How Dolphins’ Gordon compares to others on short yardage. Final injury report
Even though Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon II has been stopped on two critical fourth-down short yardage situations in the past two games, he ranks among the NFL’s top five running backs on third down short-yardage situations.
Overall, Gordon has converted 8 of 10 rushing attempts on third-and-1 or third-and-2.
That 80% third-down conversion rate on rush attempts is tied for the fourth best in the league this year among running backs with 10 or more attempts. Here’s the top five:
1. Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Warren (11 of 11, 100%)
2. The Jets’ Breece Hall (9 of 10, 90%)
3. Tampa Bay’s Rachaad White (9 of 11, 81.8%)
4. Gordon II (8 of 10, 80%)
4. Chicago’s D’Andre Swift (8 of 10, 80%)
Gordon’s 80% conversion rate on rush attempts is also best by a Dolphin with at least 10 attempts since Lousaka Polite converted 12 of 13 attempts (92.3%) in 2010.
Here are Gordon’s short-yardage runs this season:
▪ On third-and-2 — 3 of 4 (75%)
▪ On third-and-1 — 5 of 6 (83.3%)
▪ On fourth-and-2 — No attempts
▪ On fourth-and-1 — 2 of 4 (50%)
The rookie sixth-round pick has come up short on two critical ones — a goal-line fourth-down attempt from the Commanders’ 1 that would have given Miami the lead late in the fourth quarter against Washington, and a fourth-quarter fourth-and-1 run that gave the ball back to the Saints with a chance to tie the score. The blocking wasn’t great on either.
With regard to the unsuccessful fourth-down conversion in last Sunday’s Saints game, Gordon said: “Honestly, I got stuck in my feet. That’s not part of my game at all. I’ve got to keep my feet moving and have got to find some sort of sunlight.”
He disputed the analysis of Fox’s Mark Schlereth that he “danced” on the play.
“Once I watched video, it would have been better if I stuck that right foot in and tried to go and played off that,” he said.
Does he believe teams are more aware of him on short yardage? “I think so,” he said.
Final injury report
The Dolphins listed three players as questionable for Sunday’s game at the Jets (1 p.m., CBS 4): center Aaron Brewer (ankle/neck/knee), safety Elijah Campbell (ankle) and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (thumb and injuries on both sides of his groin).
McDaniel indicated he expects everyone on the 53-man roster to play Sunday except possibly Campbell, who was the only one of the three who didn’t practice Friday. Brewer was a limited participant and Melifonwu was a full participant.
The Jets ruled out No. 2 quarterback Justin Fields because of knee soreness. That means undrafted Missouri rookie Brady Cook will back up starter Tyrod Taylor.
Trader issue
It would be helpful for the Dolphins to determine whether they can project rookie fifth-round pick Dante Trader Jr. as a starter next season.
There might not be a definitive answer this year; Trader logged only four snaps against the Saints and the Dolphins are now playing veterans in their secondary.
Asked earlier this month if the Dolphins know if they have a future starter in Trader, secondary coach Brian Duker said:“I feel good about what he has shown… Good athlete, good instincts. Professional in his approach. I think he will be a good starter for us.”
Trader has started three games and has a bloated 149.1 passer rating in his coverage area (9 completions in 11 targets for 165 yards and one touchdown). It’s difficult to project him as a 2026 starter at this point.
Asked if the Dolphins know exactly what they have with Trader, defensive backs coach Ryan Slowik said Thursday: “We feel great about Dante. We feel good about how he’s developed.
“He’s grown, he’s improved. There are some plays that [he would] take back [but] he’s improved on his technique. He’s very intelligent.”
Here are some eyebrow-raising numbers on guard Cole Strange and some Friday news from Mike McDaniel.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 4:58 PM.
