The Dolphins have the smallest receiving corps in the NFL. Does height still matter to receivers?
When the Miami Dolphins signed wide receiver Grant DuBose, Tyreek Hill had quite the reaction.
“I’m glad that we added some height,” Hill quipped. “I told Wes [Welker], I’m like, ‘hey bro, y’all keep on adding these short guys.’”
Although DuBose would wind up on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, Hill’s statement was by no means an exaggeration. In fact, the Dolphins have the smallest receiving corps in the league, with the average height of about 5-10 and 2/3 of an inch. Take away the inactive receivers and that figure drops significantly to 5-9 and 3/5. Hill, however, isn’t worried.
“It don’t matter,” Tyreek Hill said when asked about the importance of height at the receiver position, explaining that he felt like the Dolphins “set the standard.” “They try to say ‘Hey, you got to run this speed, you got to be this height, you got to have this hand size.’ If you know how to play football, you know how to play football at the end of the day. If you know how to catch, you know how to catch.”
Hill somewhat has a point. Not only did he lead the league in receiving yards in 2023 en route to becoming the top player in the NFL100, the 5-10 receiver and the similarly sized Jaylen Waddle were two of the primary reasons the Dolphins had the best passing offense last year. And while the Indianapolis Colts, who play Miami on Sunday, have the 11th-largest receiving corps, it doesn’t really change much for the Dolphins’ defensive backfield.
“Bigger bodies mean bigger catch radius,” cornerback Kendall Fuller said, later adding “You just have to compete and meet them at the catch point.”
“For us, it’s from a technical standpoint of how do we counteract [the Colts’ receiver height] so we end up on the positive end of that matchup,” cornerbacks coach Mathieu Araujo said. “Like anything, if there’s a positive, there’s a negative. For us, as we game plan, we’ll try to find… what can we exploit.”
The 2024 Dolphins hasve not matched last season’s production – in large part to the the quarterback carousel following Tua Tagovailoa’s Week 2 concussion — but taller receivers don’t necessarily translate to wins. Sure, it eliminates the ability to frequently chuck jump balls in their direction, but of the teams that have a top-five receiving corps in terms of height, only two — the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers — have records above .500.
“If you want to get separation on a route, it doesn’t matter if you’re 6-5 or whatever height you are, it’s all about your release and it’s about how you control the top” of the route, Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith said.
Added Smith: “I think ultimately when you look at it, you’re not necessarily saying height; you’re saying guys who can play with proper fundamentals and technique and have ball skills so that when the ball is in the air, they can go get it. I think that’s the most important thing we look for.”
Versatility also plays an important role in the Dolphins receiver room, per Waddle.
“Usually smaller receivers are the quicker ones, which is why they’re usually in the slot,” Waddle said. “But when you got receivers that can play outside, inside and you can move them around and adjust them — and we have that — it makes it easier for all of us out there.”
While the Dolphins receiver room would likely confuse the legendary Bill Parcells, a coach who always valued size, the fact is the position has changed. No longer is it mandatory for an outside receiver to be over 6 feet. While players such as Jerry Rice, Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson had their time of domination, others, such as Hill, have become their own prototype. Keep in mind: the Philadelphia Eagles drafted the 5-11 Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson hoping to find the next Hill.
The Dolphins offense might look like it regressed in 2024, but the size of the receiving corps is far from the problem. Coach Mike McDaniel crafted one of the most productive offenses in franchise history last year only to lose his starting quarterback just seven quarters into the 2024 season. Key departures along the offensive line are also a factor. . Tagovailoa’s return should help get the offense back on track for a playoff push — even if the rest of the AFC East has drastically improved this week as the Jets traded for Davante Adams and the Bills acquired Amari Cooper.
“They’re still not the best receiver in the league, because I am and I stand on that,” Hill said when asked about Adams and Cooper trades, later adding. “We got Jalen Ramsey on our team — we straight.”
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 6:22 PM.
