Going into the offseason, the Dolphins had a clear need at linebacker. While Kiko Alonso valiantly manned the middle linebacker <a href="http://www.teamcardinalsprostore.com/shop-best-quality-cheap-chandler-jones-55-jersey.html">http://www.teamcardinalsprostore.com/shop-best-quality-cheap-chandler-jones-55-jersey.html</a> position last year, his counterparts, Neville Hewitt, Spencer Paysinger, Jelani Jenkins, and Koa Misi failed to impress. Partly due to injuries and partly due to failure to perform, the 2016 linebacking corps needed to be addressed if the Dolphins were going to make the necessary improvements in 2017.

The reformation began during free agency when Miami signed long-time Pittsburgh linebacker Lawrence Timmons to a contract. This not only brought the Dolphins a respected performer at the position, but it also allowed them <a href="http://www.authenticcoltssale.com/shop-by-players-arthur-jones-jersey-c-1_8.html">http://www.authenticcoltssale.com/shop-by-players-arthur-jones-jersey-c-1_8.html</a> to shift the returning Kiko Alonso to the outside.

Next came the 2017 NFL draft where the Dolphins selected linebacker Raekwon McMillan with pick No. 54 in the second round. This was a clear sign that the team wasn’t going to rely on the oft-injured Koa Misi to be the solution at the team’s third linebacker spot.

Misi’s age and injury history are working against him going into this year’s training camp. Although the 30-year-old started double-digit games for Miami from 2012 to 2015, a back injury ended his season in 2015 and a neck injury ended his season in 2016. Misi ended up restructuring his contract to stay with <a href="http://www.authenticcoltsshop.com/shop-by-players-winston-guy-jersey-c-1_42.html">Winston Guy Youth Jersey</a> the team this upcoming season and hopes to be cleared for play sometime this month ahead of training camp.

McMillan offers a young alternative that was highly productive in college, albeit at a different position than what the Dolphins would likely have him play. The former Buckeye defender racked up over 100 tackles each year during his final two years in Columbus, which led the team. How he adjusts to the outside will determine whether he ascends to the starting role as much as how Misi recovers from his injury.

For McMillan, he’s willing to take on any role the team asks him to, “Yes, like everyone around here is talking about, wherever coach needs me to play, I’ll go out there at the linebacker position and do my job. They brought in some vets, [Lawrence] Timmons from the Steelers, Kiko [Alonso] and some of the other guys here. It’s a team effort. It’s not just one guy going out there and trying to make a big difference. It’s us all out there playing together and putting up a team effort to stop the run.”

The Dolphins will likely give McMillan every chance possible to earn the starting role as they hope to definitively fix the team’s run defense<a href="http://www.authenticdolphinsjerseys.com/shop-by-players-koa-misi-jersey-c-1_32.html">Koa Misi Kids Jersey</a>  issues. If he can find his footing on the outside, his youth and propensity to be around the ball should earn him a spot next to Alonso and Timmons as part of a group of linebackers that are wholly different than what the team rolled out in 2016.