Jackson activated but with twist. And how Dolphins’ weapons stack up with division rivals
The Miami Dolphins activated left tackle Austin Jackson from the COVID-19 list on Saturday but stopped short of saying he would play Sunday at New England.
Jackson reportedly had COVID-19 but was removed from the COVID-19 list -- and restored to the 53-man roster -- after testing negative twice in tests spaced 24 hours apart.
But the team announced that Jackson “has been added to the injury report, listed as questionable with a non-injury related illness for [Sunday’s] game. He is traveling separate from the team and his game status will be updated Sunday before the game.”
Jackson could start if the team feels comfortable with his conditioning and health and stamina after a week without practicing.
If the team doesn’t feel comfortable with that, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Dolphins go with Jesse Davis and Liam Eichenberg as their starting tackles, with an outside chance of Greg Little cracking the lineup instead of Eichenberg in that scenario. In that scenario, Jackson could be active but not start because he hasn’t practiced all week.
Jackson becomes the first NFL player to test positive for COVID but return to play that week.
Receiver Preston Williams (foot) is the only player besides Jackson who is listed as questionable for the Dolphins.
Tight end Adam Shaheen remains on the COVID-19 list and is out for Sunday’s game. The Dolphins are replacing him with a defensive back, safety/cornerback Jamal Perry, who was named a Dolphins’ COVID-19 replacement player earlier this week.
AFC EAST LOOK
Now that the Dolphins have upgraded Tua Tagovailoa’s arsenal of weapons (certainly at receiver, not so much at running back), where does the Dolphins’ set of playmakers stand in the AFC East?
Here’s a look, with Tagovailoa, the Jets’ Zach Wilson and the Patriots’ Mac Jones ready to try to show they’re every bit as good as Josh Allen, Buffalo’s veteran emerging star quarterback:
WIDE RECEIVER
▪ Dolphins: DeVante Parker, Will Fuller (suspended for Game 1), Jaylen Waddle, Preston Williams, Albert Wilson, Jakeem Grant
▪ Bills: Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders, Cole Beasley, Gabriel Davis, Duke Williams, Jake Kumerow, Isaiah McKenzie
▪ Jets: Corey Davis, Denzel Mims, Jamison Crowder, Elijah Moore, Keelan Cole, Braxton Berrios, Jeff Smith
▪ Patriots: Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, Jakobi Meyers, N’Keal Harry, Matthew Slater, Gunner Olszyewski
▪ Comment: The Dolphins, Jets and Patriots improved significantly at the position, and there isn’t a huge disparity in talent among the four groups. Miami’s group takes a backseat to nobody’s in this division.
If Waddle becomes what most expect, a case could be made that the Dolphins eventually could have the best group. Buffalo has the most accomplished receiver in the division in Diggs, who was first team All Pro last season, and a consistently productive slot guy in Beasley.
Diggs is coming off a remarkable season (127 receptions, 1535 yards), but the Bills must replace the production of John Brown (105 catches, more than 1500 yards in his past 24 games). Brown was released and signed with Las Vegas but was released Aug. 31.
The question is whether Sanders, at 34, can give the Bills as much as Brown, who missed seven games last season. Sanders was effective for the Saints last season (61-726-5 TDs) but at some point, a decline is inevitable because of age.
Gabriel Davis, the 2020 fourth-rounder out of UCF, was excellent as a rookie, starting 11 games and catching 35 passes for 599 yards and seven touchdowns. Davis and Sanders will compete for time opposite Diggs.
Beasley (82-967-4 TDs) remains a very effective slot receiver. McKenzie (30-282-5 TDs) is an underrated slot who has tormented the Dolphins, particularly in last year’s regular season finale.
The Jets signed Tennessee’s Davis, who isn’t an elite No. 1 but is an upgrade and coming off a good season (65-984, 5 TDs) and also snagged Cole, who had 55-642-5 TDs for Jacksonville last season. And the Jets have two high draft picks they hope will blossom: ex-Baylor second-rounder Mims (23-357 in his rookie season) and Mississippi second-rounder Moore, who some regarded as the fourth best receiver in April’s draft.
Crowder (59 catches, 699 yards, six touchdowns last season) would be a decent No. 3 and very good No. 4. Berrios, the undrafted former Hurricane, made tremendous strides last season, catching 37 passes for 394 yards and three touchdowns.
New England augmented one of the league’s worst receiver groups with Agholor (48-896-8 for Las Vegas last season) and Bourne (49-667-2 for the 49ers). Meyers, signed by the Patriots after going undrafted out of North Carolina State in 2019, was a revelation last season, catching 59 passes for 729 yards.
Harry, the 2019 first-round pick, remains a disappointment; he caught 33 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Despite the Patriots and Jets each adding two quality veterans, I would rank Buffalo’s receiver group first, with the Dolphins very close and having the ability to match or surpass, depending on how good Waddle is.
Keep in mind that Parker and Fuller are the only set of teammates who produced first downs on more than 70 percent of their receptions last season. It would be easy to make the case that Parker and Fuller are two of the division’s five best receivers, with Diggs, Agholor and Davis.
