Dolphins coach eager to see more of Nkemdiche, Gerald Willis. And the team view on Ballage

The Dolphins claimed two former first-round round defensive linemen on waivers in the past five weeks, and they received immediate dividends from one of them (Taco Charlton). Now they’re eager to see the potential of another.

Former Arizona Cardinals first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche, on the physically unable to perform list, becomes eligible to practice and play on Oct. 14, and defensive line coach Marion Hobby said he expects to see the talented defensive tackle by mid-to-late October or early November.

The hope is that Nkemdiche can have an impact similar to the one made so far by Taco Charlton, who has two sacks in his first two games since being claimed off waivers from Dallas.

Nkemdiche had 4.5 sacks and and 32 tackles in 10 games for the Cardinals last season (including six starts) before sustaining a torn ACL in December. Arizona released him on June 27, and the Dolphins claimed him Aug. 8.

Besides recovering from the knee injury, Nkemdiche also was instructed by the Dolphins to lose a lot of weight.

Hobby said Dolphins strength and conditioning coach Dave Puloka “is doing a great job with him, getting his weight down. [Nkemdiche] came here really heavy. He’s getting his weight down. I’m excited about him. He’s getting his body in better shape. I asked him personally, how’s that weight coming? I want to be the only extra large guy in the room.”

The Dolphins would not say if Nkemdiche — who was signed to a one-year, $720,000 contract — has received full medical clearance after December’s knee surgery, but Hobby said he expects to see him on the field in the coming weeks and “he’s feeling better. Every time he sees me, he’s making a swim move on me, starting to feel it better. He’s a kid I’ve known for a long time, since high school days. Followed him through Ole Miss, to the Cardinals. Once healthy, everybody knows he’s got that big-time ability.”

Meanwhile, Hobby said he hopes to see former UM defensive tackle Gerald Willis in a game at some point this season. Willis led the Atlantic Coast Conference in tackles for loss last season with 18, surprisingly went undrafted, signed with Baltimore, was released Labor Day weekend, joined the Dolphins practice squad, was released so he could recover from an undisclosed injury and re-signed with Miami’s practice squad Sept. 23.

“I got a chance to meet with [Willis] at the Combine, visit with him,” Hobby said. “On the practice squad, his quickness shows up. And he thinks fast. We got to get into him playing both [defensive tackle] roles, not just 3-technique. He’s been good in the meeting room. I have no negatives” about him.

Hobby said he “would love” to see Willis in a game this season.

Among some of the other young linemen, Hobby said Davon Godchaux “has been the most consistent of those guys”; said Christian Wilkins is “getting better” and plays the position toughest for a rookie; said Avery Moss “has done a lot of good stuff” and said Charlton is a “big, long, athletic and really smart” but made a couple of mental errors Sunday.

BALLAGE UPDATE

Running backs coach Eric Studesville said the Dolphins will by no means give up on Kalen Ballage, who has 29 yards rushing on 19 carries this season and has dropped three passes. Ballage played only eight snaps on Sunday and didn’t play again on offense after his latest dropped pass, but Studesville said that was partly because the staff wanted to see more of Mark Walton.

Ballage is “dependent on other people too to perform and produce,” Studesville said. “He’s got to do a better job.... I’m not taking the responsibility off him by any stretch. He’s an intensely competitive, focused, prepared player and I have great confidence in him.”

Has Studesville given Ballage tough love or encouragement? “It depends on the day, what’s needed. It’s like raising kids. Some days you got to love them, some days you got to fuss at them.”

▪ Studesville said the Dolphins haven’t given carries to rookies Patrick Laird or Myles Gaskin because “the three we have on game day [Kenyan Drake, Ballage, Walton] give us the best chance right now.”

▪ Offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo said rookie right tackle Isaiah Prince, who started his first NFL game Sunday, did “some good things, some things that need to be worked on” against the Chargers. “I don’t think he had best game that he will have in his time in the NFL. But for the first time out there, he did an admirable job. He’s an extremely talented young man. The more we can get him in there, the better.”

Even though Pro Football Focus rates rookie third-round pick Michael Deiter the second-lowest graded guard in football, the Dolphins don’t agree. “I think he’s done a good job,” DeGuglielmo said. “We just had a personnel meeting and were talking about those young guys today. He has a bright future. One thing Deiter has is he has an incredible field savvy, because he’s played a lot of games [at Wisconsin]. He still has some of those rookie tendencies. Had one the other day when he set Nick Bosa as a three technique and Bosa gave him a one-two and ran right by him.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2019 at 12:53 PM.