Dolphins Snap Count Observations for Giants Game: Rookies Get a Taste

Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley was satisfied with the work his front-line players got in the joint practice against the New York Giants, but he still wanted his rookies to experience the feel of a game.

It's why all of the 13 draft picks, except for third-round wide receiver Chris Bell, saw action in the 26-3 loss at Hard Rock Stadim on Sunday, though they were cameos for a lot of players.

And even Bell was in uniform for pregame warmups, even though Hafley said there never was a thought that he would play in the game considering he has yet to be cleared for full contact.

"I thought it was really good for him," Hafley said. "The whole routine is different in this league, and I wanted him to feel it, go through it, so if he doesn’t get to play in a preseason game, when he does play in a real game, it's not the first time. But he was not going to play today. Just like our guys who played a lot of snaps on Thursday, we weren't going to play them today."

For early picks like Kadyn Proctor, Chris Johnson, Jacob Rodriguez and Caleb Douglas, it also looked like an issue of giving them the home game experience, however briefly, because none of them reached 10 snaps. Fourth-round pick Trey Moore played only two snaps, but that's because he went down with an ankle injury.

The list of players who sat out, according to the official NFL gamebook, was quite larger than that in the preseason opener against Washington and consisted of QB Malik Willis, WR Malik Washington, CB JuJu Brents, EDGE Josh Uche, QB Quinn Ewers, Bell, LB Jordyn Brooks, CB Darrell Baker Jr., LB Tyrel Dodson, RB De'Von Achane, CB Storm Duck, EDGE Chop Robinson, EDGE Robert Beal Jr., T Patrick Paul, C Aaron Brewer, C Jim Bonifas, G Jonah Savaiinaea, T Austin Jackson, DT Kenneth Grant, T Kevin Cline, TE Ben Sims, DT Zach Sieler, DT Zeek Biggers, DT Jordan Phillips, and EDGE Clelin Ferrell.

The biggest takeaways from the snap counts in a game where non-rookie starters and front-line players are kept out usually involves the veterans with a lot of snaps or very few.

Here's what caught our eye from that standpoint:

DOLPHINS OFFENSE OBSERVATIONS

-- This has to start with veteran wide receivers Tutu Atwell and Jalen Tolbert, the two free agent acquisitions. Both of them played about half the offensive snaps, which clearly indicates their spot on the 53-man roster is far from secure. On the contrary, it's clear both are in danger, if not outright on their way out.

-- On the flip side, it's not a good sign (barring an injury issue during the game) for Theo Wease Jr. or rookie free agent Donaven McCulley that each got only three snaps on offense. McCulley did play 10 snaps on special teams, but it's still probably not very encouraging for him.

-- While they took part in the joint practice, we can only assume some kind of medical issue with both Kevin Cline and Jim Bonifas for them not playing because they clearly aren't roster locks, so the Dolphins should have wanted at least a little look at them. As it was, tackle Caedan Wallace and Josh Priebe played every snap on the offensive line against the Giants, with Priebe sliding over to center to replace Andrew Meyer for the final six snaps.

-- Tackles Gottlieb Ayedze and Marques Cox each played only snaps, which doesn't bode well for them considering Charlie Heck played 30 snaps at tackle.

-- It remains questionable how many running backs the Dolphins will keep, but Carlos Washington Jr. clearly has the edge over Donovan Edwards considering Washington got 10 offensive snaps and Edwards was the only non-specialists whose only snaps came on special teams.

-- We also should watch the tight end situation, where fifth-round pick Seydou Traore got only four snaps on offense but nine on special teams. Even recent waiver pick-up Jeremiah Franklin got more offensive snaps with six.

DOLPHINS DEFENSE OBSERVATIONS

-- On defense, what has to stand out is linebacker Stephen Dix Jr. playing 34 snaps in the second half after not even joining the team until Friday. Steve came in, met him, and he started the whole second half where we had to tell him the call, he had to give the call, then we had to tell him what to do on every single play," Hafley explained. "So we were able to play only like two calls in the second half, which has never happened to me in my life. So I just give him credit for going out and fighting. That's what the preseason is all about, to find out who those guys are.

-- Safety Dante Trader Jr. got a long look in this game, with 36 defensive snaps plus 10 special teams, but this wasn't about a job audition so much as getting him into the flow after he sat out the Washington game with an injury.

-- With a much longer injury list on defense than offense, more familiar names were forced to play significant snaps in this game, but it still was interesting to see EDGE David Ojabo and LB Willie Gay Jr. get 36 and 37 defensive snaps, respectively.

-- Major Burns (34) getting more snaps than Louis Moore (26) in a case where both young safeties still are in prove-it and earn-it mode would suggest Burns is ahead of the rookie free agent from Indiana at this point.

-- We did find it interesting that cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. played, albieit only for a while, despite having been a starter all summer and not being a rookie. It's not like the Dolphins were short on cornerbacks for this game, so perhaps there was something Hafley and his staff wanted to see.

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