Relay team or basketball team: Dolphins passing game can attack with great flexibility
By the end of the 2020 NFL season the Miami Dolphins had something of a mess among their pass catchers.
Jakeem Grant wasn’t healthy and missed two of the final three games. DeVante Parker wasn’t healthy and missed two of the final three games. Preston Williams had long since gone on injured reserve. And obviously the Dolphins could have used Allen Hurns and Albert Wilson but they had missed the entire season after opting out because of Covid-19 concerns.
A receiver room that included players with injury histories had been decimated by injuries again.
The Dolphins had to rely on Isaiah Ford, who had been cut by the team, claimed by New England, cut by the Patriots, then re-signed by the Dolphins. And Mack Hollins, a career backup, started two of the final three games.
So the Dolphins pass-catching crew was begging for help.
And this is where I tell you the Dolphins have done a good job finding that help.
You will recall I told you general manager Chris Grier and coach Brian Flores shouldn’t add just one receiver this offseason — either in the draft or free agency. I suggested they add a veteran to be immediately plug-and-play and a high draft pick to be younger, cheaper, and eventually plug-and-play.
And, amazingly, the Dolphins did this.
It’s a good day when the real GM follows Fake GM Mando’s suggestions to the letter.
The club added Will Fuller in free agency.
The club added Jaylen Waddle as its top draft pick.
Both should be starters and major contributors this year. At least that’s what seems to be the plan right now.
But there’s more ...
If you look at the now healthy (for now) Dolphins group of pass catchers, you’ll see a wonderful versatility and flexibility that should make offensive coordinator(s) Eric Studesville and George Godsey want to come up with some really radical plans.
Consider:
The Dolphins at any one time during the 2021 season can attack opposing defenses with a legitimate 400-meter relay team.
And they can also attack opposing defenses with a basketball team of pass-catchers.
The Dolphins can go superfast or they can go big.
Or they can use any variation of the two.
This is how that would work:
On the roster at this writing, the Dolphins have four players who are all sub-4.4 receivers. They are:
Grant, Waddle, Fuller and Wilson.
That is a lot of speed, and putting it on the field at the same time would be a problem for many defenses.
And on the very next down, the coordinator(s) can substitute with a basketball receiver package of sorts with players all 6-3 or taller.
Parker is 6-3.
Williams is 6-5.
Mike Gesicki is 6-6.
Hunter Long, Miami’s third-round draft pick, is 6-5.
And if the Dolphins want to round out a starting five out in the pass pattern they can throw in Hurns, who is 6-3.
The Dolphins can also mix and match.
And that’s the point because the NFL truly is a matchup league, and the players and teams that are hard to match up with typically enjoy greater success.
The beauty of the two distinct personnel packages I just outlined is the Dolphins could probably make it work game to game.
The team last season had games it brought six receivers active to a game. So that makes room for the 4 x 100 package plus Parker and Williams. The club also typically had three tight ends active for games so Gesicki and Long become available for the basketball package.
Yeah, Hurns also active while a third tight end sits out is hard to do.
But four pass catchers on the field all 6-3 or taller followed by four guys who run like the wind on the field one down later offers many grand possibilities.
This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 8:08 AM.
