Flores Friday Morning OTA Takeaways

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores touched on various topics before the team conducted its final OTA of 2021

The Miami Dolphins opened their final OTA practice of 2021 to the media Friday, but before that took place head coach Brian Flores conducted a Zoom session.

Here were the highlights of Flores' media session:

-- Flores expects every player to attend the mandatory minicamp next week. Says he's been happy with the attendance in the OTAs, which we must say again are voluntary.

-- Smart, tough, competitive, talented. Those are the qualities that Flores says the team saw in wide receiver Will Fuller V before he was signed as a free agent. Added that Fuller also is a team guy, which clearly is important for Flores.

-- While Fuller's speed obviously was attractive, it wasn't the only reason he was signed.

-- On the issue of leadership, Flores says there's a good amount on the team despite some veteran leaders who were let go or moved to another team in the offseason.

-- Noah Igbinoghene played mostly outside as a rookie in 2020 to facilitate his transition into the NFL, but this year Dolphins coaches feel he's ready to take reps inside. Flores mentions speed, quickness and ability to tackle as traits required to play the slot corner position. The Dolphins will continue to train guys at that spot, such as Nik Needham and Justin Coleman.

-- We had a rare question about Brazilian import Durval Queiroz Neto, and Flores started by calling him one of the hardest workers on the team. "He's talented. He's big, he's strong, he's fast." Flores says Queiroz is still learning the game but has made improvement. The Dolphins have had a roster exemption for Queiroz the past two years.

-- The Dolphins have talked to their players about vaccines, about the different ones, but ultimately it's each player's decision. Flores will not reveal who has or has not been vaccinated, or numbers.

-- Jerome Baker has made a lot of improvement in all areas. "He's a very good player. We're excited about working with him."

-- Robert Hunt has a chance to be a solid offensive lineman, whether it be guard, tackle, right side or left side. He's got an opportunity to be one of those five. Where he lands is going to be up to him. Decision on where Hunt plays will be made during training camp.