3 Miami Dolphins Players Who Need To Step Up In 2016

The Miami Dolphins fell extremely short of their postseason expectations in 2015, causing head coach Joe Philin to be fired just four games into the regular season. However, this Dolphins team enters the 2016 season under new head coach Adam Gase with the same expectations - compete with the Patriots for the AFC East title and make the playoffs. Here are three players that have to step up for that to happen:

QB Ryan Tannehill

Miami gave Tannehill a big contract extension this year, and he hasn't lived up to it. There were times over the past two seasons where Ryan Tannehill looked like an emerging star, and a plummeting interception rate portends even bigger things for the talented signal caller in 2016. He is still inconsistent at times, but Gase turned Jay Cutler into a quality quarterback as the Bears' offensive coordinator last year, many expect he'll the same with Tannehill. Miami is counting on him to take the next step if they want to meet their postseason expectations.

RB Lamar Miller

Miller was productive when the got the ball - the problem was that the Dolphins never gave it to him. Expected to build on his 1,099-yard year in 2014, Miller received less than 15 carries an ashtonishing 11 times this season, and his production dipped as a result, having just four games with over 60 rushing yards in 2015. He will get the ball a lot more in Miami's new offense, on it's on him to maintain his production with a higher workload.

DT Ndamukong Suh

There were detractors who have reservations about the sheer amount of cash money that the Dolphins forked over to land Ndamukong Suh, and they proved to be right in 2015. Suh has shown the capability to be one of, if not the biggest impact defensive player in all of football, but he was largely inconsistent last year. The Dolphins desperately need Suh to play like the player they paid for if they're going to reach their full potential.