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. For that to happen, they are going to need big years from these three players:
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 Jay Ajayi
Ajayi will split the starting role with Arian Foster after Miami lost Lamar Miller to the Houston Texans in free agency, and they need a big year from him. A power back, Ajayi is a bruiser between the tackles, but also has the shiftiness to make defenders miss. Plus, he's an above-average receiver out of the backfield. Gase had a lot of success with both Matt Forte and Jeremy Langford in a similar role last year in Chicago, and he'll find ways to take advantage of all of Ajayi's skills.
LB Kiko Alonso
Alonso had a dominant rookie season, racking up 159 tackles with the Buffalo Bills, but was traded to the Eagles after missing the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL. He was heavily limited by injuries again, which cause Philly to ship him to Miami. Now that he's finally healthy, Alonso should be able to get back to his dominant self in 2016. And with a dominant defensive line in front of him, he will have more room to make plays sideline to sideline.
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