically got nothing out of Beckham before he asked to be waived (and no other team picked him up). At least Malik Washington was able to contribute, but the Dolphins still had no answers behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, both of whom had disappointing season.

6. QUARTERBACK

Additions: Nobody

Subtractions: Nobody

Offseason breakdown: This is status quo from last season with Tua Tagovailoa, Mike White and Skylar Thompson, so this will be about internal improvement.

2024 season analysis: Maintaining the status quo here was among the Dolphins’ biggest offseason mistakes because the Dolphins basically were done with Thompson after half a game against Seattle, and that was after they kept him over White. The Dolphins eventually had to get into scramble mode with Tyler Huntley, but this was a big miss.

7. CORNERBACK

Additions: Kendall Fuller, Siran Neal

Subtractions: Xavien Howard, Justin Bethel, Eli Apple, Keion Crossen

Offseason breakdown: Getting Fuller to step in as Jalen Ramsey’s cornerback partner was a coup for the Dolphins once they make the salary-cap decision to release Howard. Neal should help on special teams.

2024 season analysis: This played out pretty much as expected because Fuller indeed was a solid replacement for Howard, though he did miss some time with two concussions and then a season-ending knee injury. Neal, meanwhile, did his thing on special teams.

8. OFFENSIVE LINE

Additions: C/G Aaron Brewer, G/T Jack Driscoll

Subtractions: G Robert Hunt, C Connor Williams, C Jonotthan Harrison

Offseason breakdown: There’s no getting around the fact the Dolphins lost some key pieces when Hunt signed with Carolina and Williams’ playing status continuing to be in doubt. Brewer was a solid addition.

2024 season analysis: Brewer earned himself a very good grade from Pro Football Focus, but the reality is this was a downgrade from Williams, particularly in the physicality department. And then there was the loss of Hunt, which was badly felt because Isaiah Wynn didn’t get back until late in the season and neither Robert Jones nor Liam Eichenberg really stepped up at guard.

9. INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINE

Additions: Benito Jones, Teiar Tart, Jonathan Harris, Neville Gallimore, Isaiah Mack, Davyion Nixon

Subtractions: Christian Wilkins, Raekwon Davis

Offseason breakdown: This is a case of quality vs. quantity, but there’s no way to think the Dolphins are as good here based on what Wilkins gave them last season.

2024 season analysis: These rankings were done before the Dolphins signed Calais Campbell, and he was the big difference maker among the newcomers. In fact, when Campbell was on the field, there simply wasn’t much difference between Sieler-Wilkins and Sieler-Campbell. Of the other additions, only Jones made the 53-man roster. So this was about Campbell being the key addition.

10. SAFETY

Additions: Jordan Poyer

Subtractions: DeShon Elliott, Brandon Jones

Offseason breakdown: Poyer has more impressive credentials than Elliott and Jones combined, but he also turned 33 last month and is coming off a season that wasn’t up to his standards. The Dolphins also lost depth here with Elliott and Jones leaving for Pittsburgh and Denver, respectively.

2024 season analysis: The Dolphins added fellow veteran Marcus Maye a bit later in the offseason, but the two players among those mentioned who had the best performances were Elliott and Jones — and easily. This turned out to be every bit the downgrade we expected.