Dolphins Trending Up, Trending Down After Week 8

After the seventh 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 got another strong performance from its defense in the victory against the Los Angeles Rams, but the offense took a step in the wrong direction.

That's reflected in the latest edition of Trending Up, Trending Down.

TRENDING UP

-- WR Jakeem Grant: Grant obviously had his best outing of the season on returns, which earned him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors, but he also was the one who caught Tua Tagovailoa's longest NFL pass to date and now he's looking at a potentially increased role on offense after the trade of wide receiver Isaiah Ford to New England.

-- WR Malcolm Perry: The rookie seventh-round pick made his NFL debut against the Rams and caught his first NFL pass, though he did later get dropped for a 5-yard loss by Aaron Donald on one of the two snaps he took as a Wildcat quarterback. The good news for Perry is that this game maybe was the beginning of something bigger for him.

-- DE Emmanuel Ogbah: Yes, again. What a pick-up!

-- CB Nik Needham: Needham, who is celebrating his 24th birthday Wednesday, had perhaps his best outing of the season against the Rams and his continued improvement is a key for the Dolphins secondary.

-- S Eric Rowe: Maybe we should have him as trending down after he dropped a sure pick-six, but let's not forget that happened because he overran the ball because he read so quickly what Jared Goff was going to do. The bottom line is that Rowe continues to provide outstanding coverage in the back end. Oh, and he did have one pick against the Rams.

-- LB Jerome Baker: Every week, Baker is becoming more and more of a factor in the pass rush, even if the stats aren't showing it. Against the Rams, he didn't get a sack, but it was his hit on Goff's arm that led to Rowe's interception.

-- CB Byron Jones: Another solid outing that continued to prove just how valuable he is to the whole Dolphins defense.

TRENDING DOWN

-- QB Tua Tagovailoa: Sorry, but there's no way not to put Tua in this category after an NFL starting debut that left a lot to be desired. Sure, game circumstances didn't help, and neither did a couple of drops, but is there anybody who didn't expect at least a little bit more from him?

-- WR Preston Williams: This was the main culprit when it comes to drops, though the second came on a low throw on a short crossing route. Still, Williams has to make those catches. What's more alarming, he has caught only 14 passes on 30 targets this season, a success rate of less than 50 percent.

-- RB Myles Gaskin: After a big performance against the Jets, Gaskin averaged only 2.6 yards per carry and dropped a third-down pass. Worse, he sustained a knee injury that's got his status in doubt.

-- G Solomon Kindley: We could mention the entire offensive line because of the problems with the run blocking, but on top of that Kindley was flagging for a holding penalty.

-- CB Xavien Howard: Howard had been on a major upswing and getting back to Pro Bowl level, but he had a rough outing against the Rams, particularly on crossing routes, where he sometimes couldn't find through traffic or stay with the receiver. On top of that, he dropped what should have been a fifth interception in five games.