Miami Dolphins rookie class gets to work. Here’s what’s expected of these 11 new players
The Miami Dolphins conducted their rookie minicamp over the weekend.
Well, kind of.
Miami’s coaching staff and 21 rookies -- 11 drafted and 10 undrafted -- conducted virtual meetings that serves as the replacement for the usual minicamp rookies go through over three days to get them going in their NFL careers.
Obviously, this minicamp could not happen as in years past because of the NFL’s restrictions on use of facilities during the Coronavirus crisis. There was no actual field work that brought the new players together. But players did get their playbooks and some class time over the internet.
Now the rookies are off on their own as they will not be meeting with coaches again until May 11.
And in the meantime, veteran players can continue their virtual offseason conditioning programs and alike.
So what does this suggest?
This:
All NFL rookies often find themselves trailing their veteran counterparts in syncing into the team environment because they’re simply less experienced in such matters than veterans, but the entire 2020 NFL draft class may find itself much further behind vets than usual.
Teams that expect to lean heavily on rookies to get better in 2020 may face a bigger challenge than years past when rookies could report to their training facilities and could actually begin work under the guidance of coaches and club strength and conditioning coaches.
Teams that drafted smarter rookies might see a greater advantage in seeing their new youngsters progressing faster than, say, teams that put less of a premium on the overall intelligence of their rookie class -- at least initially.
So how does this affect the Miami Dolphins?
Let’s address the third issue first: Dolphins coach Brian Flores and general manager Chris Grier often mention they want a certain kind of player.
“At the end of the day, we had the criteria of what we’re looking for, but they’ve got to be good players – smart, tough, competitive – all the things we talk about,” Grier said following the draft. “At the end of the day, when they get on the field and how they do their classrooms and stuff, that will set whatever goals they reach from Year 1 going forward.”
Well, if the Dolphins rookies are smart, tough and competitive, they’ve got this. They’ll be smart enough to understand what they’re being taught, tough enough to overcome the small adversity of not getting the lesson individually or on the field just yet, and competitive enough to do it all as well as possible as quickly as possible.
As to how quickly everyone can begin depending on Miami’s rookie class to help the Dolphins be much better in the 2020 season, well, Flores slammed the brakes on all that talk after the draft. I mean, he wanted no part on putting public expectations on any of these youngsters -- not even the first-round picks who historically are expected to play fairly quickly.
“I think there’s a lot of work that has to be done from now until the start of the season whether it’s virtual meetings to hopefully getting back together, getting on the field and getting 90 guys on the same page, 11 guys on the same page.,” Flores said.
“It’s a team of teams, so the nickel group’s got to get on the same page. The dime group’s got to get on the same page. The 21-personnel offense has got to get on the same page and the 11-personnel’s got to get on the same page. There’s a lot that goes into it, so we’ve got a long, long way to go – a long, long way to go.
“I think it starts with the virtual meetings and then when the time comes when we come together and get to practice and get to walk-thrus. A lot of hard work has to be done first to become a good team. It’s not easy, so I would say as far as expectations, let’s manage them and there’s a lot of work we have to do, and obviously we’re going to push the team to do that but the work has to be done by the players and coaches, the personnel staff.”
So the Dolphins are managing expectations.
Great, but, I’m not the Dolphins so I’m not managing expectations. I’m free to discuss expectations. I embrace expectations. How can you accomplish something unless you expect to accomplish it?
And so here are the expectations for the 11 Dolphins rookie draftees:
1. I’ve said multiple times I don’t think it would be wise to expect Tua Tagovailoa to start right away. In Cincinnati, Joe Burrow is the starting quarterback already. That is understood. In Miami, the understanding is doctors and coaches have to first have a comfort level Tagovailoa is completely healthy from that hip injury of last November, then the conversation about how much he practices and what group he practices with can take place. We’re a long way off on Tua starting. Probably not by the start of the regular season.
2. First-round pick Austin Jackson can compete to start immediately. If he doesn’t, something is wrong. He’s got to get stronger in both the upper and lower body. Tony Sparano, a great offensive line coach before he was the Dolphins head coach, used to call the process “changing his body.” Can that happen over the summer? It often took a whole summer to accomplish while working with the team’s strength coach. Jackson isn’t with the Dolphins strength coach right now and no one knows when that will happen.
3. First-round pick Noah Igbinoghene isn’t starting ahead of either Byron Jones or Xavien Howard, barring some unforeseen circumstance. And he has to address on-field issues in practice, such as improving his ball skills. Maybe he can compete immediately for the slot cornerback job and then compete to start next year.
4. Second-round pick Robert Hunt will immediately compete at right tackle and must get used to the speed of practice and the heightened talent he’ll see every snap he takes. That takes some guys a minute. He’d have to be very talented to be able to beat out Jesse Davis for the starting right tackle job by the start of the regular season.
5. Second-round pick Raekwon Davis has the advantage of playing a position that doesn’t require him to learn a 900-page playbook. Or 500-page. He is going to have to learn at least two positions -- 3-4 defensive end (9 technique) and 4-3 defensive tackle (either a 2 or 3 technique). The Dolphins may also ask Davis to learn the nose tackle spot in the 3-4 (0 technique). Look, the kid played at Alabama. This stuff shouldn’t be new to him. And none of it is rocket science. The issue here is Davis playing the techniques Dolphins coaches want him to use and gaining experience.
6. Third-round pick Brandon Davis has to be 100 percent from the torn labrum surgery he had that kept him out of the combine. And, like Tagovailoa, when Dolphins doctors and coaches are certain he’s ready to compete, then we see what happens on the field. Does he compete at safety with veterans? Does he compete at slot corner? And, yes, we’re talking compete. Not win the job -- yet.
7. Fourth-round pick Solomon Kindley has to get in shape. That’s job No. 1 for him. He wasn’t always in shape at Georgia. So the inability to get into the offseason conditioning program hurts. After Kindley clears the conditioning question then we can discuss him beating out two or three veterans for the starting right guard job. That discussion will not be had the first day the Dolphins gather as a team at their training facility.
8. Fifth-round pick Jason Strowbridge is a 6-foot-5 and 273-pound defensive end. Great position to play for a rookie. See ball, tackle ball. The learning he has to do involves technique stuff and the tricks of the trade other vets will help him with. The rest is up to sheer talent.
9. Fifth-round pick Curtis Weaver also needs to change his body. It’s not impressive from what I’ve been told. Then, again, neither was Tom Brady’s when he was drafted. This does not define a career but it can affect how effective the player can be immediately. Look, these guys are fifth-round picks for a reason. If the Dolphins are needing one of their fifth-round picks to save the season, they’re in trouble.
10. Sixth-round pick Blake Ferguson is the starting long snapper. Yes, the Dolphins rookie class has a definite starter in the group! Ferguson basically won that job when the Dolphins cut Taybor Pepper after the draft. Now all Ferguson has to do is continue to show what he showed the Dolphins on tape.
11. Seventh-round pick Malcolm Perry is very intelligent. He needs to be because he’s going to be learning a new position and possibly two after playing quarterback at Navy. Let’s just understand he is a project player. A developmental player. He’s not fighting for a starting job in training camp. He’s fighting for a roster spot.
This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
