The Miami Dolphins are missing the mark. No, this isn’t just an evergreen statement about the general mediocrity of the team over the course of the last 15 years or so. But when you consider the trends of the NFL, there’s little question the Dolphins have been leaving offensive meat on the bone. How? Their failure to acquire a modern-day mismatch tight end has set them behind any number of offenses across the league.

That isn’t to say the Dolphins haven’t tried. Remember Michael Egnew? Jordan Cameron? Julius Thomas? The latest rendition is Mike Gesicki, who the team took 42nd overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. It would be unfair to write the eulogy for Gesicki’s pro career after his rookie season, and there stands reason to believe that Gesicki may actually be the solution to this long-time trouble for Miami.

But based on of the 2018 season, Gesicki still has a ways to go. He generally struggled with his releases off the line of scrimmage and contact got him too far off the rails, eliminating him from plays.

Since the year 2000, Pro Football Reference credits 131 individual seasons in which a tight end exceeded 700 yards receiving. The Dolphins are responsible for two — Charles Clay in 2013 (752 yards) and Randy McMichael in 2004 (791 yards). McMichael’s 2004 season is the 68th-highest individual output over that same timespan. In short, the Dolphins simply need more out of the tight ends if they want to become a modern offense. In only seven seasons since 2000 has a Miami tight end logged more than 500 receiving yards:

Randy McMichael: 4 times (2003-2006)

Anthony Fasano: 1 time (2010)

Charles Clay: 2 times (2013-2014)

Enough is enough. The Dolphins want to fix the offense once and for all? So do we. Start with securing a modern weapon in the middle of the field.