Dolphins rookies report for training camp. What to know about the newcomers
The Dolphins are one of eight teams whose rookies are reporting to the practice facility Tuesday to begin preparation for the start of training camp next week.
It’s the latest sign for football fans that the NFL is almost back. Dolphins veterans will report next Tuesday. The team will hold its first practice open to fans on July 30.
The Dolphins enter training camp with a smaller-than-usual pool of drafted players after the team sent five picks to the Kansas City Chiefs in the trade that brought All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill to Miami.
The team selected four players in the 2022 NFL Draft: inside linebacker Channing Tindall in the third round, wide receiver Erik Ezukanma in the fourth round, and outside linebacker Cameron Goode and quarterback Skylar Thompson in the seventh round.
As mid-round picks, Tindall and Ezukanma are expected to make the 53-man roster. Tindall, who had a breakout season in his final year at Georgia, could become an integral part of the team’s defense, using his speed to blitz and cover tight ends and running backs. Ezukanma’s most immediate role is likely on special teams, though he could work his way into certain offensive packages after a collegiate career at Texas Tech that included all-conference honors in his final season.
Goode and Thompson both face uphill battles to make the team but are strong candidates to be retained on the 16-man practice squad if they don’t make it past the three rounds of roster cuts.
The Dolphins will also head into training camp with 13 undrafted rookies, members of the 2022 NFL Draft who were not selected in the seven rounds. While these players also face slim chances to make the roster, every year one or two players impress and earn a spot. Last season, defensive back Trill Williams and offensive lineman Robert Jones found spots on the final roster.
This year, players such as safety Verone McKinley III and offensive lineman Kellen Diesch could go from relative anonymity and secure spots with the Dolphins.
McKinley, a former teammate of starting safety Jevon Holland at Oregon, had 11 interceptions in four years of college. His six picks last season were tied for the most in college football. Holland and third-year safety Brandon Jones are set to return at starters, with veteran Eric Rowe also getting significant snaps. But the Dolphins have a need for another coverage safety behind Holland.
“Miami felt like it was the best place for me,” McKinley said during rookie minicamp in May, “somewhere I could grow and a place where I know there’s opportunity, wherever that may be. And of course having Jevon and talking to the coaches and having so many different influences and people that I know can pour into me was a big part of my decision.”
Diesch made 17 starts at Arizona State in the last two seasons, earning All-Pac 12 honors each season. The 6-7 Diesch turns 25 before the start of the season and has 32-inch arms that fall well below the standard for NFL offensive tackles, which could have factored in him going undrafted. However, Diesch’s athleticism — his 40-yard dash and 20-yard shuttle time ranked in the 96th and 97th percentile for tackles — is coveted in first-year head coach Mike McDaniel’s new zone running scheme. Diesch also received $140,000 in guaranteed money — the most of any undrafted rookie who signed with the team. It’s a sign the team coveted Diesch, who could earn a reserve spot on the offensive line.
