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Six NFL teams that will crush it in 2017

Derek Carr

Miami Dolphins

Things are definitely trending upwards for the men of South Beach. After starting last season with four losses in its first five games, Miami would finish the regular year winning nine of its final 11 games. This enabled the Dolphins to play meaningful January football in Adam Gase’s first season as their head coach. It was also just the second time since 2002 that Miami earned a postseason spot.

There’s a lot that went right here. Some of it seems sustainable moving forward, especially with Miami’s young core. Prior to going down with a season-ending injury that cost him his first playoff appearance, Ryan Tannehill put up the best performance of his career. He completed over 67 percent of his passes while showing a major progression in terms of accuracy.

Meanwhile, young running back Jay Ajayi replaced the departed Lamar Miller as Miami’s top back. He responded by putting up over 1,400 total yards and eight touchdowns en route to a Pro Bowl performance.

The great news here for Miami is that neither of these players have plateaued. The expectation has to be that they will be even better next season. The same can be said for wide receivers DeVante Parker and Jarvis Landry, who form a tremendous wide receiver tandem.

Defensively, the likes of Byron Maxwell and Tony Lippett stepped up at cornerback to help Miami improve a great deal against the pass. With that position almost settled, Miami’s focus during the draft was building up its front seven.

The team drafted former Missouri pass rusher Charles Harris in the first round while doubling down in the box with Ohio State alum Raekwon McMillan in the second round. While Harris might be a situational pass rusher out of the gate, it would not be a surprise to see McMillan start over Neville Hewitt at weak-side linebacker.

There’s a ton to like about Miami heading into the 2017 season. And while contending for a division title with the mighty Patriots seems far-fetched, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the team improve off its 10-6 mark from last season. There’s just too much good talent here for regression.

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