Dolphins Stock Report (Day 1): Defense dominates first day of training camp
Gavin Hardison will never have a better opportunity to make an NFL roster than the one presented this week, inheriting a substantial share of 11-on-11 snaps during the rookie’s first training camp with the Miami Dolphins because of Tua Tagovailoa’s hold-in.
Unfortunately, the former UTEP standout the Dolphins signed as an undrafted rookie was a turnover machine during Wednesday’s practice.
It was clear Hardison didn’t have a good grasp of Miami’s offense, which is understandable considering this is his first camp, and he sparingly worked during the offseason program and minicamp.
Hardison might have handled just as many, if not more 11-on-11 snaps as Mike White and Skylar Thompson, and during those reps he gave plenty of Miami’s defenders a chance to shine.
Here’s a look at players who excelled, and those who struggled on day one of training camp.
Top Performer
Stock Up
With David Long Jr. sidelined by an undisclosed injury that has kept him off the practice field since June, the Dolphins are actively looking for inside linebacker help. Second-year player Zeke Vandenburgh, who missed his rookie season with an injury that got him placed on injured reserve last training camp, appears to be rising to the occasion. Vandenburgh intercepted Tagovailoa’s 7-on-7 pass to tight end Tanner Conner, who bobbled the ball that was deflected in the air.
Emmanuel Ogbah looks like a NFL player who was out of work for six months and got added to a training camp roster 48 hours ago. He’s seemingly not in training camp shape, but that didn’t stop the eight-year veteran from collapsing the pocket and finding his way into the backfield for a would-be sack of Mike White during an 11-on-11 period.
Stock Down
If Hardison continues to practice the way he performed Wednesday his days in South Florida might be numbered because the Dolphins can’t afford to waste offensive snaps, even if it’s third-team action while Tagovailoa limits his participation while his multiyear extension gets negotiated. Kellen Mond, a 2021 third-round pick, who was released by the New Orleans Saints in May, might give the team a better look in training camp.
Pads haven’t come on yet, but from the look of offensive line coach Butch Barry’s lecture at the end of Miami’s first training camp practice, it was extremely clear he wasn’t pleased with the performance he got from his unit. While the offensive line was working without Terron Armstead and Isaiah Wynn, two projected starters who are seemingly shelved from these early practices, the standards are much higher for one of the top performing units from 2023.
Takeaway from the day
Any practice play that ends with a defensive player landing on his head is something that should be avoided, so hopefully the team will go over the play that happened early in Wednesday’s session when starting safety Jevon Holland collided with rookie receiver Malik Washington and got upended, landing on his head. Holland laid on the field for about a minute to dust the cobwebs off before giving his teammates a thumbs up. Without replay it’s difficult to figure out who was at fault, or how that collision happened, but for the sake of player safety the Dolphins need to evaluate that play and nip it in the bud.
What they said
“That doesn’t really do anything for me, or move me in any type of way. Last year’s team is different from this year’s team in a lot of different ways, including having him on the team now,” cornerback Jalen Ramsey said of Jordan Poyer, who earlier this week said the Dolphins had a soft reputation when he was a member of the Buffalo Bills. “This is day one. We have to build our identity. We have to go through a lot of things in this camp, a lot of growing pains. Hopefully face some adversity, maybe a couple of fights, things like that to bring us closer.”
