Ndamukong Suh

5 positions the Dolphins must address this offseason

Published Jan. 7, 2016 6:00 p.m. ET

Cameron DaSilva

The Miami Dolphins ended their disappointing season with a surprising win over the New England Patriots in Week 17, but that doesn't mean 2015 was a success by any means. There are still several holes on both sides of the ball that need to be addressed in the offseason, which has technically already began for Miami.

With that said, these are the five positions the Dolphins must address in the coming months ahead of next season.

1. Linebacker

The Dolphins allowed the fifth-most yards on the ground this season and only forced three fumbles. A big reason for that is the lack of talent at linebacker. Kelvin Sheppard, who led Dolphins linebackers with 105 tackles, is set to be a free agent in the offseason and was one of the only consistent players at the position. Koa Misi also played fairly well but there are concerns about his durability as he hasn't played in all 16 games since 2010. If stopping the run is a priority -- as it should be -- finding a stud linebacker is a must.

2. Guard

This season marked yet another where the offensive line was unable to protect Ryan Tannehill. Dallas Thomas, Billy Turner and Jamil Douglas all spent time at guard but none of them did a good enough job in pass protection. Thomas is a decent run blocker and opened up holes for Lamar Miller, but guards are also tasked with pass blocking, too. Tannehill is expected to be the franchise quarterback, but he can't be that if the offensive line doesn't give him time to throw. Fixing the middle of the line is a must.

3. Cornerback

Few Dolphins players have been bigger disappointments than 2013 second-round pick Jamar Taylor. He was a healthy scratch several times this season and has yet to record a single interception in his career. In three seasons, he's started just nine games and has four passes defensed -- which obviously isn't good by any means. He'll be a free agent in 2017, but he could potentially be cut before the 2016 season. Additionally, Brent Grimes is 32 years old and has a cap hit of $9.5 million in 2016, so the Dolphins could look for a cheaper, younger option. Statistically, Miami allowed the ninth-highest passer rating in the league.

4. Defensive end

Cameron Wake is 33 years old and will be coming off of a torn Achilles in 2016. He'll also have the fifth-highest cap hit on the Dolphins next season, and while he's obviously extremely talented, he's also expensive. On the other side of the defensive line, Olivier Vernon is set to be a free agent. After breaking out late in the year and finishing with 7 1/2 sacks this season, he'll likely be expensive to re-sign. The pass rush underperformed greatly as a whole, recording just 31 sacks (25th in the league). Ndamukong Suh needs talented defensive ends to take pressure off of him in the middle.

5. Right tackle

Barring another injury, Branden Albert will return to be the team's starting left tackle in 2016. Right tackle is a different story, though. Ja'Wuan James finished the year inactive for the final nine games after suffering a toe injury in the middle of the season. He started all 17 games as a rookie in 2014, but durability is something to consider. The same goes for Albert, who missed significant time the past two seasons. If Albert goes down, James will likely slide over to left tackle, leaving a hole on the right side. Depth is an issue, as is talent, and it has to be addressed and upgraded in the offseason.

*All salary cap information comes from OverTheCap.com