The have given up on the 2019 season and we're in the middle of September. There is presently no reason for optimism -- the team has the worst point differential (minus-92) after two games of any team since the 1961 , and Miami is worst outfit after two games, going back to 1989. But there is a plan, even if Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and first-year coach Brian Flores aren't willing to utter the words out loud: They're tanking in '19. And while they Mike Conley Jersey 're tanking they're clearing house, accumulating draft picks, with grand ideas on rebuilding in the offseason and set this franchise on a path that will make them annually competitive with the . " ," Dolphins owner Stephen Ro s said this week, via the , "but it was something we are committed to and believe it's the only way we can build a team to win continually. Nothing great in life was ever achieved easily. There are no shortcuts or magic formulas. This is the . There are no easy games and no one lucks into winning the . We have leadership that I believe in." As for the long-range plan, Ro s said: "We are trying to win every game we play and grow and improve every day, but we also have to balance making decisions that help us build a championship organization." To be fair, the status quo hasn't worked; the Dolphins have made one playoff appearance since 2009, which was also the last time they had a winning record. In 2016 the team was 10-6 in Adam Gase's first season as coach and lost in the wild-card round to the . In the two-plus seasons since, they're 13-21.Let's take a closer look at . Since Flores was hired in early February, the Dolphins have traded six starters, including four first-round picks (DB , LT , QB and DE , who was originally drafted by the ). They also cut five players, including DT and WR , and allowed , Ju'Wuan James and to leave in free agency. Miami Bojan Bogdanovic Jersey did sign journeyman quarterback and traded for 2018 first-round pick , but no one expected them to be anything more than a speed bump on the runaway tractor trailer headed down the Tank Mountain. That's the grim truth. The silver lining is that the Dolphins have first round picks in the 2020 -- their own, which will almost certainly be the No. 1 overall selection, the ' (as part of the Laremy Tunsil trade) and the Steelers' (as part of the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade). They also have two 2020 second-rounders (their own and the Saints', as part of the trade that allowed New Orleans to move up and draft Eric McCoy this spring). They could also add an extra third-rounder (a compensatory pick for Ju'Wuan James). Then there's 2021! They currently have two first-rounders and two second-rounders (the extra pick in each round is also part of the Tunsil trade). And as it stands, the Dolphins will have more salary-cap space this offseason than any other team. And that brings us to these tweets from the 's Adam Beasley: Friendly reminder: The Dolphins will have $160 million or so in cap space next year to go along with 12+ draft picks. That means they can sign 32 players at $5m APY each and still find 6/7 starters in the draft. They will be much, much better with even the slightest competence. Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) Friendly reminder: The Dolphins will have $160 million or so in cap space next year to go along with 12+ draft picks. That means they can sign 32 players at $5m APY each and still find 6/7 starters in the draft. They will be much, much better with even the slightest competence. Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) And that's the thing: Can the Dolphins go from whatever happens this season (0-16 seems like a safe bet) to 7-9 or 8-8 a year from now? And then, more importantly, annually win 9-plus games and be in the playoff conversation?It all starts with Udoka Azubuike Jersey a franchise quarterback and conventional wisdom has the Dolphins targeting Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, who may undersized by traditional NFL standards but thanks to and , his lack of ideal height won't prevent him from being among the first players taken next spring. There are questions about his arm strength, and he's better on the move than he is in the pocket, but these are nitpicks; Tagovailoa is one of the best players in college football, playing on one of the best teams. (And perhaps that's something worth considering; don't forget, Minkah Fitzpatrick won two national titles at Alabama, was Mike Conley Jr. Jersey one of Nick Saban's favorite players, was considered a team leader and hard worker, and the Dolphins traded their 2018 11th overall pick this week when it became clear that winning wasn't an immediate priority in Miami. Fitzpatrick wanted out, the Dolphins obliged, and in the proce s moved on from one of their best young players.) Not surprisingly, the Dolphins' offensive line ranks 31st is pa s protection and run blocking, which means they'll need to addre s the unit this offseason in order to protect whomever they select as their franchise quarterback. Tunsil would've been the obvious choice to build around but he's in Houston and Miami has two first-rounders and a second-rounder for their trouble. Georgia's Andrew Thomas would be an obvious choice to replace Tunsil. Coming into 2019, Thomas has allowed just four sacks in two seasons at Georgia and he can take over in the run game. But the Dolphins may need those first-rounders via the Steelers or Texans to be top-5 or better if they want a shot at Thomas. Otherwise, Miami may have to turn to Iowa's Tristin Wirfs, a dominant right tackle who would also protect the left-handed Tagovailoa's blind side. That franchise quarterback also needs a legit downfield threat. Luckily, this Justin Wright-Foreman Jersey draft is full of playmakers, starting with Alabama's Jerry Jeudy. But again, the Dolphins will need all three of their first-round picks to be of the top-10 variety if they're going to fill three of their biggest needs during the first few hours of the 2020 NFL Draft: quarterback, offensive tackle, wide receiver. Even if Jeudy isn't available, Miami has plenty of other options, from his Alabama teammate Henry Ruggs III to Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb to Clemson's Tee Higgins, to Colorado's Laviska Shenault to TCU's Jalen Reagor, to some really good players who could be available on Day 2 (Collin Johnson, Tyler Johnson, Tylan Wallace). That's a rough outline, from the perspective of mid-September, of how the Dolphins could begin the rebuild proce s through the draft. Of course, a lot will change between then and now, starting with free agency next March. But if the plan is to minimize spending while maximizing talent, restocking the high-profile positions through the draft (quarterback and offensive tackle, for example), makes the most sense. But it also comes with the biggest risks. The have a long and forgettable history of multiple first-round picks that simply didn't work out. In 2012, Cleveland selected running back and quarterback . Two years later, they drafted another quarterback in Round 1, , 14 picks after taking cornerback . In 2015, they had two more first-