Is Hurns the Dolphins’ new WR2? Where’s Jakeem? Dolphins’ post-Preston plan comes in focus
The Dolphins missed Preston Williams on Sunday.
They beat the Colts despite their fewest total yards (229) since Week 2 and went without a passing touchdown for the first time since Week 3.
There was only one pass play of more than 20 yards, and Ryan Fitzpatrick averaged fewer than 4 passing yards per dropback.
Dolphins offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea chalked up some of the team’s statistical struggles to the situations — they settled for three long field goals instead of going for touchdowns — but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
They had six straight possessions of three or fewer plays and only reached the red zone twice.
All that will have to improve if the Dolphins want to beat teams not playing their third-string quarterbacks, starting with Josh Allen and the Bills on Sunday. And reminder: Williams (torn ACL) isn’t coming back this year.
The Dolphins plan to spread the ball around. Nine different receivers had a catch Sunday.
“When we have a player in Preston that was as productive as he was and important to our offense, we think it’s very important moving forward to distribute the football to multiple players,” O’Shea said. “They’re very capable. We have players that we’re confident in that can combine to make up for some of the production we’re going to lose in Preston. I was pleased with those guys in their roles, being able to be productive.”
That doesn’t mean the Dolphins won’t have a No. 1 receiver. DeVante Parker, with 10 targets Sunday, seems to have been promoted to that role. But beyond that? Unclear. Still, we got a few glimpses in the Colts game of what’s to come.
▪ Tight end Mike Gesicki is the Dolphins’ de facto slot receiver. He has 24 catches this year — tied for 17th among all tight ends — and very few have come when he has been in tight when the ball was snapped.
“We have utilized Mike Gesicki in some of those ways that you would utilize a slot receiver,” O’Shea said. “We have receivers on this roster that have great strengths and a skill set, and some of that is more as an outside receiver. It’s just playing the skill set of the players on your roster. You can make up for the production of that slot player in your offense with other ways to do it.”
▪ Receiver Allen Hurns had by far his biggest role as a Dolphin on Sunday. He was on the field for a season-high 89% of the Dolphins’ offensive snaps and caught two balls for 32 yards.
“Dependability is the word I use with Allen,” O’Shea said. “Since he’s come in here, he’s been a detailed, dependable, accountable player for us. I know that’s one of the reasons we have a lot of confidence in Allen. He’s always going to do the right thing and be in the right position. I know Fitzpatrick has a lot of confidence in him, just as the coaching staff does. ... I’m really glad that he’s on our roster.”
▪ Is Jakeem Grant in the doghouse? You would expect much more from him and Albert Wilson than what we saw Sunday. Grant had two targets on only 15 snaps. Wilson had three on 35. And Grant no longer appears to be in Miami’s plans at punt returner. Marcus Sherels, not Grant, took over that job from Williams after only a couple of practices.
“We had a very specific plan on how we were utilizing those guys,” O’Shea said. “I think so much of that when you go into the game can be slightly altered by the way the game goes. Some of the plays that we had on the call sheet might have increased his role or participation might have been affected by the way the game goes. I don’t think that was ever set in stone. Jakeem is a guy that will continue to have opportunities to contribute to us.”
▪ New Dolphin receiver Gary Jennings spent his first week on the team learning his way around the organization and was not ready to play Sunday. Could that change this week against the Bills? Perhaps, but the Dolphins won’t put too much on his plate.
“I think it’s important not to put a player in a position where he’s learning multiple roles early,” O’Shea said. “We’ll have him learn a certain type of position, but it’s not you’re always in the slot. We’ll tag him a certain letter and we’ll be able to move him around accordingly. He’ll be in position where he doesn’t have to learn the entire offense.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2019 at 11:55 AM.
