Dolphins used draft picks to get Tyreek Hill. Here’s how rookie class is doing
If someone had told you, back in March, that the only Dolphins rookies who would receive significant offensive or defensive snaps the first month of the season would be a seventh-round rookie quarterback and undrafted players from Texas A&M Commerce and Idaho State, you might have fainted.
But that isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds, considering some of those draft picks were parlayed into Tyreek Hill, and considering the Dolphins found some intriguing young players who are being brought along slowly.
Of the Dolphins’ four draft picks in April, only two -- fill-in third string QB Skylar Thompson and third-round linebacker Channing Tindall - have appeared in a game. Tindall has played only two snaps on defense - both Sunday against the Jets - in addition to 33 on special teams.
Erik Ezukanma, after flashing in preseason, hasn’t played a snap.
Seventh-round Thompson exceeded all expectations in August - leading the NFL in preseason passer rating - but struggled when pressed into action against the Jets on Sunday, closing with a 58.4 passer rating (19 for 33 for 166 yards an an interception).
And seventh-round linebacker Cameron Goode is working on his craft from the practice squad.
Meanwhile, Kohou - the undrafted rookie from Texas A&M Commerce - has played far more than anyone expected (221 defensive snaps), largely a byproduct of Byron Jones’ continued injury absence.
And Kohou has been decent; his 100.7 passer rating against is 105th among 166 NFL cornerbacks who have received any playing time this season, per Pro Football Focus.
“I’m still getting used to it,” Kohou said of the step from small college football to the NFL.
He said Jones, who remains on PUP, has been a big help behind the scenes, pointing out nuances of the game and playing the position.
And he credits cornerbacks coach Sam Madison not only for improving his “technique a lot,” but also “keeping me confident.”
He said Madison encourages him before every defensive series, making him feel like he belongs.
Madison hasn’t shown Kohou any of his own tape during his nine-year Dolphins career. Kohou has observed that Madison was a “talker,” while Kohou tends to keep quiet on the field. He said no NFL receiver has trash-talked him.
Kohou said he thought the biggest adjustment would be playing in front of 70,000 people instead of a few thousand.
“I thought the crowd would be a big issue but I haven’t really heard it,” he said.
The other undrafted rookie to make the 53 - tight end and college receiver Tanner Conner - has played just 11 offensive snaps and had a key drop on his first NFL target on Sunday.
And what about the 2022 draft picks?
Mike McDaniel noted Thompson didn’t get a ton of snaps in practice last week and assessed his debut this way:
“I think he was way on top of the gameplan in a way that I don’t think typically I’m used to rookies being on top of. I think he was also frustrated with his play but... it was more of like a frustration in the moment like ‘my feet are messed up, that wasn’t the right timing.’
“Overall, it’s exactly what I thought it would be where I left the game knowing that the game is not too big for him and that was probably if he has any say in it, that was probably the worst that he will feel like he’ll perform as a professional. And that was good enough to [almost] win. So I was very happy with the player because it takes a lot of prep and it’s a big stage that everyone isn’t up for.”
Immediately after the draft, the thinking was that the Dolphins might create a third down package for Tindall considering his pass rushing skills, which were showcased when he had 5.5 sacks at Georgia last season.
But Duke Riley’s excellent training camp dramatically reduced the chances of Tindall cracking the rotation. He’s essentially fifth on the depth chart at inside linebacker, behind Jerome Baker, Elandon Roberts, Riley and Sam Eguavoen.
But he got two defensive snaps on Sunday and made a nice play on one of them.
Asked if he’s antsy to get defensive snaps, he said: “It’s not necessarily stressing me out. I’m just waiting for my opportunity. I feel coach knows what he’s doing. I feel like I’m getting better each day. [The veterans ahead of him] are all great players. . I’m learning a lot from them.”
And even though the Dolphins have only 1.5 sacks from their four veteran inside linebackers, that Tindall pass-rush package simply hasn’t materialized. “I haven’t heard anything [about that],” he said. “I don’t know.”
He said coaches have told me that “they want me working on my fundamentals. I’m working on everything I can.”
He said pass rushing is his most NFL ready skill.
Ezukanma said he expected to get early playing time after finishing 12th in the NFL in preseason receiving yards and impressing throughout training camp.
But Trent Sherfield and River Cracraft have played ahead of him as the team’s fifth and sixth receivers.
“When you’re talking about fourth, fifth, sixth receivers on the roster, you’ve got to be able to play all three positions,” receivers coach Wes Welker said late last month, when he last spoke with reporters.
“You’ve got to be able to play all three positions. ... To be able to plug and play guys and not lose a beat, not sit there and be nervous as a coach or anything else, it’s a huge learning process, being able to learn all these different positions week in and week out. “It’s not the same plays every week, like at Texas Tech. It’s not hand signals on the sidelines. These are long calls. It’s a process. I think over time we know what kind of talent he is.
“It does take time and I’ve gone through it with a lot of rookies who have had to play too early. It’s hard. It’s really tough. It’s hard on the coach. It’s hard on the staff. It’s hard on the player. And right now we don’t have to do that. So, we’re not going to do that until we feel comfortable with him being able to execute the way we need him to execute.”
Ezukanma said he spent the first few weeks learning the F receiver position after needing to know only the Z position in training camp.
How is that coming along?
“I’ve been doing well,” he said last week. “I will get out there soon. I’ve done pretty well with the playbook. I’ve got to gain trust with my teammates. I’ve improved a lot with that. You have to be patient and keep working.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 11:40 AM.
