The Miami Dolphins’ outside the box defense-to-offense plan and player at center of it
Say this about this Miami Dolphins staff: They’re willing to think outside the box.
One example: This regime, for the past year, has become intrigued with the idea of signing an elite small-school defensive end and converting that player to tight end.
And on Saturday, they executed that plan with Bryce Sterk, who ranked among the FCS sack leaders at Montana State but hasn’t played tight end since playing both offense and defense in high school in Lynden, Washington, according to his agents Chris Turnage and Evan Brennan.
Brennan said the Dolphins approached him a couple of weeks before the draft and asked Sterk if he was willing to move to tight end if Miami signed him after the draft. This was mildly surprising, considering Miami didn’t work out Sterk before the draft because of the coronavirus pandemic and never actually observed him playing tight end.
Sterk, listed at 6-5 and 261 pounds, said he was interested in the Dolphins’ idea and had conversations with tight ends coach George Godsey.
After the draft, the Dolphins quickly made an offer, and Sterk picked Miami over offers from four other NFL teams who wanted to keep him on defense. Why?
For one, Sterk is a bright young man who likes challenges, Brennan said. And Brennan said “the pitch to Bryce was he would be the only tight end they would bring in. That was appealing. The Dolphins were the first to offer and they were aggressive about it. It was a tough decision.”
If Sterk impresses in training camp and preseason, he has a very good chance to land on the practice squad, which has been expanded from 10 to 12 players under the new collective bargaining agreement.
In 2015, Sterk was a two-star defensive end out of Lynden High and signed with the Washington Huskies; Eastern Washington and Wyoming were his only other offers, per Rivals.
But he transferred to Montana State after appearing in only one game for Washington over two seasons.
In 2018, Sterk led the Big Sky with 8.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss as a linebacker/defensive lineman hybrid. He moved to defensive end as a senior, and his 15 sacks tied for the lead in FCS.
“Sterk was graded as a potential Day 3 pick by scouts entering the season,” NFL draft analyst Tony Pauline wrote in his pre-draft reports. “He’s a situational pass rusher at the next level who could stand over tackle in a 3-4 alignment, and could be a steal as a priority free agent if properly used.”
Brennan said Sterk is up to the challenge of playing tight end.
“Bryce is a great athlete,” he said. “The idea is bringing the defensive line mentality [to tight end] and Bryce has toughness. He’s excited.”
Dolphins rookies won’t join the team for virtual sessions until May 11, but Sterk is busy at home in Lynden, watching tape of tight ends (including Kansas City’s Travis Kelce) and catching passes from family members.
Once the Dolphins announce his signing (they’re not commenting on any of their undrafted rookie pickups at this time), he will join Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe, former Detroit Lions backup Michael Roberts and second-year player Chris Myarick as the only tight ends under contract.
The Dolphins spent a lot of time with tight ends before the draft, doing a video-session with Dayton’s Adam Trautman (selected by the Saints) and interviewing a bunch of others including Virginia Tech’s Dalton Keene, who was drafted by New England.
With their 251st pick overall in the seventh round, they apparently considered LSU’s Stephen Sullivan - a tight end they had interviewed and done work on - but ultimately traded the pick to Seattle, who drafted Sullivan.
UNDRAFTED ROOKIE TALK
What are the Dolphins getting with their eight other undrafted rookies?
Some feedback from Pauline, who has longer write ups on all these players on profootballnetwork.com:
▪ Mississippi defensive tackle Benito Jones: “Jones looked like a potential second-day pick after his sophomore season, but his game has leveled off the past two seasons. He presents himself as a gap occupier and has scheme limitations at the next level.”
▪ Middle Tennessee State defensive end Tyshun Render, who had 10 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks last season: “Explosive defensive end who plays with a vicious attitude and constantly disrupts the action behind the line of scrimmage. He possesses good upside, and if he does not make an active roster as a situational pass rusher, I fully expect Render to find a spot on a practice squad this fall.”
▪ South Carolina guard/center Donell Stanley, who began the 2019 season at left guard before he moved to center after one game after starting 12 games at center in 2018: “Stanley offers size and the versatility to play multiple positions on the interior of the offensive line, which gives him an upper hand to make a roster this fall. Displays outstanding vision, gives great effort and works well with linemates.”
Look for Stanley to get a chance to win the backup center job.
▪ Arkansas State receiver Kirk Merritt: “Athletic, physically gifted receiver who extends to make the reception away from his frame and quickly turns upfield after the catch. Merritt was highly thought of in the scouting community, but he’s an athlete who never pulled it all together. He possesses high upside, but he may need a coach to get into his head to get the best from him.”
▪ Iowa State defensive tackle Ray Lima, who started for three seasons after transferring from a junior college: “Lima possesses solid size and some growth potential, but he must improve his strength to have any chance to make a roster….Lined up at nose tackle last season and was easily controlled at the point. Struggles to get off blocks. Can’t get outside the box to make plays.”
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has raved about Lima: “He’s the reason the culture of this program turned. He taught me the right way to lead. His leadership in our locker room is the absolute reason we are who we are. Statistically, it’s not going to jump off the screen [with Lima]. But on fourth and one, third and one, biggest games we played here, Ray Lima has been outstanding.”
The Dolphins’ other rookie free agent signings were Kansas State offensive lineman Nick Kaltmayer, Division II McKendree University Matt Cole and Pittsburgh (and former UF) linebacker Kylan Johnson.
An evaluator who watched Kaltmayer said he’s smart, tough and aggressive but stiff with limited upside.
This story was originally published April 28, 2020 at 4:51 PM.
