Miami Dolphins coaches dish on offensive rookies, including Tua, Jackson, Bowden, Perry
Not only are the Dolphins indoctrinating a rookie quarterback, but they’re also playing a half dozen other rookies at key offensive positions. Some feedback offered Tuesday on some of the team’s first-year players on offense:
▪ Do the Dolphins yet know if rookie receivers Malcolm Perry and Lynn Bowden Jr. are merely change-of-pace gimmick players or if they can become long-term starting slot receivers?
Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey said that remains to be seen.
“You hope they’re going to develop into something unique for your team,” Gailey said. “That takes on different roles whether it’s doing some speciality things or playing a bunch of snaps in the slot position. Malcolm has come a long way. He’s been a quarterback. He’s really tried to work to become a better receiver; he’s still learning.
“Lynn is the same way. Lynn is a gifted talented athlete and showed that in college [at Kentucky]. We’ve seen flashes of it here. Hopefully he will continue to develop the way we think he can.”
On Sunday against the Chargers, Perry played a career-high 23 snaps and caught two passes for 21 yards and ran for 6 yards on a Wildcat carry. Bowden was inactive on Sunday after missing a game while on the NFL’s COVID-19 list.
“Both of them have unique talents to themselves, and we’ll see if we can develop and make them be an integral part of our offense,” Gailey said. “What direction it will go right now, I don’t think anyone knows.”
Receivers coach Josh Grizzard sees upside in Perry, the former Navy quarterback selected in the seventh round.
“He’s quick, dynamic,” Grizzard said. “We try to get him the ball in space. He can make guys miss, get some [yards after catch]. He keeps improving.”
▪ Gailey said rookie running back Salvon Ahmed, who ran for 85 yards on 21 carries in his first NFL start, “has very good instincts as a runner, can see a crease and then has the ability to go make something happen. He’s got that explosiveness and he’s taking care of the football.”
Running backs coach Eric Studesville said “the first thing that stands out [with Ahmed] is when he comes in the room, he’s ready to go. Highly motivated, wants to be good, has some speed, quickness, good eyes, good feet, catches the ball really well. Can he be consistent in his performance level? I think he will.”
Studesville declined to say whether the starting job would be an open competition when starter Myles Gaskin (knee) and Matt Breida (hamstring) return from injuries later this month.
▪ Left tackle Austin Jackson, who has played the past seven quarters after missing three games with a foot injury, “is getting better,” offensive line coach Steve Marshall said. “I thought he was a little bit rusty [against Arizona], got a little better this past week. I expect him getting back in the swing of things with a month off. He’s got the [Bradley] Chubb kid this week in pass protection. He’s got a big challenge in front of him.”
Denver’s Chubb has 5.5 sacks this season and 18.5 in 29 career games.
▪ Veteran Jesse Davis and rookies Solomon Kindley and Robert Hunt essentially are competing for two starting offensive line jobs every week, with Davis the clear front-runner to play one of those spots. Kindley played the entire game against the Chargers, with Hunt limited to two snaps.
That decision about which two will play will be based on “how they practice and how they do things,” Marshall said. “There is some specificity with what we’re trying to do that particular week. Maybe need this guy against player X or player Z. We take that into consideration...
“Jesse’s flexibility and experience playing inside and outside affords that opportunity to always try to get the best five on the field for that particular week.”
▪ As for Tua Tagovailoa, who’s 3-0 as a starter with five touchdowns and no interceptions, Gailey said: “He’s getting better every week and doing what we hoped he would do. He’s taking care of the football, being smart about that, making plays. Is he missing some things? Yeah, he’s missing some things, but that will come with experience and time. It has slowed down for him each week. The more he plays, hopefully the better he gets and the more comfortable he feels.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Defensive coordinator Josh Boyer sees improvement from defensive tackle Raekwon Davis, the second of Miami’s two second-round picks in April.
“Raekwon has been working extremely hard at practice,” Boyer said. “When you turn on the film, there were some good things. Still some things we have to work on to get better.”
▪ The last time the Dolphins were 6-3, it was 2001 and Gailey was also the team’s offensive coordinator. Jay Fiedler, Lamar Smith and Chris Chambers were among the top offensive players on that team.
“That was a strong [group], tough football players,” Gailey said Tuesday. “But you had to be. It was more let’s-run-it-down-your-throat mentality [back then]. Now it’s let’s spread it out and throw it around the park. Jay did a great job. Those two years were fun.”
▪ Grizzard declined to comment on how receiver Antonio Callaway has progressed in his play after an earlier knee issue that increased the challenge of returning to football after an NFL suspension and long layoff. Callaway, who’s on the practice squad, was active for Sunday’s game but didn’t play. He has only been permitted to practice for the past two weeks.
“He’s done a good job coming in here and learning the playbook,” Grizzard said. “I can see the progression with him day to day.”
▪ The Dolphins now have four open spots on their 53-man roster after releasing running back Jordan Howard. Christian Wilkins will fill one of those spots when he comes off the NFL’s COVID-19 list.
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 12:01 PM.
