Dolphins 2022 Week 2 Snap Count Observations

Mike Gesicki, Andrew Van Ginkel and Zach Sieler were among the Miami Dolphins with noteworthy playing time against Baltimore

What stood out about the Miami Dolphins snap counts from their 42-38 victory against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday:

-- As a reminder, the inactives were RB Myles Gaskin, WR Erik Ezukanma, QB Skylar Thompson, LB Channing Tindall, TE Cethan Carter and TE Hunter Long. With Ezukanma, Tindall and Thompson out, it meant the Dolphins didn't have a single 2022 draft pick in uniform.

-- The two players who were active but didn't play were quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and tackle Larnel Coleman. Coleman was one of two players who were elevated from the practice squad Saturday, but he wasn't needed because Terron Armstead was able to play all 71 offensive snaps after being listed as questionable on the final injury report of the week.

-- Five position players saw their only action on special teams: DB Justin Bethel, DB Elijah Campbell, RB Salvon Ahmed, CB Noah Igbinoghene, C/G Michael Deiter and G Robert Jones. Bethel and Deiter were the two players who were special teams-only for a second consecutive week. The big news here involves Andrew Van Ginkel, who had played seven defensive snaps in the season opener. This could have been an issue of the Dolphins wanting more sturdy linebackers as opposed to pass rushers to try to deal with the Baltimore offense. As for Igbinoghene, it was a second time in two games without a snap on defense after he was inactive in Week 1.

DOLPHINS OFFENSIVE OBSERVATIONS

-- A good place to start here would be with tight end Mike Gesicki, whose snap count went up from 25 in Week 1 to 44 against Baltimore, which made sense given the fact the Dolphins never led until Tua Tagovailoa's game-winning touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle in the final seconds. Backup tight end Durham Smythe's play count actually stayed consistent with 35 snaps after getting 38 against New England.

-- The running back duties were way more evenly spread this time between Raheem Mostert and Chase Edmonds, with Mostert actually getting three more offensive snaps this time after Edmonds dominated the snap count in Week 1. At this point, it absolutely does look like a 1 and 1A situation for the Dolphins, with Ahmed and Gaskin far behind.

-- Nothing really stood out at wide receiver because Tyreek Hill and Waddle obviously are going to dominate the snap counts every week, and this was no different even with Hill having to miss some plays to deal with some cramping issues. Beyond those two, the snaps were pretty evenly split between Trent Sherfield, Cedrick Wilson Jr. and River Cracraft, though Wilson left the game late with a rib injury.

-- As expected, rookie free agent tight end Tanner Conner made his NFL debut, though he got only one snap on offense to go along with 15 more on special teams.

DOLPHINS DEFENSIVE OBSERVATIONS

-- The first thing that jumps out here is how much substituting the Dolphins did, which produced a total of 15 players who were on the field for at least 40 percent of the defensive snaps and only two on the field all the time — LB Jerome Baker and FS Jevon Holland.

-- The cornerback snaps opposite Xavien Howard were pretty evenly split between Nik Needham (26 snaps), Kader Kohou (25) and Keion Crossen (20). This sort of suggests the Dolphins really want/need Byron Jones.

-- On the defensive line, it was Zach Sieler getting the most snaps for a second consecutive week. Again, if this already wasn't clear, he has become a legit big-time player for the Dolphins even if he doesn't make many "splash" plays.

-- Eric Rowe made his season debut after missing Week 1 with a pectoral injury and the Dolphins used him quite a bit — mostly in coverage against tight end Mark Andrews. He played 35 snaps, only three fewer than fellow safety Brandon Jones.

-- After being inactive in Week 1, veteran newcomer Trey Flowers made his Dolphins debut, but was used very sporadically with only eight snaps on defense and none on special teams. This figures to change as the weeks progress. Flowers did make a big impact in his limited time, though, because he teamed with linebacker Elandon Roberts when the Dolphins stuffed Lamar Jackson for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the Miami 40 with 9:11 left in the fourth quarter, one of the key plays in the Dolphins comeback.

-- We close with the special teams, which were dominated in terms of snap counts by Bethel (24), Duke Riley (24, along with 31 snaps on defense) and Campbell (22). Among the offensive position players, Sherfield had the most special teams snaps with 18.