As Dolphins injuries mount, future is now for college football’s most versatile player
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before:
A rash of midseason injuries forces Lynn Bowden Jr., a dynamic, do-everything offensive weapon, to significantly change his role and become even more of a factor on his offense than originally planned.
It happened in 2019.
It’s happening again in 2020.
Except this time, Bowden won’t be asked to play quarterback — at least on a down-in, down-out basis.
But the story arc from Bowden’s last year in college (when he became Kentucky’s starting QB after injuries to the Wildcats’ top two options) and his first year in the NFL (when he became the Dolphins’ featured receiver after injuries to Tua Tagovailoa’s top three targets) is striking.
And the stakes now are much higher. Kentucky was a fine team last year, but not a national title contender.
The Dolphins, however, have very real playoff hopes. And those hopes could rest on a guy who wasn’t even on the roster in August and was sixth on Miami’s depth chart as recently as early November.
“It’s a challenge, obviously just being in the NFL,” Bowden said. “But since Day 1 when I got here, the coaches implemented you just don’t learn one position, learn them all. When things took place like that in the game [Sunday], we all were ready to go in and fill in where we needed to be, and it was stuff like that that we prepared for.”
Bowden’s story, while familiar to most Dolphins fans, is worth repeating, considering he might be Tagovailoa’s primary target Sunday against the Patriots.
He enrolled at Kentucky in 2017 hoping to be a quarterback, but instead was sent to the wide receivers’ room. He flourished at that position, leading the team in every receiving and returning stats in Year 2.
And he expected Year 3 to be more of the same. But that expectation changed when quarterbacks Terry Wilson and Sawyer Smith got hurt in 2019. He became Kentucky’s Wildcat quarterback, and did so well he won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player and was a consensus first-team All-American.
Said Dolphins receivers coach Josh Grizzard, who studied Bowden during the pre-draft process: “I see a lot of the things [now] you saw on tape [in college]: Position flexibility, being able to throw it, run it, throw it to him on the perimeter, handoffs, Wildcat. I think that stuff shows up. Just getting the nuances of the coverages and seeing those things, that’s the biggest adjustment he’s gone through playing the slot receiver position in the NFL.”
Bowden’s past 12 months have been equal parts adjustment and adversity. He decided to leave school early with the expectation he would be a high draft pick. That expectation proved correct; the Raiders took him 80th overall in April.
But he was never a good fit in Jon Gruden’s system, largely because they asked him to do something truly foreign: Play running back.
Las Vegas ultimately decided to move on from Bowden late in training camp — which almost never happens to a third-round pick — and the Dolphins made the best trade offer (third-down draft compensation).
“You can’t live in the past,” Bowden said, when asked if the Raiders misused him. “You can’t worry about the past. Everything happens for a reason. I’m a Dolphin now. Without answering your question, but answering your question, I’m a Dolphin now. I’m not worried about that. To answer your [broader question], I do feel good playing receiver.”
Particularly — but not exclusively — slot receiver.
Expect the Dolphins to upgrade significantly on the outside in 2021, but Bowden through his play could convince them that slot is not a position of need.
Bowden, playing his most extensive snaps of the season Sunday after DeVante Parker, Jakeem Grant and Mike Gesicki left with injuries, led the team with seven catches for 82 yards. He played the slot, yes. But he played elsewhere too.
And that availability will need to continue. Gesicki (shoulder) probably won’t play this week and Jakeem Grant (hamstring) seems unlikely. While Parker (hamstring) is more likely to go, it’s not a sure thing.
The Dolphins should get their first look at Isaiah Ford Wednesday since signing him back to the practice squad, however. He is eligible to play in Week 15, and considering his knowledge of the offense and the Dolphins’ lack of depth, he probably will.
Even still, he might find a rookie who once backed him up ahead of him on the depth chart.
“He did a nice job,” Grizzard said of Bowden. “It was good to see the work he’s put in behind the scenes come to fruition on Sundays. We saw a little bit of that the game before, and he added to it this week. Especially with guys going down and having guys step up and play different spots and take over different roles, he’s locked in. He’s a football player. He goes out there, he’s going to compete for 60 minutes. You saw that. I’m happy for him and happy about the direction he’s heading in.”
Bowden added: “You don’t just come here and get the playing time right away. You’ve got to compete on every level. That’s what I’m going to keep doing, day-in and day-out.”
