James Walker, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Ranking Dolphins' top offseason needs: No. 5 defensive end

The 2015 season is officially in the books with the Denver Broncos winning the Super Bowl on Sunday. That means every team starts fresh in 2016, and it’s time to begin the offseason.

With that in mind, ESPN.com’s Miami Dolphins page will rank the team’s biggest needs this week.

No. 5 need: Defensive end

Pending free agents: Olivier Vernon, Derrick Shelby

Analysis: This is a difficult position to rank for the Dolphins because there is plenty of potential movement at defensive end that is yet to be determined. Will Miami re-sign 2015 sack leader Vernon? Probably not. Will the team cut or restructure the contract of former Pro Bowler Cameron Wake, who is coming off a season-ending Achilles injury? Maybe. What about top backup Shelby, who started nine games last season and is an unrestricted free agent? Dolphins vice president Mike Tannenbaum, new general manager Chris Grier and rookie head coach Adam Gase have a lot of decisions to make at the position in the next month. Their choices will impact how big a need the team has at defensive end. Either way, the Dolphins were ranked 25th in sacks last season and need more of a pass rush coming off the edge. Miami’s defensive ends also struggled at times setting the edge, and the team was ranked 28th against the run.

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