Dolphins Second Minicamp Practice Observations
The focus after the Miami Dolphins minicamp practice Thursday clearly was on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa because of his two long completions and subsequent feisty comments, but it was the guy on the receiving end of those passes who was the star on this day.
And it wasn't just those two catches for Hill, who got behind the defense on both long passes. Hill had another long gain after catching a short pass from rookie seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson after a roll-out.
Hill was alone near the sideline and took off downfield for what had to be one of three plays of 50 yards or longer.
On all three plays, Hill showed off his ridiculous speed. Yes, ridiculous.
THE QUARTERBACK STORY
Rounding out the story of Tagovailoa's day, he completed 7 of 11 passes, which was his exact totals Wednesday.
Outside of the two long completions, he had a nice 5-yard touchdown pass to Hill on a slant on the final 11-on-11 play of practice.
But he also had three check-downs, including the first 11-on-11 play of practice when he couldn't find a receiver and eventually dumped the ball off to fullback John Lovett.
Teddy Bridgewater was 7-for-10 on this day, his best being a pretty 25-yard hook-up to Trent Sherfield in the middle of the field over a defender.
His poorest throw came when he overshot Cedrick Wilson Jr. on a crossing pattern and rookie safety Verone McKinley II almost interception after diving for the ball.
Thompson didn't attempt nearly as many passes, finishing 2-of-5 with the one completion to Hill and a beautiful 13-yard completion to Cody Core near the sideline when he threw the ball before Core made his break.
Thompson did throw the one interception of the day when his pass intended for River Cracraft bounced high into the air off the helmet of incoming cornerback Quincy Wilson and was caught by Trill Williams.
His last pass of practice was a bomb down the right sideline intended for rookie Braylon Sanders that he just overthrew after Sanders got behind cornerback Javaris Davis. His other incompletion came when tight end Cethan Carter dropped an easy completion on a slant.
OTHER PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS
-- Christian Wilkins continues his strong work of the offseason (at least in the practices open to the media) with a would-be sack and a stuff of running back Salvon Ahmed that he punctuated with a flex.
-- Linebacker Darrius Hodge, who was claimed off waivers from Cincinnati last year but didn't get in a game, forced Thompson to scramble out of the pocket with his pressure. He had himself a good minicamp.
-- While Igbinoghene is going to show up on the wrong end of Tua's first long completion to Hill, he had a really good pass breakup against Preston Williams on a Tua pass on the next-to-last play of practice.
-- Kicker Jason Sanders was 7-for-7 on field goal attempts, from 33, 38, 44, 32, 39, 43 and 53 yards. For anybody wondering, veteran punter Thomas Morstead served as his holder.
-- The offense was flagged for three penalties, including two false starts, while rookie defensive back Elijah Hamilton was flagged for DPI against Sherfield, who had a productive practice.
-- Nik Needham had a nice pass breakup on a sideline pass from Tua intended for Jaylen Waddle.
THIS AND THAT
-- Safety Jevon Holland wore the orange jersey as the practice player of the day for Wednesday. His musical selections generally earned positive reviews from media members.
-- The attendance report appeared the same as Wednesday, with Melvin Ingram III, Terron Armstead, Raheem Mostert, Alec Ingold and Byron Jones again not working. Xavien Howard and Emmanuel Ogbah again did not take part in 11-on-11 work.
-- Former Dolphins special teams coach Mike Westhoff was a visitor at practice.
