Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Tua, OBJ, D-Line, and More

What are the areas of concern on defense? How might De'Von Achane might be utilized next season? We tackle those and other Miami Dolphins issues.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. looks on during mandatory minicamp at Baptist Health Training Complex. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Part 1 of a post-minicamp Miami Dolphins mailbag:

From Reza Hariri (@Therealrezpect1):

How did the rookie WR look? Any of the UDFA look like they belong? Which rookie or FA will have biggest impact in 2024?

Hey Reza, I’m assuming by “rookie WR” you mean Malik Washington. He looked solid overall, but did have a bad drop in a minicamp practice. The one UDFA who really grabbed my attention in the practices we watched was Grayson Murphy, the edge defender from UCLA. He definitely made himself noticeable. As for which rookie will have the biggest impac, there’s only name to guess here, and that’s Chop Robinson.

From Big Ern McDolphin (@dana_buice):

Any chance Skylar takes the QB#2 spot this season?

Hey Dana, anything is possible, but I’m honestly going to tell you I just don’t see it. I think Mike White more than likely will be QB2.

DOLPHINS DEFENSE TOPICS

From Joe Barrett (@JoeBarrett14):

I certainly hope the Dolphins are gonna be signing another safety, nothing wrong with our starters, but…… what do you think Alain? Second question, who’s gonna be our DL starter next to Zach?

Hey Joe, I do think the Dolphins could use another safety. There is nothing wrong with either Jevon Holland or Jordan Poyer, but that’s dependent on Poyer being able to be closer to prime Poyer than the version from 2023 when he clearly looked like he had lost a step.

From John O’Connell (@cdawgs44):

How did Tindall look in mini-camp? Did any of the rookies flash in minicamp?

Hey John, Tindall had one really good day in the OTAs, but he wasn’t very noticeable during the two minicamp practices. As for the rookies, Chop Robinson probably is the one who flashed the most, but it wasn’t anything overwhelming.

From T-Money (@DolphinsFanz):

How is Wright looking compared to Achane? Could we see Achane being used in the slot more this year?

Hey there, I don’t know where this Achane in the slot idea is coming from. You’re not the first one who’s mentioned it. No, I don’t see that, even though I do see Achane potentially catching a lot more passes. As for Wright, he didn’t work in the minicamp. In the two OTA practices open to the media, he did look quick, but I’d still not sure I’d expect a major role for him as a rookie.

From Prince-Bishop Militantly Aardvark (@MilitantlyA):

It seems to me that the defense is a couple of injuries away from crumbling. What would we do if, say, Sieler and Holland were in a boat attacked by ill-tempered seabass? Help me, Obi-Wan Poupart. You're my only hope!

“Ill-tempered seabass”? LOL. That’s funny. The Dolphins aren’t alone in not being able to afford injuries to key players. But, yes, it would not be good if either Holland or Sieler were lost for any extended period of time.

From Ricardo Hernandez (@Ricardo96451182):

Hi Alain. You’ve mentioned an expected decline in the Dolphins defense. Other than uncertainty on the edge starters’ health, given the new additions, I only see the Wilkins loss as a clear downgrade, with some possible upgrades. Are there other areas you see as weaker?

Hey Ricardo, well, the Wilkins loss is very significant and the possibility of Chubb and/or Phillips being less than 100 percent also is very significant. Peak Jordan Poyer would be a massive upgrade at safety, but the reality is he’s not peak Jordan Poyer and there is some uncertainty there. The only area that appears clearly better is off-the-ball linebacker with Jordyn Brooks and Anthony Walker Jr. replacing Jerome Baker.

TUA AND BECKHAM TOPICS

From Mark Lever (@MarkFinsfan):

OBJ predictions/stats?

Hey Mark, I think projecting something along the lines of 50 catches for 700 yards with four or five touchdowns seems reasonable.

From Chris Bustin (@ChrisBustin13):

Hey, Alain. I always enjoyed the question you posed to Omar, asking him how many other GMs would take Tua over Justin Herbert. In the that spirit, my question is this: How many of the other 31 teams would pay Tua $50 million per year? Thanks!

Hey Chris, I do not think a significant number of teams would give Tua that kind of money (understanding that guaranteed money is a better indicator of the value of a contract), maybe a handful. The reality is he’s more valuable to the Dolphins than other teams because of the way they’ve built their offense.

From Jason Kirkland (@1bigdad424):

When someone in a live pod mentions Tua's shortcomings, you add on to those with your opinion. On Wednesday's live pod, someone said that he's "Cleo Lemon." You only said "yeah, no." Why the discrepancy? There was so much that could've been said about that awful comparison.

Hey Jason, I didn’t add anything else because it should have been so totally obvious that it was a bad comparison because Tua is so much better than Lemon. I honestly didn’t feel it needed to be said. But if it’ll please you, I can just write in this space that Tua is much more accurate than Lemon and has a much quicker release, and they're not on the same level as quarterbacks. And, for the record, if somebody were to say that Josh Allen has a stronger arm than Tua, I wouldn't add anything to it, either.

From Dave (@angryvet59):

Tua definitely irritated about his contract status & not participating in certain drills. You think McDaniel is knocking on Grier's door or at least playing music louder in the office beside his? Congrats on Podcast 300 & looking forward to more!

Thanks Dave, no, I believe McDaniel when he tells the media he stays in his lane and just worries about coaching. The problem for McDaniel here is that if he knocks on Grier about Tua’s contract, then he’ll need to do it for other players, and where does it end?

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