In Praise of “Processing”: Why the Dolphins Deserve Some Respect

Don’t call it tanking: In sports as in business, there are many ways to build an organization, and Miami, like many teams before them, is choosing to sacrifice now for the prospects of greater gain down the road. Rather than ridicule the team, we should acknowledge that prioritizing the development of young talent is integral to long-term success.

The Dolphins traded a couple of their star players, Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick, for future draft picks, and have lost games handily in the first month of the season. Thus the narrative of their “tanking” in 2019, intentionally losing games presumably to be in position to draft Tua Tuagolova or Justin Herbert or whoever will lead them to a…