Miami Dolphins Stock Report (Practice 8)

The Miami Dolphins are being tested from a depth standpoint this week as a handful of players are sidelined by injuries they suffered in practice, or nagging issues.

This is football, it’s a physical game, so these things are to be expected, especially in training camp.

But in order for the Miami Dolphins to have the type of season the fan base expects — playoff wins and a postseason run — the backups need to step up, step forward when opportunity presents itself, and must rise to the occasion.

In some instances that’s beginning to happen on the practice field, and then in others we can see how paper-thin the Dolphins roster is.

To gain some clarity on some of these concerns, check out new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio taking a flamethrower to his unit - roasting the defense - during his first media session of training camp. It’s quite a harsh review, but I completely agree with Fangio on every concern he raised.

Top Performers

WR Robbie Chosen - With Erik Ezukanma sidelined by an undisclosed injury he suffered Thursday, it appears that Chosen finally got more than half a dozen snaps in 11-on-11s, and the seven-year veteran seized on them, delivering 95 yards on two receptions. His first deep ball he caught from Tua Tagovailoa, where he was 5 yards away from any Dolphins defender after going in motion before the snap. If the ball hadn’t been underthrown by Tagovailoa that would have been an 80-yard touchdown because Chosen had roasted Tino Ellis downfield. Chosen later caught a gem from Mike White near the right sideline in the second 11-on-11 period.

DE Emmanuel Ogbah - I haven’t been shy about complaining about Ogbah’s usage in training camp’s first seven practices. Miami is cross-training him as an outside linebacker, and he’s standing up too much for my personal taste. The Dolphins finally let Ogbah put his hand in the ground a bit more Friday and his presence was felt. He was owning the line of scrimmage outside of his one snap against Terron Armstead during the first snap of 11-on-11, and he delivered at least one would-be sack against Austin Jackson, and had another four of five pressures. He also gift-wrapped a sack for Raekwon Davis by forcing Tagovailoa to step up in the pocket. Ogbah’s dominant day hints that Jackson might still struggle with power rushers. This needs to be examined more.

DT Zach Sieler - I’ve consistently praised Christian Wilkins for how dominant he is daily, and it feels as if I’m overlooking Sieler’s performance on a daily basis because he’s right there with Wilkins, serving as a disruptive presence in practice daily. Sieler had a sack Friday and a handful of pressures. But more importantly, during the goal line work the defensive line was stout, preventing the first-team offense from having effective runs that would have gotten the team in the end zone. Sieler was responsible for three or four tackles at the line of scrimmage during Friday’s physical work, which heavily involved the trench players.

Stock down

TE Eric Saubert - The Dolphins are having an open audition to determine who will be Durham Smythe’s new Robin, and at this point I don’t think that player is on the roster. Saubert has had plenty of opportunities to impress during 11-on-11s, and hasn’t just yet. Friday’s practice, which featured him dropping a critical pass during 11-on-11s, and then following it up with a false start the very next play, hints he might not be ready to shed his NFL journeyman reputation.