What Chris Grier told Dolphins linebacker Raekwon McMillan and what has happened since
A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Thursday:
▪ When Raekwon McMillan lost his starting job in training camp, then played limited snaps in the regular-season opener after a knee injury, it was natural to wonder if he fit the team’s vision.
McMillan apparently does, and that was reinforced when coach Brian Flores included McMillan this week among four players “who have taken ownership of this team,” along with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, center Daniel Kilgore and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux.
McMillan isn’t playing every down like Jerome Baker is, but he has started the past 11 games that he has been available, has typically played more than half the defensive snaps and is among the Dolphins’ highest-graded players, per Pro Football Focus, ranking 38th among all qualifying linebackers.
“I think he’s really starting to come into his own and has played some solid football for us at times,” Flores said. “Guys feed off of his energy, and he’s really worked hard. I’m happy to see that leadership start to show itself really on a day-to-day basis.”
During camp before his injury, the Dolphins usually went with Baker and Sam Eguavoen as their two linebackers in first-team nickel packages, suggesting that McMillan was going to have a somewhat diminished role after playing most downs last year as a second-year player. (He missed his first season with a knee injury.)
But when he was sidelined throughout preseason, general manager Chris Grier made a point to tell him that “I’m their guy, and he wants to see me do good,... that he has confidence in me and can’t wait until I get back.”
He also had a private discussion with coaches. “When I wasn’t playing, we sat down and talked with all the coaches and said ‘how do you see me on defense?’ They told me I need to get healthy” to make that call.
There was an emotional moment between McMillan and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham after his fourth-and-1 run stop Sunday at the Jets.
“I’m just really proud of how his play has steadily improved throughout the season, and for him to have the two back-to-back plays,” Graham said. “The third-and-1 where he did a good job there, and then the fourth down — I was just telling him how that’s the way to step up when we needed you the most.”
McMillan, who has 68 tackles, said he has played five or six positions — all the linebacker spots and at times on the edge — and believes that has made him more valuable.
“I’ve always been a standup linebacker; I had to get comfortable on the edge,” he said. “I showed them I can play on the edge, so that opened up packages I can play in. It’s not just that he can only play when we’re four down linemen. He can also play on the edge.
“Versatility as a player helps you be in more packages on defense. Say you have 10 packages and you’re in only two. You can’t complain about playing time if you fit only two. But if your skill set fits six, seven, eight packages, you get more playing time. That’s what I showed all season.”
In an introspective moment with three reporters at his locker on Thursday, McMillan said: “You want to show I’m not a bust. Everyone was telling me what I can’t do. I have to figure out what I can do and really be good at it.”
▪ I expect to see rookie guard Michael Deiter get another chance this season. And if or when he does, “my technique has got to be better,” he said. “My assignments need to be totally clean. It’s not about making miracle plays” but solid ones.
Deiter, Shaq Calhoun, Evan Boehm and Keaton Sutherland are going week to week without knowing which two are starting at guard. Calhoun, as an undrafted rookie, said he’s “happy [just] to be here.”
▪ Receiver Allen Hurns, who missed practice Wednesday with ankle and knee injuries, was a full participant Thursday, suggesting he will play Sunday at the Giants. DeVante Parker and Albert Wilson remain in concussion protocol but practiced on a limited basis. Fullback Chandler Cox (ankle) and cornerback Nik Needham (groin) were again limited.
▪ Former UM defensive tackle Gerald Willis got back on the active roster last week and played 11 snaps, then studied all of them with coaches and on his own. But he couldn’t practice with a hip injury the past two days.
Defensive line coach Marion Hobby told him he has “the potential to be a good penetrator,” and Willis has studied tape of star NFL defensive tackles Aaron Donald and Gerald McCoy.
He said he had butterflies in his first game against Cleveland but was more calm last week. He was a healthy scratch in the game against Philadelphia.
▪ De’Lance Turner, the undrafted second-year running back claimed off Baltimore’s practice squad earlier last month, has impressed the Dolphins enough to be active every week and a factor on special teams.
He’s hoping to do enough to warrant carries by season’s end.
“I think this is a good, young, physical, fast, good, young player,” Flores said of a player who has one career carry (for four yards) as a rookie for Baltimore last season and ran for 2121 yards in three years at Alcorn State.
▪ Quick stuff : Two Dolphins defensive backs on injured reserve were in the locker room Thursday, with Xavien Howard showing no signs of the knee injury that landed him on injured reserve (his gait was fine) and Bobby McCain’s shoulder in a sling after surgery. Neither was permitted to speak with reporters, per club policy...
Davon Godchaux, who has a charitable foundation and done some good work in the community, was named the Dolphins’ nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year…. The Dolphins signed former St. Thomas Aquinas and UCF cornerback Rashard Causey to the practice squad... CBS is sending Sunday’s game to 10 percent of the nation’s TV households. Here are this week’s maps.
Here’s my Thursday Dolphins piece on something notable Ryan Fitzpatrick is doing behind the scenes, Mel Kiper’s “home run” plan for the Dolphins, the cornerback situation and more.
This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 3:37 PM.
