The last time Dolphins general manager Chris Grier held a press conference, my head was spinning as he bounced from topic to topic, spewing comments alternately surprising or oddly random.

He said Tua Tagovailoa not protecting his body is “unacceptable to us,” curiously mentioned that “people forget Kion Smith was a huge loss for us” even though the undrafted offensive tackle has never been a starter or top backup and used an expletive to convey his outrage about Zach Sieler and De’Von Achane not making the Pro Bowl.

But what Grier did not say that day in January has gnawed at me for months.

And the offseason has played out in a way that explains why my concern seems warranted.

What Grier did not say was that the organization fundamentally needs to change how it does business in two ways:

1). He didn’t say that Miami needs to prioritize the trenches over everything else.

2). He didn’t say that the Dolphins must be more mindful of players’ injury histories.

Asked about building a roster to compete with cold-weather powerhouses with elite quarterbacks (Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore), what Grier should have said was something like this: “To beat teams of that caliber, we need to build physically dominant lines and a power running game and it’s on me to draft or acquire above-average players at every position on the line.”

Instead, he answered by citing the Bills’ 61-yard field goal to win a game, maintained his “guys can play” and twice blamed “self-inflicted wounds” in his minute-long response. (All fair, but not at the root of the 24-year playoff win drought or why Miami almost always comes up short against good teams.)

Asked about the organization’s proclivity for signing players with injury histories, and then watching those players get injured here (shocking!), what Grier should have said is: “That’s a valid point. We need to do a better job of avoiding players who have a history of significant injuries.”

Instead, he said the injury rate in football is “100 percent” and while the team does due diligence, he will not rule out signing players who have had problems staying healthy.

In retrospect, those answers should have prepared us for the dumbfounding offseason that has followed.

Instead of augmenting the team in the trenches, Miami instead has taken a step back, with the loss of Calais Campbell to Arizona and Mike McDaniel’s concession that the team is operating under the belief that Terron Armstead won’t be playing for them next season. (Armstead hasn’t announced his intentions.)

In Campbell, the Dolphins are losing a player who was rated by Pro Football Focus as the NFL’s fourth best interior defender last season. There’s not a single remaining free agent or draft prospect (in Miami’s range) who can be projected for that type of contribution next season. (The rookie class might be good in time, but can anyone confidently say that Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon can be as impactful in 2025 as Campbell was in 2024?)

Instead of upgrading at nose tackle, the Dolphins took the easy way out and re-signed Benito Jones, whose PFF grades have been consistently poor.

Credit Grier for signing James Daniels, an outstanding guard, to a value contract coming off a torn Achilles. But instead of fixing guard with two established free agents, the Dolphins re-signed beleaguered Liam Eichenberg while hoping someone better pops up.

Instead of signing legitimate competition for Patrick Paul in the event Armstead retires, the Dolphins signed a tackle (Larry Borom) who allowed seven sacks in modest playing time last season and has abysmal PFF pass blocking grades over four seasons.

That’s not exactly attacking both lines like it’s a priority.

As for the injury question, it was a sad irony that when a couple of local Dolphins reporters asked NFC coaches this week about players the Dolphins signed from their teams (Ifeatu Melifonwu and K.J. Britt), they first mentioned those players’ injuries.

“The only thing that’s happened with Iffy for us, he had some injuries at times,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said. “But when he was on the field…he was a productive player.”

On new linebacker Britt, Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said “K.J. got banged up a little bit and he was a free agent.”

The team’s new potential starting safeties, Melifonwu and Ashtyn Davis, have missed 47 combined games over seven seasons, with Melifonwu spending time on injured reserve five times in four years.

The Dolphins can still salvage their trenches if they find an impactful starting defensive lineman in the first or second round to pair with Zach Sieler; persuade Armstead (a top five NFL tackle last season) to return; uncover another guard who can move people in the running game (the remaining free agent class is mostly barren); and two skilled backup defensive linemen.

(Among defensive linemen, only journeymen Matt Dickerson and Neil Farrell are under contract, besides Zach Sieler and Jones.)

But unless Miami can pick the right player from a very shallow pool of remaining veteran free agents, two of the roster’s biggest holes (starting defensive lineman, starting guard, starting cornerback) will need to be filled on the second day of the draft. And gambling on a second or third round rookie to become an immediate starter is risky business.

Knowing that only one of those three glaring needs can be filled with the pick at 13, what are the odds of the Dolphins adequately filling the other two with picks 48 and 98?

Over the past 10 years, the Dolphins have drafted eight defensive lineman, cornerbacks and offensive line in the second and third rounds.

One (guard Rob Hunt) became a very good starter. Another (defensive tackle Raekwon Davis) became a decent starter. Two others (Eichenberg and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips) became below-average starters, though Phillips has had more success elsewhere.

Another (interior lineman Michael Deiter) lasted only one year as a starter. Another (cornerback Cordrea Tankersley) was a bust. Smith has struggled in two years and can’t, in good conscience, be projected as a starter. There’s not a large enough body of work to know what Paul will become.

So that’s one really good player in eight, with the jury out on Paul and the assessment nuanced on Phillips.

And barring a free agent epiphany, the Dolphins must somehow find starters at all three positions with their first three picks.

Perhaps Grier’s apparent belief that the Dolphins do not fundamentally need to change their approach to roster building, or avoid signing players with injury histories, will prove right. Maybe Miami will shock everyone this season and win a playoff game.

But so far, that philosophy has yielded nothing, beyond two playoff losses, in a decade.