Dolphins Developmental Tight End Making Major Gains
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Did you see the guns on Tanner Conner?
The Miami Dolphins posted a picture of the receiver-to-tight end convert flexing on the team’s social media accounts Friday. Conner seemingly was showing off the weight room gains he's made this offseason.
The second-year player's biceps were bulging, and his thighs and calves looked like the trunk of a tree.
While pictures can be deceiving, Conner seemingly knew what the offseason assignment was, and that’s to transform his body into something that resembled an NFL tight end.
TANNER CONNER'S NEW COMPETITION FOR A ROSTER SPOT
Getting stronger, and becoming bigger (maybe in the 245 pound range) would give the former Idaho State standout his best chances of remaining on Miami’s 53-man roster, especially after the franchise added Elijah Higgins in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Higgins, a Stanford standout who caught 119 passes for 1,380 yards and scored six touchdowns in his final three seasons with the Cardinal, is another receiver-to-tight end convert. He’s likely Conner’s stiffest competition for the flex role that Mike Gesicki held for the past few seasons before leaving the Dolphins for the New England Patriots this offseason as a free agent.
Conner and Higgins are competing with Eric Saubert and Tyler Kroft, two veteran tight ends, to become Durham Smythe’s backup. They are all jockeying for the three, maybe four spots reserved for tight ends on the 53-man roster. If everyone stays healthy this could be one of camp's most competitive position battles.
Conner, who caught 136 passes for 2,384 yards and scored 15 touchdowns during his college career at Idaho State, was so impressive during training camp last season Miami kept him on the 53-man roster all last season instead of trying to sneak him onto the practice squad (they would have had to expose him to waivers).
However, Conner received just 25 snaps on offense last season, and dropped two of the three passes thrown his way.
Miami signed Saubert, who has started 15 games in his six NFL seasons, and Kroft, who started 52 games in eight seasons, to one-year deals for the NFL minimum, and they'll likely be viewed as the front-runners to become the primary backups because they both have proven they can block defensive ends and blitzers.
That’s the next hurdle for Conner, who joined the Dolphins at 6-3, 232 pounds last season, and Higgins. And it doesn’t hurt that Conner seemingly has bulked up to give himself a chance.
Conner, a former state hurdle champion who produced a 39-inch vertical and a 10-foot-7 broad jump during the draft process, does seemingly have the bloodlines to get physical considering his father Andy played linebacker at Oregon and had brief stints with the Rams and Seahawks in the NFL.
