This former Dolphins starter will get a look at a new position. And other highlights
A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Tuesday:
▪ A year after starting 15 games as a rookie at left guard, Dolphins offensive lineman Michael Dieter is about to get a look at a different position.
According to multiple sources, the Dolphins plan — during training camp and potentially beyond — to give Deiter work at center, a position that he played early in his career at Wisconsin.
The former third-round pick will also still be used at guard, one of the sources said. But the Dolphins are eager to see how Deiter plays at center.
Deiter essentially lost his starting job this offseason when Miami signed Ereck Flowers to play left guard. There was some thought to having Deiter compete for the starting right guard job and that could still happen.
For now, though, it appears that Jesse Davis will start at one of the positions on the right side of the offensive line — either right tackle (where he started last season) or right guard.
The other starting job likely would go to rookie second-round pick Robert Hunt, veteran guard Danny Isidora, second-year guard Shaq Calhoun, Deiter or rookie fourth-round pick Solomon Kindley, who can play either guard position.
The Dolphins want to give Hunt a look at right tackle during training camp before deciding where to play Hunt and Davis, as NFL Network analyst and former Texans general manager Charley Casserly reported.
Isidora started Miami’s first three games at right guard last season before sustaining a season-ending foot injury.
At center, Deiter would compete with projected starter Ted Karras.
If Deiter impresses, he could be considered for the starting center job in 2021, with Karras signed to only a one-year deal. His move there might reduce the chances of Miami keeping South Carolina rookie center Donell Stanley, who signed as an undrafted free agent.
Deiter has three years left on his contract and will earn $680,000 this season.
Deiter was a dominant run blocker at Wisconsin, but in the area of run blocking, Pro Football Focus rated him 110th among 119 guards who did any run blocking last season.
Overall, PFF rated him 80th among 83 qualifying guards. He allowed six sacks (third most among guards) and 44 pressures (second most behind only Packers and former Dolphins guard Billy Turner).
Deiter was benched for one game in December but started the 15 others at left guard.
▪ At Wisconsin, Deiter played in a school-record 54 games and made 54 consecutive starts, including 24 at left guard, 16 at center and 14 at left tackle.
He made all 16 of his starts at center in his first two seasons at Wisconsin -the final six games in 2015 and 10 in 2016, when he was part of an offensive line that helped the Badgers rush for 203.1 yards per game.
Before the 2019 NFL Draft, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein called Deiter a “durable, capable guard/center prospect who knows how to play the game but might lack the athletic elements needed to become a full-time starter on the next level. Dieter’s experience in a variety of pro-style rushing schemes and his overall technique work are in his favor while his experience across the line offer flexibility that could lock him into an NFL roster as an early backup with the potential to step in and start if needed.”
An All-American at guard in 2018, Deiter was selected 78th overall by Miami in the 2019 draft.
Deiter said in January that he had three offseason priorities: getting stronger, becoming more explosive and improving his technique. Late last season, Deiter said he must get “get stronger, get more fit. They will probably want me around the weight I am now, but a different body content.”
We’re told Deiter has improved his body this offseason. The Dolphins list Deiter at 310 pounds.
▪ Not only has the NFL expanded the practice squad from 10 to 16 players, but teams can now use six of their 16 spots on players who have any number of years of service.
In the past, teams couldn’t use practice squad slots on veterans who, as an example, have four years of NFL service.
The new rule means the Dolphins conceivably could stash veteran cornerbacks on the practice squad, such as, hypothetically, Cordrea Tankersley or Jamal Perry (formerly Jomal Wiltz) or Ryan Lewis. They could do likewise with a veteran receiver such as Allen Hurns (odds are that he makes the 53) or Mack Hollins.
Keep in mind that other teams can still claim players off another team’s practice squad.
▪ Michael Roberts’ release on Monday increases the chances of Durham Smythe getting a third year with the Dolphins, because Smythe is the best blocker of the five tight ends under contract (Mike Gesicki, Smythe, Adam Shaheen, Chris Myarick and Montana State rookie project Bryce Sterk).
Roberts, a skilled blocker, did not opt out of playing but was released after sustaining a non-football injury this offseason, one that his agent declined to discuss.
Shaheen has the size to block (6-6, 257) but is considered more advanced as a receiver. According to Pro Football Focus, Shaheen caught 29 of the 36 passes with no drops in three years with the Bears. Still, he was clearly overdrafted by Chicago - in the second round - out of Division 2 Ashland College.
▪ Was unfortunate to see former Canes defenders Trent Harris and Gerald Willis released by the Dolphins and Packers, respectively, on Sunday. They sat next to each other in the Dolphins locker-room last season and were always upbeat and gregarious, eager to make their mark as NFL players.
Willis, who was exceptional in his final year at UM, appeared in only two games for the Dolphins before he was injured and eventually released. Harris played very well as a starter in Miami’s final two games (1.5 sacks, 11 tackles, a forced fumble), but the Dolphins added several linebackers and edge players in free agency who were likely going to replace him on the 53-man roster.
▪ Quick stuff: The Dolphins declined to indicate on Tuesday if all 80 players have reported to camp... With six Patriots opting out of playing this season, Betonline.com decreased the odds of the Patriots winning the AFC East and increased the Bills’ chances but left the Dolphins with the same odds (plus 700, 7 to 1)... NFL Network analyst and former scout Bucky Brooks said of all the units in football, the Dolphins’ defensive backfield is the most improved in the NFL.
Here’s my Tuesday piece, with Adam Beasley, with Xavien Howard news.
Here’s my Tuesday piece, with Jordan McPherson, on the Marlins season being suspended.
Here’s my Tuesday UM 6-pack.
Here’s my Monday Dolphins 6-pack with lots of things, if you missed it.
This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 6:11 PM.
