Dolphins notes, by position, off the opener: Who graded out the best and playing time news
Dolphins notes, by position, coming out of Miami’s 20-17 victory against Jacksonville on Sunday:
▪ Quarterback: Tua Tagovailoa emerged from Week 1 in the same position he finished last season: leading the league in passing yardage.
Heading into Monday night’s Jets-49ers game, Tagovailoa (338 yards) and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford (317) were the only quarterbacks who threw for 300 yards in Week 1. Tagovailoa entered Monday eighth in passer rating at 101.
Incidentally, Tagovailoa revealed to CBS that he lost 14 pounds over the past nine months and is now just seven pounds above his playing weight at Alabama. The Dolphins hope a slimmer Tagovailoa will be more elusive; he had one carry for 11 yards on Sunday and was sacked three times.
▪ Running back: The Dolphins gave 37 offensive snaps to De’Von Achane (who lined up at receiver on 15 of those plays, per Pro Football Focus), 31 to Raheem Mostert and 11 to Jeff Wilson Jr.
Wilson was the most effective of the group as a runner, averaging 5.2 yards on his five carries. Achane averaged just 2.4 yards on 10 rushing attempts and Mostert averaged 1.5 yards on six carries –- well below their career averages of 7.3 for Achane and 5.2 for Mostert.
Fullback Alec Ingold played 29 of the Dolphins’ 71 offensive snaps and picked up first downs on two 3rd and 1 rushing attempts.
▪ Wide receiver: Jaylen Waddle played 51 of Miami’s 71 snaps, and Tyreek Hill logged 50.
Grant DuBose, claimed off waivers from Green Bay recently, played 13 offensive snaps in his first NFL regular-season action. Robbie Chosen, elevated for the game, logged 12 offensive snaps and Braxton Berrios 26.
Hill, who caught seven passes for 130 yards, now has 10,269 receiving yards -– the sixth most all time for a wide receiver in his first 125 games. Only Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson, Antonio Brown, Tory Holt and Jerry Rice had more.
Meanwhile, Hill and Waddle (five catches, 109 yards) have topped 100 receiving yards in the same game seven times since becoming teammates to start the 2022 season.
▪ Tight end: In a surprise, Julian Hill played the most of the tight ends (42 snaps), compared with 30 snaps for Durham Smythe and 20 for Jonnu Smith.
Smythe dropped two passes and committed a penalty in the first half, and Hill then played more than Smythe in the second half. Tanner Conner was used on three plays on offense.
▪ Offensive line: Pro Football Focus gave the Dolphins’ line good grades, ranking tackles Terron Armstead and Austin Jackson the best two players for Miami on Sunday, and right guard Liam Eichenberg fourth, behind Hill.
Nevertheless, Jackson and Eichenberg were each blamed for giving up a single sack. But Miami’s line allowed only three quarterback pressures.
Among 19 players who took offensive snaps for the Dolphins, PFF ranked center Aaron Brewer ninth and left guard Robert Jones 13th.
▪ Defensive line: Zach Sieler played 46 of Miami’s 53 defensive snaps, while Calais Campbell played 35, Da’Shawn Hand 19, Benito Jones just 8 and Brandon Pili 5.
Jones entered camp as the front-runner to start at nose tackle, but Miami opened the game with five defensive backs and Jones on the bench.
▪ Linebacker: At inside linebacker, Jordyn Brooks and David Long Jr. played all 53 defensive snaps. Anthony Walker Jr. and Duke Riley didn’t play at all on defense, though both logged heavy work on special teams.
At outside linebacker, Jaelan Phillips played 34 of 53 snaps in his first game back from last November’s Achilles injury, while Emmanuel Ogbah logged 40 snaps and Quinton Bell and Chop Robinson played 16 defensive snaps apiece. Robinson had one quarterback hurry in eight snaps rushing the quarterback.
PFF rated Long Miami’s best run defender on Sunday and Bell third. Safety Jevon Holland was second.
Overall, PFF rated Long, Campbell, Phillips, Bell and Holland as Miami’s top five players on defense on Sunday, in that order.
Long said his hand injury sustained Sunday is fine: “A little sore, that’s all.”
Brooks allowed all three passes in his coverage area to be caught for 43 yards.
▪ Safety: Holland and Jordan Poyer played all 53 snaps. The Dolphins used three safeties on only three plays, with Marcus Maye on the field for only those three plays (and eight special teams snaps). Elijah Campbell played only on special teams.
Neither pass thrown in Holland’s coverage area was caught, and he forced Travis Etienne’s game-altering fumble near the goal line on a chop move that he said he has practiced 1,000 times in recent months.
▪ Cornerback: Jalen Ramsey, coming back from a hamstring injury, played 41 snaps, while Kendall Fuller played all 53 and Kader Kohou logged 47.
Rookie Storm Duck -- who was active ahead of Ethan Bonner -- replaced Ramsey for eight plays. Per PFF, Fuller allowed one completion in two targets (for 18 yards) in his Dolphins debut. Kohou allowed four completions in six targets for 67 yards.
This story was originally published September 9, 2024 at 12:34 PM.
