Casual football fans really don’t care about the offensive line. As long as the quarterback stays upright, who cares which players are manning the middle. And while the sentiment that keeping the quarterback upright is the proper focus, glossing over the offensive line is generally speaking a bad idea. But as a Miami Dolphins fan, you already know that, don’t you?

The Dolphins offense has floundered for the better part of the decade because of poor play along the interior offensive line. Whether it is Billy Turner and Daniel Thomas, John Jerry, Anthony Steen and Ted Larsen or anyone else along the way, the Dolphins’ interior offensive line had led to irregular results in both the run and pass game. Critical down and distances have often been met with quick penetration and an inability to keep pressure off of the quarterback.

Miami’s best returns in recent years came in 2016, when the team had Branden Albert, Laremy Tunsil, Mike Pouncey, Jermon Bushrod and Ja’Wuan James along the line — although health issues limited Pouncey tofive5 games played and Albert to 12, so even then the issues were present.

What will Miami’s interior offensive line look like in 2019? It seems as though Jordan Mills is the one to step in and replace the departing Ja’Wuan James in free agency — but the middle is up for grabs.

The contenders? There are four likely competitors for three spots: rookie Michael Deiter, recovering veteran Daniel Kilgore, 16-game starter Jesse Davis and free agent signing Chris Reed.

Kilgore, if healthy, figures to be a strong contender to wrestle the starting gig at center. The Dolphins front office members that traded for Kilgore in 2018 are still in place and Kilgore’s recovery from a torn triceps leaves him plenty of room to spare. He’ll be healthy and ready to roll. Pencil Kilgore in at center.

Rookie Michael Deiter comes from a school with as strong of an NFL offensive line pedigree as any: the Wisconsin Badgers. And when factoring in positional value as an offensive guard, Deiter was drafted (third-round) with the expectation of being a starter. His football intelligence and experience playing tackle, guard and center with the Badgers has given him plenty of exposure to all kinds of blocks, combinations and angles. Look for Deiter to win the left guard spot.

Which leaves Jesse Davis vs. Chris Reed for the right guard position. Davis has the advantage of starting 16 games on the offensive line last year. But Reed comes to Miami after playing for new offensive line coach Pat Flaherty in Jacksonville for the last two years. Is his presence on the roster a testament to Flaherty looking for his guy? Reed has also stated that he’s in Miami with the intention of becoming a starter; this is going to be an intense battle. Given the Dolphins’ emphasis on playing physical along the line of scrimmage, the natural advantage leans ever so slightly to Reed. We’re betting on Reed at this point — but Davis will get ample looks once the team throws on the pads.