Dolphins explore options at position of strength and lay out path to holding an NFL season
A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Wednesday night:
▪ The Dolphins would be fine at wide receiver if they started the season with only the players currently on the roster. But they’ve been poking around on NFL Draft options at the position, eager to add more competition.
Among those booked for a Dolphins interview session, according to a source, is Baylor’s Denzel Mims, a 6-3 speedster who had 66 catches and 1,020 receiving yards last season(15.5 yards per catch) and 12 receiving touchdowns on his way to first-team all-conference honors.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said Mims “is a long-striding outside target with excellent height, weight and speed and an insane catch-radius. He’s a touchdown threat anytime he’s near the red zone.” ESPN’s Todd McShay has him going 36th in his mock draft.
The Dolphins have told people that while they are OK with what they have at receiver, they’re open to upgrading, particularly in the slot. Analysts have said this is one of the deepest wide receiver draft classes in history.
One under-the-radar name they’ve sent a coach to audition (pre-pandemic): Wake Forest’s Kendall Hinton, a 6-0 slot receiver and former quarterback who had 73 catches for 1001 yards last season in his first full year at receiver.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler said Hinton was the biggest Combine snub at the position. “He showed better polish in his routes than expected and tracked the ball naturally, showing the adjustment skills mid-air to make ‘wow’ catches on tape,” Brugler wrote.
The Dolphins have reached out to several other receivers in recent days, including Southern Mississippi’s Quez Watkins.
▪ During an Instagram session on Tuesday night, Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel presented a path for how the NFL season could be held amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re spending a lot of time talking about what it might look like in the future,” he said. “I think if we get in a situation where come September, August where at a minimum, we can test people that need to put a game on and make sure everybody is safe and [tests] negative — you think of players, coaches, referees, cameramen, that sort of thing and it’s conceivable you could put on games without any fans if you have to.
“If you can test people with these five-minute tests that Abbott Labs have come out with — and assuming there’s enough tests where again you’re not taking away from critical needs — that’s one area where I think it becomes very possible you can run a season safely for the players and the participants obviously.”
Garfinkel added that: “It’s conceivable you could put on a game without any fans if you need to. Assuming there’s enough tests where you’re not taking away from critical need. I think football is a microcosm of life. It’s an inspiration in a lot of ways. People need these inspirations. All the things about sports that we love and make us watch them...It’s an important part of society....
“We’re going to learn a lot more in the next four-to-six weeks. I think the last couple days from all the data and the charts I’ve seen — and I’m not a scientist or medical professional, and I don’t think anybody really knows — but from the data that I’m looking at that I’ve seen it seems like the curve for the first time over the last few days has started to flatten and hopefully that trend continues. But I think we need to get to where we need to be. I think a year or two from now we’re going to be in a lot different situation, but it’s going to be tough until we get there.”
Garfinkel made clear that “everybody’s safety is going to come first, keeping everybody safe and healthy. And then, as resources become available, who should they go to first? Obviously, health care workers, people who are sick, people that need them.”
▪ While it’s unclear what the Dolphins will do if presented with a choice of Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert, one NFL official who associates with a high-ranking member of the team’s scouting department said the Dolphins have consistently raved about Herbert - his size, arm strength and build - and he would be surprised if they don’t take Herbert. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, though Miami has considered the merits of taking Herbert over Tua, Todd McShay scoffed at ESPN colleague Mel Kiper for suggesting that possibility: “You can’t say Herbert ahead of Tua! That’s ridiculous. It blows my mind you’re even talking about it.”
CBS’ Jason LaCanfora believes Miami will take Tua, despite the major concerns about durability and his history of injuries.
“They didn’t spent 18 months tearing their roster down not to get one of the two best QBs in this draft,” he said. “Hip is healing. Most years you would need to be at second overall to get a talent like that. … And maybe you still will need to be when it’s all said and done. But I am giving Miami the choice of any QB in this draft not named Burrow here, and I suspect they rely on the film and Tua’s years of success to nab him over Justin Herbert or Jordan Love. Could they trade back and nab another QB? I guess so. But they also could find themselves in quite a mess if they do.”
▪ We’re told the Dolphins had asked Georgia running back D’Andre Swift to visit team headquarters on a 30 visit - one of 30 permitted pre-draft visits teams can ordinarily have with prospects - before the NFL banned those visits effective March 15 because of coronavirus.
Miami managed two of those visits - with Ohio State running back JK Dobbins and with Utah State quarterback Jordan Love - before those visits were banned.
Swift and Dobbins would be appealing options at No. 26 or potentially No. 39 if one of them is still there. Miami has expressed interest in several mid-round running backs, including UCLA’s Joshua Kelley.
▪ The Dolphins have taken a liking to several defensive players from Georgia Southern, including cornerback Kindle Vildor and defensive tackle Kai Phillips.
Vildor is a slot corner option with nine career interceptions. “He’s a little slender and his speed is average, but Vildor possesses good athletic ability with the man cover talent to stay near his target,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein said.
Phillips had 17.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks over the past three seasons.
All of the Dolphins’ draft picks last season were from Power 5 schools, but there are a bunch of FBS non-Power 5 players they like in this draft class, including two linemen we wrote about here.
▪ Quick stuff: Not only did the Dolphins work out Nebraska defensive tackle Darrion Daniels (a potential mid-round pick) after his Pro Day, but they also worked him out as an offensive lineman…
The Dolphins haven’t told Jesse Davis if he will stay at right tackle or move back to right guard, though tackle appears far more likely unless Miami drafts two tackles high in the draft. Before the pandemic, Davis said he would like to have clarity on his 2020 position around draft time because he would like to lose some weight if he stays at tackle…
Pro Football Focus’ newest mock draft has Miami trading up with Detroit to select Tagovailoa at No. 3, then taking Houston left tackle Josh Jones at 18 (noting he allowed only four quarterback pressures all last season), Swift at No. 39 (“Swift can do anything you want a modern back to do from a receiving perspective”) and Georgia right tackle/guard Isaiah Wilson, a player the Dolphins like, at No. 56.
Of Wilson, PFF said: “Wilson may eventually end up at guard, but his prodigious size, length and strength stonewalled college defenders in their tracks.”
Here’s my Wednesday piece on the Dolphins’ search for a defensive tackle and a couple of players they’ve reached out to.
Here’s my Wednesday 6-pack of Hurricanes nuggets.
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 8:41 PM.
