The Miami Dolphins committed the cardinal sin under former general manager Chris Grier of focusing on shiny toys instead of building a strong, deep foundation. And every time the Dolphins went up against a playoff or physical team, the Dolphins were dog walked far too often.

While Grier said he chuckled about previous concerns about the offensive line he built, a lack of toughness, physicality, and depth on the lines of scrimmage ultimately led to his downfall in South Florida.

New general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley have fortunately veered from that blueprint in their first offseason. They selected mammoth OL Kadyn Proctor with their first selection in April’s draft, who will start off at left guard. That will allow Jonah Savaiinaea to shift over to right guard from left, which should help him improve on a tough rookie season.

They added two defensive starters in CB Chris Johnson and LB Jacob Rodriguez next. Physical tight end Will Kacmarek was landed in the third round.

But their offseason moves have left them shorthanded at the skill position just about everywhere except at running back, where they agreed to an extension with franchise RB De’Von Achane. And much of that necessity came from the salary cap hell that Sullivan inherited. Skill position costs money, and Miami will eventually have the space to address it.

But for now, the Dolphins have, what ESPN senior NFL writer Bill Barnwell calls, the worst receiving corps that he’s seem assembled “on purpose”. It’s something that seems absurd to say of the Dolphins after the last five years, but is tough to argue with too much at this point.

Dolphins rank dead last in the NFL on ESPN’s list of best skill position players

“Unfortunately, this might be the worst receiving corps I’ve seen assembled on purpose by an NFL team in recent memory,” Barnwell wrote. “Third and fourth wideouts such as Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell are the veterans being forced into starting roles. Third-round picks Chris Bell and Caleb Douglas — who might be fourth or fifth wideouts in other lineups — are going to be pushed into the lineup by midseason. I’m a little excited about Greg Dulcich, who was second in the NFL in yards per route run among tight ends from Week 9 onward last season, but he’ll need to be prime Travis Kelce to make this group of receivers work.”

Ouch. Assembled on purpose is a tough way to phrase it, but I guess technically that’s true.

But, again, their decisions and moves at wide receiver are based on necessity and the situation they were presented. Pulling Miami out of the fire that Grier and Mike McDaniel left the franchise is going to take some time and some shrewd decision making.

You make do with what you can, and unfortunately, Miami was left with the Tutu Atwells and Jalen Tolberts of the world this offseason as viable options. And you have to credit Sullivan and Hafley for not burning a pick before the third round on a skill position player, opting instead to focus on improving the offensive line and defensive starters.

It’s going to take time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. And Sullivan and his staff took their first step in the draft by building from the ground up.

For once, that’s no laughing matter in South Florida. And Miami fans should be thankful.