Dolphins Rookie Stock Report After Week 16: Who Moved Up?

The Miami Dolphins’ rookie class was out in full force against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Of course, the headliner was rookie QB Quinn Ewers getting his first career start. We did an in-depth breakdown on Ewers’ performance already, so if you want to get our full thoughts on him, that’s the best place to do it.

He’ll be included in this piece, but the bulk of the analysis will center around Miami’s other rookies. The only rookie who didn’t qualify this week was Ollie Gordon II.

Kenneth Grant

Week 15: No Movement

Week 16: Slight Stock Up

Grant had a solid enough performance against the Bengals. He was credited with three run stops in the game and mostly held his ground outside of one or maybe two plays.

He’s proven to be a solid enough player against the run after a rough start to the season, but his pass-rush skills haven’t taken off yet. He was credited with two pressures this week, but one was off a stunt, and the other was his half-sack.

The sack was a good effort play, but Tyrel Dodson deserves a lot more credit for that than anyone else. Still, Grant did enough to push his stock slightly up.

We’re just waiting on a true breakout at this point.

Jonah Savaiinaea

Week 15: Slight Stock Down

Week 16: Slight Stock Up

Savaiinaea played better than he did last week, so he gets the stock-up designation. He allowed three pressures in this game, but none of them were the whiffs we’ve grown accustomed to seeing this season.

In the running game, Savaiinaea mostly just did his job. He didn’t generate a ton of movement or make too many “plus” plays, but he wasn’t falling off his assignments often either.

Savaiinaea has gotten better during the back half of the season, but he’s still not performing to the standard of a long-term, starting-caliber guard. We might have to hope for an offseason jump in development at this point.

Jordan Phillips

Week 15: Slight Stock Up

Week 16: Slight Stock Down

This was a tough one because Phillips’ tape was far from bad. However, he’s kinda fallen into a developmental lull. He consistently stacks and sheds blocks, but he fails to finish the play.

He’s missed four tackles in the last four games after missing just one before that. Phillips disrupted a couple of running plays against the Bengals, but he just couldn’t make the play.

Nose tackle is a thankless position, and we still think Phillips has been Miami’s best rookie this season, but it’s also fair to want to see him convert more of these plays into run stops and TFLs.

Dante Trader Jr.

Week 15: Stock Down

Week 16: Stock Up

Trader got a lot more reps in the slot this week, as he helped fill some of Minkah Fitzpatrick’s responsibilities.

The rookie safety allowed a couple of catches, but he made the tackles quickly on two and had no chance on the third, as it was play-action slide with Ja’Marr Chase running across the formation.

Other than that, Trader was solid. He made all the tackles he was in on, negating his biggest weakness this season, and took good zone drops, while holding up in man.

Again, there is no reason for Ashtyn Davis to take snaps from Trader if Fitzpatrick returns this season.

Jason Marshall Jr.

Week 15: Did not qualify

Week 16: Slight Stock Down

Giving Marshall a fair shake for this game is tough. He hasn’t played much this season and was filling in for Minkah Fitzpatrick, who has primarily played in the slot.

Those are big shoes to fill, especially considering all the firepower the Bengals have on offense. Marshall got beaten in man coverage a few times. Several of those throws didn’t go his way but his rep wasn’t great.

That said, leaving him on an island against Ja’Marr Chase isn’t exactly fair to the rookie cornerback. Even Mike Gesicki’s touchdown that he caught in front of Marshall is tough to pin on him.

The Dolphins spun to a two-high look after showing a one-high look post-snap. Gesicki is running a route right down the seam, while Marshall is bailing to a deep half. Sure, Marshall reacted a tad late, but the Bengals’ play-call is what beat them.

Marshall doesn’t look like a long-term option in the slot. His best reps this season have come on the outside, and Miami should try to play him there next season.

Zeek Biggers

Week 15: No Movement

Week 16: Slight Stock Down

Biggers had five tackles in this game, and there were two in the first half that were good plays. However, it was pretty much all downhill from there.

He didn’t make much of an impact as a pass rusher in this one, and the Bengals bullied him on the line of scrimmage in the third quarter. Biggers needs to develop more strength to hold the point of attack, or he’ll remain a player who relies solely on pass rush and effort.

That could earn him a rotation spot, but there are many better players with those abilities.

Quinn Ewers

Week 15: Did not qualify

Week 16: No Movement

As we mentioned at the top, we already did an in-depth breakdown of Ewers’ first start, so we’ll keep things brief here. Just like with the rest of the rookie class, we’re setting the floor with a “no movement” designation before pushing his stock in either direction.

Ewers played fine for a backup, seventh-round pick making his first career start. The game plan protected him a ton, and his limitations were obvious. Still, he had some nice throws and displayed a good enough baseline ability.

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