And Waddle was the most explosive receiver in the draft. By year’s end, Miami could have the best receiver group in the division, depending not only on Waddle, but also Tagovailoa’s ability to get the ball to his weapons.
RUNNING BACK
▪ Dolphins: Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed, Malcolm Brown
▪ Bills: Devin Singletary, Zach Moss, Matt Breida, Taiwan Jones
▪ Jets: Tevin Coleman, Ty Johnson, Michael Carter, La’Michel Perine
▪ Patriots: Brandon Bolden, Damien Harris, James White, Rhamondre Stevenson, J.J. Taylor
▪ Comment: There’s no elite running back contingent among these teams.
The Bills’ arsenal might be the best, but it’s not clear-cut, and a reasonable argument could be made for the Dolphins and Patriots.
For Buffalo, Singletary (687 yards rushing last season, 4.4 per carry) will share the load with Moss, the 2020 third-rounder from Utah (via Hallandale) who ran for 481 yards and averaged 4.3 per carry as a rookie.
Breida, who inexplicably didn’t get much opportunity in his one year with the Dolphins, is still the same back who averaged 5.0 yards per carry over three years with the 49ers (top three in the league during that time) before his trade to Miami.
The Patriots moved on from Sony Michel, who was dealt to the Rams. They feel good about a group including Harris, who ran for 691 yards, averaging 5.0 per carry, last season in 10 games, all starts.
White remains one of the NFL’s top pass-catching backs, with 369 receptions for 3184 yards and 25 TDs over seven seasons with the Patriots. He ran the ball just 35 times last season but has a 4.0 career average.
Stevenson, a rookie fourth-rounder, was a big, physical back at Oklahoma (1180 yards, 7.2 per carry in two years). Taylor, the undrafted running back from Arizona, impressed in training camp with 23 carries for 179 yards and 10 catches for 62 yards.
The Jets’ running back situation is muddled, without a clear-cut starter. Coleman averaged 4.2 per carry over six seasons with Atlanta and San Francisco, but missed eight games for the 49ers last season because of a knee injury and ran for just 53 yards on 1.9 per carry.
The Jets hope Carter - the speedy fourth-rounder from North Carolina - can make a big immediate impact. They also have Ty Johnson (254 yards rushing on 4.7 per carry last season) and Perine (232, 3.6 per carry).
Say this about the Dolphins group: They’re probably underrated. Gaskin was 10th in the league in average yards from scrimmage last season (97), Ahmed averaged a strong 4.3 per carry as a rookie, and Brown was a useful piece for the Rams, averaging 4.0 per carry.
There’s no running back group in this division that is leaps and bounds better than Miami’s.
TIGHT END
▪ Dolphins: Mike Gesicki, Durham Smythe, Adam Shaheen, Cethan Carter, Hunter Long
▪ Bills: Dawson Knox, Tommy Sweeney
▪ Jets: Tyler Croft, Ryan Griffin, Daniel Brown, Trevon Wescoe
▪ Patriots: Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Devin Asaisi
▪ Comment: The Patriots upgraded significantly with A) former FIU standout Smith, who received a four-year, $50 million contract after catching 41 passes for 448 yards and eight touchdowns for the Titans last season and B) Henry, who was lured away from the Chargers with a three-year, $37.5 million, months after a 2020 season in which he caught 60 passes for 613 yards and four touchdowns.
Asaisi, the 2020 third-rounder from UCLA, caught just two passes last season. Keene, the 2020 third-rounder from Virginia Tech, caught just three passes and will miss 2021 with a knee injury.
A case could be made that the Patriots now have the best tight end group in the division, but the Dolphins are close, and could overtake them if Long develops into a starter or high-end No. 2.
For Buffalo, Knox has become a solid starter; he had 24 catches, 288 yards, three touchdowns last season. The Bills cut Jacob Hollister, who had 25 catches for Seattle last season and was supposed to replace Kroft - who joined the Jets - as their likely No. 2 tight end. Sweeney instead will be Knox’s backup.
The Jets have a mediocre group featuring Kroft (12 for 119, 3 TDs for the Bills in 2020) and Griffin (9 for 86). They dealt former Miami Hurricane Chris Herndon (31 catches, 287 yards, 3 TDs last season) to Minnesota last week. Brown has nine catches for the Jets over the past two seasons; Wescoe has three career receptions.
As for the Dolphins… Gesicki has been one of the league’s top 10 receiving tight ends the past two years, with 104 catches for 1273 yards and 11 touchdowns. Smythe and Shaheen are all NFL-quality No. 2 tight ends with helpful skill sets.
Carter has value as a blocker and H-back.
The wild card is Long; former Patriots executive Scott Pioli predicts he will become a Pro Bowler. If that happens or even if Long becomes a clearly above-average player, then Miami’s tight end group potentially would be the best in the division, provided Gesicki is retained past 2021 (no sure thing). Otherwise, the Patriots get the edge after their free-agent spending spree.
For my many, many, many Dolphins stories over the past few weeks, please click here.
This story was originally published September 11, 2021 at 10:19 AM.
