A few notes on Tua, the line, receiver battle, and five percolating Dolphins questions
Five percolating questions about the Miami Dolphins offense as we approach the July 28 start of training camp:
▪ When, realistically, can quarterback Tua Tagovailoa overtake Ryan Fitzpatrick?
A source in touch with the Dolphins said that while the great likelihood is that Ryan Fitzpatrick will open the season as the starter, the Dolphins are open-minded about playing Tagovailoa if he shows command of the offense and consistently impresses in practice and if the team isn’t performing well under Fitzpatrick. They aren’t going into the season with a plan to definitely redshirt Tua, barring some health setback.
One team source said Tagovailoa appears very confident in himself — which I think is a good thing.
Agent Drew Rosenhaus, who doesn’t represent either player, said on his weekly WSVN-Fox 7 segment that he expects Tagovailoa to be starting by Week 4.
But if Fitzpatrick is very good to start the season — and if the Dolphins are winning — he likely would hang onto the job until that changes. Thing is, Fitzpatrick’s history suggests that will change at some point.
Josh Rosen could enter the equation if Fitzpatrick is struggling and the Dolphins are losing early in the season; Tagovailoa has a medical setback or fails to grasp the offense quickly; and Rosen impresses in practice.
The suspicion here: Fitzpatrick opens as the starter, but Tagovailoa is playing by the second half of the season.
▪ What’s the starting offensive line?
My impression is that the Dolphins would like — long term — for their starting line to be Austin Jackson at left tackle, Ereck Flowers at left guard, a future draft pick at center, Jesse Davis or Solomon Kindley at right guard and Robert Hunt at right tackle.
But for the start of this season, the odds favor Julien Davenport at left tackle (though Miami would love if Jackson could win the job in camp), Flowers at left guard, Ted Karras (on a one-year deal) at center, Hunt or Michael Dieter or Danny Isidora at right guard and Jesse Davis at right tackle.
The Dolphins believe Hunt can be a long-term starting right tackle but will play him at guard this season if he doesn’t win the tackle job in camp.
There’s no thought, at this point, to having Flowers move from guard — where he thrived last season for the Redskins — to left tackle, where he flopped for the Giants.
If Hunt settles in at guard, he would need to compete not only with Dieter, but also Kindley, Shaq Calhoun and Isidora.
▪ Who wins the final two receiver jobs?
DeVante Parker and Preston Williams (presuming he’s healthy for the start of the season off an ACL injury) are the probable starters, and Albert Wilson (who accepted a pay cut from $9.5 million to $3 million) and Jakeem Grant likely will be on the team, too.
Allen Hurns is the front-runner for the No. 5 job because he gives the Dolphins another veteran, proven slot receiver option who can also play on the boundary. His cap hit is $2.9 million if he’s on the team and $2.4 million if he’s cut, though his $1.8 million base salary is guaranteed only for injury.
But Hurns would be at risk if he struggles in camp and preseason and younger players emerge.
Isaiah Ford’s strong close to last season (21 catches for 235 yards over the final four games) gives him a slight edge for the fifth or sixth spot, but it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine Gary Jennings (Seattle’s fourth-rounder in 2019) or Arkansas State undrafted rookie Kirk Merritt overtaking him with big preseasons.
If Miami keeps six, I would suspect Hurns, Ford, Jennings and perhaps Merritt are the top contenders.
Difficult to see Ricardo Louis making it; he started a combined 12 games for Cleveland in 2016 and ‘17 but hasn’t played a regular-season game since and missed last year with a major knee injury.
Matt Cole, the speedy receiver from Division II McKendree University, could win a job on the practice squad.
▪ Who’s the starting running back and who wins the No. 3 and No. 4 jobs?
It doesn’t particularly matter whether Jordan Howard or Matt Breida starts, because both will play a lot as a 1 and 1A in some order.
But because Breida is the better third-down back, it would make sense to start Howard and then ride the hot hand as the game unfolds.
The Dolphins want another look at Kalen Ballage, even after his disastrous 2019 when he dropped four passes and averaged a meager 1.8 yards per carry. If he’s good in preseason, I could see him sticking as the No. 3. If not, he’s gone — and Patrick Laird and Myles Gaskin would be the internal options for the No. 3 job.
If Miami keeps four backs — likely — then Navy seventh-rounder Malcolm Perry has a good chance to be the fourth, provided he shows anything in camp. The Dolphins are expected to use Perry at both running back and receiver.
▪ What about some of the other roster battles?
At backup tight end, Durham Smythe versus Michael Roberts is a toss-up, and there’s a good chance Miami could keep both, especially with COVID-19 potentially leaving teams short-handed at different positions if players test positive during the season.. Don’t rule out Chris Myarick if he builds on the receiving skills he excited in preseason last year. ...
Among the undrafted rookies on offense, South Carolina rookie Donell Stanley might have the best chance to stick because he’s a proven player from America’s toughest college conference, and the Dolphins see a clear role for him (backup center) if he wins a job in camp. ...
Fullback Chandler Cox faces an uphill climb to stick. The 2019 seventh-rounder got just 66 offensive snaps last year, and linebacker addition Elandon Roberts can play fullback if needed.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 12:05 PM.
