Dolphins Offense Training Camp Progress Report
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The Miami Dolphins have gone through 10 training camp practices this summer as they head into their preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday.
The offense has been the focal point of practice, which was to be expected for a variety of reasons: the arrival of Tyreek Hill, the new scheme brought by new head coach Mike McDaniel, the offensive line, and obviously anything and everything related to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
With 10 practices in, it's a good time to take stock of what the Dolphins offense has accomplished in practice and where the team stands more than midway through training camp.
Let's dive into the major topics:
THE OFFENSIVE STANDOUTS EARLY IN CAMP
We shouldn't spend a lot of time here on Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle because they clearly have been the guys who have stood out, and it's been either one of them leading the team in catches at just about every practice.
What's really stood out has been how wide open they've gotten, though that brings up potential concerns about the defense's ability to cover explosive receivers.
The other player who really has jumped out offensively when it comes to passing the eye test is running back Chase Edmonds, who has demonstrated great quickness and cutting ability on his running plays along with nice pass-catching ability out of the backfield — though we already knew about the second part.
Among the non-Waddle/Hill receivers, maybe the most impressive of the group has been rookie fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma, who has been a factor in most practices.
TUA TAGOVAILOA AND THE QBs
No, Tagovailoa was not included among the offensive standouts so far in training camp, and those who strictly go by social media clips showing his long completions certainly will be befuddled by this.
Tagovailoa has been solid overall, with some really good practices and a couple of not-so-successful outings, but this notion he's been lighting it up that's been suggested by some — including some in the media — is just flat-out not accurate.
Having said that, yes, Tagovailoa absolutely has had his share of nice dimes downfield, which anybody should have known he always had the ability to do.
And if it bears saying again, if Tua has time, he will connect with Hill and Waddle downfield. That's never been the concern.
This being practice against his own team, Tua's performance in practice has been good enough to keep up the hope he can have a breakout third season, but to suggest it's a done deal is premature.
For those looking at numbers, here's what our stat keeping has told us: Not counting passes thrown after a play would have ended in a regular season game (either through sack, scramble or throw-away), we have Tua for 79 completions on 126 attempts in team drills through 10 practices for a completion percentage of 62.6.
For comparison purposes (and pointing out we don't have numbers for the first practice for Teddy Bridgewater or Skylar Thompson), we have Bridgewater at 62.3 percent and Thompson at 59.3.
While it's Tagovailoa who's had the most downfield completions, it says here that Thompson just might have the two best throws of camp, a shot downfield across his body to Braylon Sanders and a drop over defenders to Preston Williams on a deep out after he was flushed out of the pocket.
THE DOLPHINS OFFENSIVE LINE
This group always is difficult to evaluate in training camp practices, particularly intrasquad work, because neither offensive linemen nor defensive linemen after going full speed and the contact is nowhere near what it is during a game.
That said, there appear to be clear signs that the unit will be improved in 2022, particularly when consider how limited Terron Armstead's practice time has been.
The one glaring issue here has been the shotgun snaps with Connor Williams, though it was encouraging that he had a blemish-free practice in that respect Sunday.
There are reasons to be concerned about the depth along the offensive line, though the return of guard/center Michael Deiter — whenever it happens — certainly will help in that area.
QUIET TIGHT ENDS
One of those players who will be scrutinized in 2022 is Mike Gesicki after the Dolphins used the franchise tag on him and didn't sign him to a long-term contract extension, all that with the backdrop of the McDaniel scheme calling for tight ends with blocking ability.
McDaniel made an interesting point before practice Sunday that the team's tight ends all had to unlearn what they had been taught to this point because their philosophy is different when it comes to playing the position.
So perhaps coincidentally as they learn the new scheme, the tight ends have been pretty quiet in the passing game during training camp.
Without diving into stats, it seems second-year player Hunter Long has been the most targeted tight end so far in camp, while Gesicki was almost an afterthought until the last two practices.
How the Dolphins use their tight ends will be something to monitor as we get closer to the regular season.
