Minkah’s Back in Miami; Tomlin Has Another TE! An Outlook on the Fitzpatrick/Ramsey Trade.
How Jonnu Smith plus a swap of defensive backs and picks will affect both sides. Also, what do we make of Darren Waller’s resurrection?
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason news continue; giving the Miami Dolphins Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick while receiving CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Jonnu Smith. In the same deal, the teams swap 2027 draft picks that allow Miami to trade up from the 7th to 5th round. Jonnu Smith adds a very interesting piece to the Pittsburgh puzzle that already involves newcomers Metcalf and Rodgers. (Even if Jonnu’s piece may seem smaller.) Although Miami doesn’t get anything offensively from this deal, it’s a great time to look into the Dolphins for 2025. What’ll happen with Jonnu gone, Minkah back, and an analysis on Mike McDaniel going into year four as Head Coach. Since I’ve recently written about the Steelers’ recent years with Tomlin and how the new weapons fit in; I plan to keep their side on the shorter end and save the meat for the end. The dolphin meat, that is. Let’s get into it.
In my first article, I made a clear point about Tomlin/Big Ben never needing a clear #1 target. They were able to feed every relevant mouth with a pocket-passer style and lack of QB rushing relevancy. A very similar case applied to Rodgers in Green Bay and especially New York. There’s no reason that’ll change in Pittsburgh, especially with a 2-TE set starting to take shape. George Pickens going to Dallas left heads scratching on a real number two wideout opposite DK. Robert Woods is the only other rostered WR who’s surpassed 600 yards in a season, which he hasn’t done since 2020. Instead of replacing Woods or Calvin Austin III, the Steelers acquire and extend Jonnu Smith.
Coming back as Offensive Coordinator after previously head coaching the Atlanta Falcons in 2023, Arthur Smith will work with Jonnu again. It was his best year at the time with 50 catches and almost 600 yards.
The developing journeyman joins his fifth team after finishing fourth in receiving yards and touchdowns among tight ends last year. More impressive is having a team-leading 88 catches on a year where Tua Tagovailoa missed six games. Then teammates De’von Achane, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle only missed a combined two. Speaking of team-leading catches, TE Pat Freiermuth led the Steelers offense with 65 in 2024. Despite his injury history and not passing 700 yards, a fully healthy Pat leads to a really good 1-2 punch. Surely a Top 5 TE duo in the league. Now with the QB combo of Justin Fields and Russel Wilson in the past, Tomlin should have an easier time managing a now clear cut system.
While Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin hasn’t crossed paths with Jalen Ramsey, he *has* worked with other newcomer Darius Slay Jr. Defensively, Austin creates a 1-2 punch with Slay/Ramsey, while filling former-Brown Juan Thornhill in Fitzpatrick’s place. Perhaps Austin can capitalize on CB Donte Jackson as well. The former second round pick made his Steelers debut last year with a team-leading 5 picks in 15 games. A stat few saw coming after fizzling out in Carolina. While having a fully healthy and successful rookie year with four interceptions, Jackson would only have one more 16 game season, and ten picks over the next five years.
Elsewise; we know the productivity Cameron Heyward, TJ Watt, and Patrick Queen will provide. Rookie Yayah Black will be a literal big contribution up the middle. So even if Ramsey’s in unfamiliar territory, the rest of the team surely isn’t.
Unfortunately for Miami, the situation is a little more bleak. The bad news is James Daniels being the only notable, veteran offseason addition. The good news is Mike McDaniel returning with both of his coordinators from last year. Frank Smith and Anthony Weaver respectively running the offense and defense again, giving some comfort to a team in a rocky position. While McDaniel is 28-23 all time and 2/3 on playoff appearances, his quarterback has some dangerous concussion history. The best player on the team talent-wise in Tyreek Hill has teased leaving for months.
Jonnu Smith’s replacement is the newly traded for Darren Waller, along with Pharaoh Brown and Julian Hill. Brown and Waller are both new to Miami. While Waller has had a couple 1k yard seasons, his last came in 2020. His last season tallied one touchdown and 552 yards over 11 games on a struggling Giants offense. While the Dolphins are in a better spot than that N.Y. Team, Waller’s year off and turning 33 before their bye week leaves a lot of questions. As for his running mates, Brown and Hill have combined for 90 catches and 900 yards over *11* seasons.
It’s no secret McDaniel revolves this offense around Hill and Achane with some Waddle sprinkled in. That WR pairing has worked out quite well before, taking Miami to the Wildcard round. While they’ve lost Terron Armstead to retirement, they get a healthy James Daniels and prime Achane. Per PFF, Daniels had an overall grade of 92.9 before going down to injury last year. This qualified him as second in the whole league among guards. Achane has become a heavy Alvin Kamara archetype and will continue to be used as such. He certainly provides more dual-threat capabilities. In the two years Raheem Mostert was RB1 under McDaniel: Mostert caught 58 passes. This is 20 less than Achane had in 2024 *alone*. This is no shade on the former at all. But the truth of De’von being 23 and about to hit his prime is real. If the front office makes a good call, this will be his team to build around for several years to come.
For the rest of the team; you’re pretty sure what you’re getting with Tua. Mostly. His final year with Brian Flores and first year under Mike show the signs. The TD/INT ratios being 16/10 and 25/8, respectively. 2023 was statistically Tua’s best season. In 2024, he was on pace for an even better season before injury. If the concussions can stay away and Hill actually can stay, there’s still hope for this offense. As for the defense, Fitzpatrick returns as a clear captain. He’s arguably the best man on this defense along with Jordyn Brooks. (Bradley Chubb is up for debate having missed all of 2024.) Taking a high level athlete and replacing him with a younger version who is statistically keeping up with him? Seems like a good plan. While it would’ve been difficult for any of the 2018 coaching staff to remain to this day, the scheme remains the same under Weaver. The same one that gave up the fourth least amount of yards and tenth least amount of points last year. While they get Chubb back this year: they still lost Calais Campbell, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Jordan Poyer.
Even with recent playoff appearances for both sides, these teams are in different positions. It’s safe to say Pittsburgh has a more clear direction for 2025 with less to question. While Rodgers has a shorter window than most of the Dolphins, the team as a whole feels much more well-rounded. In terms of the trade, Jonnu is a big difference-maker that may be overlooked with the other conditions of the deal. Time will tell who won this trade or if it tends to even out. For now, both teams will push for the postseason. The Steelers hope cashing in their chips this year will pay off. As for Miami, they’ll pray Fitzpatrick outshines Ramsey for the rest of their careers. And who knows? Perhaps Miami’s now fifth rounder in 2027 becomes a future Hall of Famer, and the Steel City take a complete whiff with their seventh rounder. Or the inverse. A fun mystery to discover 21 months from now!