Although the national media and a large portion of Miami Dolphins supporters tend to think the team has had a good to terrific offseason, the start of the offseason was anything but. The Phins lost three of its own players during the 2024 free agency period: Andrew Van Ginkel, Christian Wilkins, and Robert Hunt. Both players were picked and went on to become excellent or even star players. The Dolphins now have three additional star and developing players to choose from heading into the upcoming season in terms of their long-term prospects.

Jevon Holland is first. The last year of Holland’s rookie deal is about to start. As a second-round choice, he was not eligible for the fifth-year option, unlike the other two players we shall talk about. This puts Holland, in my opinion, as the most urgently important of the three. Holland has established himself as one of the NFL’s top and most dependable safeties over the course of his three seasons. Since Holland’s play seems to be getting better every season, it could be wiser to sign him to an extension before the 2024 season begins, as his price will probably only go up significantly if you wait until the following year.

Jaylen Waddle is next. Similar to Holland, Waddle has been selected as a first-round pick for his fifth-year option and is about to begin his fourth season. Despite the fact that there have been numerous discussions among Dolphins supporters on whether Waddle truly ranks as the NFL’s top wide receiver, he has produced well in his first three seasons. Waddle has averaged 13.5 yards per reception and six touchdowns per season while having over a thousand receiving yards in each of his three seasons. If Waddle is permitted to enter the free agent market, he will likely seek a significantly higher salary, even if the Dolphins do not view him as a legitimate number one and Tyreek Hill’s future successor. Like Holland, his price will only go up in the future, particularly if he has a season in 2024 that is even greater than any of his three previous seasons.

And lastly, Jaelan Phillips. Similar to Waddle, Phillips was selected in the first round and his fifth-year option was already picked up by the Dolphins. Prior to his injuries during the previous season, Phillips was poised to become one of the NFL’s top pass rushers. Out of the three, Phillips is most likely the one I would wait to see how well he recovers from his injury that ended his 2023 season. If he doesn’t get back to form this upcoming season, I might even wait till he’s in his fifth and final season of his deal. Everybody has seen players recover from major injuries, but they never truly seem like themselves until the season after their first return. I’m not saying that Phillips will experience this; I’m just pointing out that it could. I would like to see the team re-up him as soon as possible if he returns this coming season and by the middle or end of the season has reached his pre-injury level.

In addition, should a long-term agreement not be reached before the players’ current contracts expire, the team would still be able to franchise tag any one of the three, although doing so would probably result in a higher salary hit for that particular player for that particular season.

The topic of the day is: Which three players, who are about to start their third NFL season, should the Miami Dolphins sign to extensions first in your opinion? Which three, in your opinion, are not worth the price they will seek and ought to be left on the market or perhaps floated as trade bait?