Dolphins Camp 2022: What/Who Stood Out on Offense

The 2022 Miami Dolphins training camp came to a rather abrupt and disappointing end Thursday with the cancellation of the second of the two joint practices scheduled with the Philadelphia Eagles.

But the Dolphins still were able to conduct 22 practices, including the one with the Eagles and two with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa prior to the teams' preseason game at Raymond James Stadium, and they were able to accomplish quite a bit during that time.

After being in attendance for all 22 practices, here's a look back at what stood out on offense during practices at the Baptist Health Training Complex, along with the two in Tampa:

TYREEK THE DOLPHINS STANDOUT ON OFFENSE

Social media can sometimes (often?) distort or exaggerate what goes on at practice, but the highlights of Tyreek Hill catching long passes was only part of the story when it comes to the Dolphins' explosive newcomer. The reality is Hill was impossible not to notice in pretty much every practice because of how open he would get not only deep but also in the intermediate range. We're not sharing state secrets by telling you that Hill is fast, but watching it live in practice is a different experience.

TUA TAGOVAILOA'S THIRD TRAINING CAMP

We can't wait very long before addressing the most-discussed player on the roster and his performance in training camp. While fans (and at times certain media members) went overboard in their praise after a good pass or a good practice, there's no denying that Tua had a good camp — and at times was very good. While we're not buying the idea of more arm strength, he did appear more in command and more decisive in the pocket. While he had his share of deep completions, what Tua did best in terms of his passing was nailing the 15-, 20-yard throw in the middle of the field.

CHASE EDMONDS AND THE RUNNING BACKS

Something that often gets overblown in training camp is this idea of a running back breaking a long run — because there's no tackling and runners invariably keep going longer than defensive players on those plays. That out of the way, it really was noticeable how quick newcomer Chase Edmonds was around the line of scrimmage and how good his cutting ability is. Edmonds absolutely stood out among Dolphins running backs. Raheem Mostert also had some nice bursts at times, but none of the other running backs really separated themselves from the pack, whether it be Myles Gaskin, Sony Michel, Gerrid Doaks, Salvon Ahmed or rookie free agent Za'Quandre White. That's why we'd be surprised at this point to see the Dolphins keeping four halfbacks along with fullback Alec Ingold.

JAYLEN WADDLE AND THE OTHER RECEIVERS

While Hill was a stud from start to finish during training camp, Jaylen Waddle was right there with him in the early going until he was sidelined by his mysterious leg injury. Before that, Waddle was having a camp that was pretty close to on par with what Hill was doing, minus the deep completions but with more tough catches in the middle of the field. Among receivers not named Hill or Waddle, pretty much all of them had their moments, but Trent Sherfield and River Cracraft probably were the two who were the most consistent, with rookie fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma not far behind. Perhaps not coincidentally, both Sherfield and Cracraft joined the Dolphins this offseason after playing for the 49ers.

TANNER CONNER SHINES AMONG TIGHT ENDS

Yes, Tanner Conner. The rookie free agent from Idaho State, converted from wide receiver, stood out among tight ends until he was sidelined by a knee injury that's had him wearing a brace for a few days. It should be mentioned that the tight ends were not targeted very often in team periods in the early portion of training camp. Conner then built on that with a nice performance in the preseason game at Tampa Bay. In the process, he went from major long shot to make the team to somebody the Dolphins very well might find a way to keep around.

THE DOLPHINS OFFENSIVE LINE

And, of course, we can't leave out the offensive line, though it's difficult to find many things that stood out here. It's important to note that given the nature of training camp practices, it's not that easy for an offensive line to really shine or dominate and it's pretty fair to say this group looked a lot better than it did in practices last summer. The preseason game performances in the running game obviously were lacking, but let's remember the limited snaps from most of the starters and the absence of Terron Armstead from either game. Connor Williams absolutely had issues with his shotgun snaps being too high, but not one of them sailed completely over the head of the quarterback. The bottom line here is that we entered training camp with the offensive line as a question mark and nothing has changed in the month since, though having Armstead should make a difference once the regular season starts.