Analysts offer Watson advice to Dolphins. And Flores addresses star receiver, other issues
The Miami Dolphins received plenty of unsolicited advice Thursday about whether they should pursue Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has interest in the Dolphins.
ESPN’s Louis Riddick said Miami should stick with Tua Tagovailoa: “I would be looking to build out the rest of this roster and put some real weapons around him. You cannot rush to judgment off of a limited resume for Tua Tagovailoa in this rookie season. You cannot rush to judgment and automatically now feel like as though you have a good feel for what he will be in the future, when you have all of the requisite pieces around him to really see him reach his full potential.
“I think you’re playing a dangerous game rushing to judgment on a guy like that who, last year, coming in the draft, all things being equal, he was the best pure passer of the football in the draft. He just was.
“With all the draft capital they have right now, they would be better suited to going ahead and continuing to build out the weaponry they have on the perimeter for this young man, continuing to build the interior pass blocking and run blocking that they desperately need to make sure that they don’t put too much pressure on him, and they’re able to have some semblance of balance.
“And just continue to build out this football team, because they are positioned right now to be able to really stock this roster for the long haul and to be able to get some short-term pop out of it as well, and be able to compete immediately, as they showed you they could do already this year.”
Riddick was just getting started.
“In order to get Deshaun Watson on your football team, I’ll tell you what: He is a franchise player, no question about it. You could make that argument that if you give him equal weapons to some of the very best quarterbacks in the NFL, a la Patrick Mahomes, that he may put up the same exact numbers, if not even better, as guys as great as Patrick. I have all the respect in they world for Deshaun.
“But I think for Miami and where they are in their program build, I would stay the course with Tua. Continue to get him the weapons that he needs. Continue to coach and develop him. And let it roll. They’re on the fast track right now to success. They’ve got their head coach in Brian Flores. He pushes all the right buttons. I would not start flirting with that idea right now, considering what you did to get Tua last year.”
ESPN Todd McShay said: “You stick with Tua. He’s going to be fine. He still was not 100 percent even though everyone wanted to make him 100 percent. You’ve got to put guys around him to give him a chance to have success.”
ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum, the Dolphins’ former vice president/football operations, advises Miami to explore acquiring Watson, though he also spoke highly of Tagovailoa.
“As it relates to Deshaun Watson, you have to say: how reasonable is the price?” Tannenbaum said. “If we get Deshaun Watson, with as good as our defense has played, it certainly gives us a very good chance to win immediately. I think you have to thoroughly exhaust it, see what the cost would be, factor in what his contract is. What other players would you lose, in terms of, now that you’re going from a rookie contract to Deshaun’s contract? There’s a lot to look at.
“But I do think you have to look at it. While Tua still has a good future, [Watson is] an unexpected opportunity. That’s what great teams, great organizations, do. They take advantage of unexpected opportunities. I think all of those teams in the top five would thoroughly look at it and then make the best decision for their organization.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that he does not believe Watson would veto a trade to many teams. He said Houston isn’t yet willing to trade him, but Watson is determined not to play there again.
Watson has not returned any of Houston’s calls, Schefter said.
FLORES WEIGHS IN
Flores, during interviews with ESPN this week, addressed several issues:
▪ He predicted Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith “is going to have a very good NFL career. He’s tough, he’s smart. We would have loved to have seen him this week — in practice I mean — but it’s good to meet him, spend time with him and find out what type of person he is. That’s important to us. The football character, the toughness, the competitiveness. He’s a very good player.”
Flores said of Smith: “We’ve had some conversations.”
He’s a serious candidate for Miami’s third overall pick.
▪ On how the week has gone: “It’s been a good week. I think we’ve got a good evaluation of a lot of good players. We’ve seen them improve every day, from the first practice to the second practice to the third practice. “
▪ On Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book: “I think he’s smart. He’s got leadership qualities. You saw that, how he has command of the huddle. He did well for himself this week.”
▪ On running backs Michael Carter (North Carolina), Rhamondre Stevenson (Oklahoma) and Khalil Herbert (Virginia Tech): “All three of those guys had good weeks. They’re all a little bit different. But they all have good skill sets. Stevenson’s a big back with good vision. Carter got real good quickness, balance. Herbert’s the same. All three of them have good hands and can catch the ball out of the backfield.”
▪ On Pittsburgh safety Damar Hamlin: “He’s smart, he’s tough. He can take in a lot of information, take it from the board to the field. We’re impressed with him.”
▪ Flores said he hopes to emerge from the draft with at least a couple of players he’s coaching this week.
“We have a lot guys here who love to play football. I think Jim Nagy, the Senior Bowl staff, they brought in some really talented players. Not only that, guys that enjoy the game, they’re passionate about the game. It’s not about all the other fluff, as I call it. They really enjoy it. If no one was watching, they’d be playing.”
▪ Flores came to Mobile with openings at offensive coordinator and defensive line coach but said: “We’ve got a great staff. These guys did a great job this week. They work hard. I’m fortunate to be around a lot of great people.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Word is the Dolphins hold Alabama running back Najee Harris in high regard.
Harris is practicing with the Dolphins coaching staff this week but isn’t playing in Saturday’s game.
“He has nothing to prove,” McShay said. “There is no reason for him to be out here competing. His ankle was a grapefruit about 10 days ago. Najee called [his agent] and said, ‘I want to compete, I’m going to do everything I can. He’s here and he’s impressive to watch. He could have been an early second-round pick. Now he’s the No. 1 running back in this class. And it’s because of the competitiveness and toughness he has shown throughout the year.”
▪ Dolphins coaches wore microphones this week, and new Dolphins offensive line coach Lemuel Jeanpierre impressed with his teaching skills.
He also amused by telling one of his team’s linemen: “Tua’s mobile.”
▪ A quarterback who played for new Dolphins quarterbacks coach Charlie Frye at Central Michigan conveyed to an NFL associate of mine that Frye is a really good coach and good communicator and expects him to thrive as an NFL coach. Frye was CMU’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach the past two seasons.
▪ Former Chargers quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton, the only remaining known outside candidate for the Dolphins offensive coordinator position, is joining the Houston Texans as quarterbacks coach, per NFL Network. Of the six candidates originally contacted by the Dolphins to replace Chan Gailey, only two remain and both work for the team: Dolphins assistant coaches George Godsey and Eric Studesville.
It’s certainly possible that additional outside candidates are now being considered. Brian Flores declined to discuss the issue with reporters this week.
This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 4:32 PM.
