Dolphins Trending Up, Trending Down

After the fourth game of the 2020 season, we take stock of which Miami Dolphins players are moving in the right direction and who's going the opposite way

The Miami Dolphins put up a good battle against the Seattle Seahawks, but ultimately came up short because of bad defensive breakdowns and the inability to finish drives.

We've now reached the quarter mark of the 2020 season. so let's see whose arrow is pointing up and whose is pointing downward:

TRENDING UP

-- RB Matt Breida: The Dolphins got their veteran offseason acquisition involved in the passing game in the first half and he responded with some nice gains. He's the back with the most speed, so it would make sense to try to use him more in the passing game.

-- WR DeVante Parker: This wasn't about the numbers, though they were impressive. It was about Parker's continuing development as a wide receiver that now involves the ability to play with minor injuries.

-- WR Jakeem Grant: The Dolphins are starting to use him a bit more (28 snaps against Seattle) and he caught three of the four passes where he was the target. Like Breida, he's somebody whose speed the Dolphins should do well to use.

-- K Jason Sanders: Five-for-five against Seattle. Not one miss on the season. Guy is money.

-- DE Emmanuel Ogbah: Ogbah has made his presence felt in every game the past few weeks and he had a tackle for loss to go along with a sack of Russell Wilson.

-- CB Nik Needham: A week after not playing one snap on defense, Needham started and played 40 snaps against Seattle. He didn't shine by any means, but it still was a big step forward for the second-year player.

-- P Matt Haack: One punt, 51 yards, no return. Can't ask for more. He has been just as good as Sanders all season.

TRENDING DOWN

-- CB Noah Igbinoghene: We'll give big props to the rookie for facing the media after what was a difficult performance against Seattle, but the bottom line is that he appears overmatched at the start of his NFL career. There's no two ways around it.

-- DT Christian Wilkins: Playing the interior of a defensive line in a 3-4 alignment isn't conducive to filling the stat sheet, but the player's presence still needs to be felt. That wasn't the case with Wilkins on Sunday when he played 44 defensive snaps and was hardly visible.

-- LB Jerome Baker: The third-year linebacker played his lowest number of defensive snaps since 2018 and, like Wilkins, barely was visible. It's a bit worrisome for Baker, who seems to have taken a step back this season.

-- WR Preston Williams: Every time he's been interviewed, Williams has said he's fine physically, but the reality is he's clearly not the same receiver as before his torn ACL last November. Against Seattle, he caught only one pass on three targets to continue his vastly disappointing start to the season.

-- T Austin Jackson: Jackson had to leave the game against Seattle twice because of a foot injury and his status for the Week 5 game at San Francisco is in doubt. Before he went out, he allowed the pressure that resulted in a hit on Ryan Fitzpatrick's arm on the interception on the Dolphins' first drive.

-- TE Mike Gesicki: Yes, defense are paying a lot of attention to Gesicki since his great game against Buffalo, but the Dolphins still need to find a way to get more out of their tight end than one catch, which is what he got against Seattle after the exact same thing happened against Jacksonville (though that one catch was a touchdown).