Rough Go for Top Rookies
The Miami Dolphins were without safety Jevon Holland and offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg Friday when they conducted their first practice of 2021 in regular season mode (limited media access, no fans), continuing a disappointing trend that began in training camp.
Put into simple terms, the progress of the Dolphins' top draft picks this summer has been hampered — and somewhat significantly — because of various injuries.
Holland and Eichenberg were among the Dolphins' five picks in the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL draft, but only the team's top selection (Jaylen Waddle) played in the first two preseason games.
Fellow first-round pick Jaelan Phillips, of course, missed the preseason opener at Chicago, which came a couple of days after he returned to practice following an absence because of a groin injury.
Also missing from that game was tight end Hunter Long, who missed the better part of two weeks after a scary-looking knee injury that fortunately wasn't significant enough to keep him out of the lineup for very long.
But it's really not the missed preseason games that's the issue here but rather the missed practice time, which absolutely is going to have an effect on one of more of those players at the start of the regular season and possibly longer.
We can start with Holland, who had four interceptions in camp, including two in the joint practices with the Bears and the Atlanta Falcons, and looked ready to challenge veteran Jason McCourty for the starting safety job opposite Eric Rowe.
Holland took part in the two joint practices with the Falcons before he mysteriously appeared on the list of scratches before the preseason game at Hard Rock Stadium and didn't practice at all this week.
The injury didn't keep Holland from working with trainers on the side throughout the week, so it's safe to assume it's nothing major. But the missed practice time isn't going to help Holland in his quest to earn significant playing time early in his NFL career.
The same goes for Eichenberg, who like Holland got snaps with the first team at times during camp. He missed the Chicago game after sustaining a shoulder injury in a joint practice and now is dealing with an apparent leg injury he sustained in practice Thursday.
Eichenberg remained on the field after he was injured Thursday, but he stopped practicing and then wasn't out there Friday.
Eichenberg remains listed as the first-team left guard on the Dolphins depth chart, but it's second-year player Solomon Kindley who has lined up there the past several practices and in all likelihood will start the opener against the New England at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 12.
At this time, Eichenberg projects as the backup right tackle, and who knows when he'll be ready to make a move into the starting lineup — if it's going to happen this season at all. That probably wasn't what the expectation was when the Dolphins gave up a 2022 third-round pick to the New York Giants to move up eight spots in the second round and take Eichenberg with the 42nd overall pick.
Phillips and Long played 27 and 20 snaps, respectively, against Atlanta, but it's obvious their development isn't as advanced as it would be if not for the missed practice time.
Both of them played positions where the Dolphins will be rotating players and aren't likely to be as affected by the missed practice time as Holland and especially Eichenberg.
And even Waddle, though he played both preseason games, didn't get out of training camp without some injury issues.
There clearly were times when he was limping at practice and/or showed visible discomfort, the latest example coming Thursday when after catching a pass in practice he slammed the football to the turf in frustration and got up very slowly.
And, of course, there was the scare in the preseason game against Atlanta when he stayed on the ground after a running play, though replays showed he simply got kicked in the leg.
Still, when you're dealing with a player whose best asset is speed, the last thing you want to see is that player getting leg injuries — no matter how insignificant.
The bottom line is there's no reason to be down at all on the Dolphins' 2021 draft, which still looks very promising from a long-term perspective, but the short-term expectations might have to be adjusted because of what's happened since the start of training camp.
And that, unfortunately, is part of life in the NFL.
