The Miami Dolphins addressed one of their biggest needs when they agreed to terms with free agent guard James Daniels on Monday.
The reported deal is for three years and $24 million, making Daniels the Dolphins' first significant investment at guard in a while. Daniels, who has started 84 games across seven seasons with the Bears and Steelers, only played in four games last season.
He suffered a torn Achilles in the team’s Week 4 game against the Indianapolis Colts. That means Daniels joins Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb and Austin Jackson as key players coming off major season-ending injuries.
Miami has had bad luck with injuries in recent seasons, but we’ve decided to examine how Daniels can help the Dolphins whenever he gets back to the field this season.
Instead of breaking this into individual categories, we will look at Daniels’ run and pass blocking and discuss his strengths and weaknesses in each category.
Daniels’ Run Blocking
Daniels is an experienced zone-blocking offensive lineman. The Steelers used a lot more inside zone than outside zone during Daniels’ tenure, but he should translate well enough to Miami’s scheme.
He’s athletic enough to work across the face of opposing offensive linemen and seal off rushing lanes. This rep from last season against the Denver Broncos is a good example of that.
The run didn’t go overly far, but Daniels did an excellent job of getting into the chest of Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen and moving him out of his gap. Daniels only has modest power, so most of his best run-blocking reps come when he has momentum on his side.
Playing in a heavy outside zone scheme should allow Daniels to get more of those opportunities. Although his fit in the Dolphins’ scheme is somewhat of a projection, all of the skills to be an effective player are present.
Daniels can get in trouble when he moves up to the second level. He has no problems getting up to block linebackers, but he can struggle with framing his blocks when he arrives. This allows linebackers to sneak around him and make a tackle attempt on the ball carrier.
This wasn’t something he was asked to do too much, but it’s an area for improvement.
The question for the Dolphins is which version of Daniels they’re getting. In a limited sample size from last season, Daniels was moving bodies a lot better than the rest of his tape would suggest.
PFF grades are far from the be-all and end-all, but his 92.5 run-blocking grade is a far cry from the 58.6 and 60 he earned in 2023 and 2022, respectively. Before last season, Daniels’ best grades came in his final two seasons with the Bears (72.9 and 71).
Overall, Daniels looks like a solid run blocker. He should get a boost from the new scheme, and he’s got enough strength to create movement upfront. He’s not a mauler or dominant player, but he’s a lot more consistent than what Miami had last season.
Daniels’ Pass Blocking
Daniels’ pass-protection skills mirror his run-blocking skills — he’s good but not great.
There’s a lot to like, though. For starters, Daniels has 90th-percentile arm length for a guard, which allows him to lock out interior rushers pretty easily off the snap. If he can land his initial punch, it’s hard for defensive linemen to discard him and get into the backfield.
This rep is a good example of the impact Daniels’ length can have. Watch him land his right arm inside the chest plate of the defensive lineman and extend his arms. That initial win already buys the quarterback a few seconds.
Daniels is also a solid overall athlete. He’s quick in tight spaces, allowing him to pass off stunts and twists properly. He can also mirror pass rushers who try to win with speed counters on the interior.
Most of Daniels’ losses in pass protection are the product of his aggressiveness. Because he can win with length, Daniels likes to throw his first punch quickly off the snap instead of waiting for defensive linemen to come to him.
More technically sound defensive linemen can swipe his hands away and get an easy run into the backfield. Daniels showed adequate recovery ability in these scenarios, but many of his pressures look similar.
His anchor is just average. Defenders who can match his length and get into his chest are capable of compressing him back into the pocket. This doesn’t happen often, but he will occasionally lose to power rushes.
He’s given up at least 20 pressures in every season in which he has played most of his team’s games. His career high was 40 with the Bears in 2021, and his career low was 20 in 2022 (Steelers) and 2019 (Bears).
Whenever you discuss pass protection as it relates to the Dolphins, it’s important to note that Miami wants to get the ball out quicker than any other NFL team. This should help Daniels improve his consistency in protecting the passer.
Daniels’ tape is a bit boring but in a good way. He showed signs of growth in a small sample size last season, but he’s been a solid, reliable starter for pretty much his whole career. He holds up in pass protection well enough and is a solid overall run blocker.
Miami’s scheme should help improve in both areas, as it’ll lean into his strengths more than what he was doing with the Steelers in recent seasons.
While Daniels is just “solid” relative to every NFL guard, he’s a massive improvement on Liam Eichenberg and Robert Jones. Daniels’ tape doesn’t have many splash plays, but he has fewer of the lowlights that populated Eichenberg and Jones’ film through the years.
That level of improvement can’t be overstated.
That said, Daniels’ Achilles injury is a huge pitfall in his evaluation. Reports have indicated his recovery is going well, but the Dolphins have been burned by that before. Even if Daniels does make it back for Week 1, who knows if he’ll be at full strength?
Achilles’ injuries can sap a player’s athletic ability, and that’s a premium trait for offensive linemen in the Dolphins’ scheme. If Daniels is less mobile than he was in Pittsburgh, it could derail his first season in Miami.
Daniels has been relatively healthy the rest of his career, so he’s not injury-prone. However, it’s hard not to see the Dolphins betting on another injured offensive lineman as anything other than a decent-sized risk.
Despite the risk, this is a solid signing. Daniels is a good player who fills a position of need and is a significant upgrade over what the Dolphins had across the past few seasons. They don’t need him to be an All-Pro. They just need him to stay on the field and provide average play.
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