The praise, the problem, and possibilities with Dolphins tight ends
A position-by-position series breaking down each of the Miami Dolphins’ units, assessing where the team stands heading into the 2025 offseason, and examining what could possibly be done through free agency and the NFL draft.
TIGHT END
▪ The praise: Jonnu Smith delivered the greatest single season by a tight end in Dolphins history.
Smith, a former Florida International standout, finished his first year in Miami with 88 receptions for 884 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, setting single-season franchise records at the tight end position in each category.
His 88 receptions were 15 more than any other tight end in a season in franchise history.
His 884 receiving yards broke Miami’s 20-year-old single-season record set by Randy McMichael, who recorded 791 in 2004, by nearly 100 yards.
And his eight touchdowns set a standard for the position, which went from a side dish the previous two seasons to Miami’s main entree in 2024.
And considering this was the 29-year-old’s first season in Mike McDaniel’s offense it’s hard to imagine Smith can’t produce more if he manages to stay healthy in 2025, and takes his understanding of the offense to the next level.
▪ The problem: Smith got off to a slow start in 2024 for various reasons, and his snaps were limited because he isn’t the team’s best in-line blocker. That explains why Julian Hill, a second-year player Miami has been developing as an undrafted rookie from Campbell University, handled 514 offensive snaps, and Durham Smythe handled 364 offensive snaps. That’s 878 snaps that went to an interior athlete who doesn’t present much of a threat in the passing game. If Smith can turn up the volume on his in-line work it’s possible the eight-year veteran might be able to do more. But the Dolphins will always need a complementary tight end or fullback because of how much they use heavy packages to facilitate the run game. That means it would benefit Miami if Hill, who is consistently praised for his strength, cleans up his game, or the Dolphins find an upgrade to do the in-line work.
▪ The possibilities: There was a moment after Miami’s 29-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers where a mic’d up McDaniel hugs All-Pro tight end George Kittle and tells him how nice South Florida is as a place to live.
That conversation danced the fine line between friendly banter between a player and his former coach and tampering, and should make us wonder if McDaniel knows something the 49ers don’t.
Kittle, who is 32, is entering the final year of his contract and he’s due just less than $15.5 million in 2025, and he will likely be lobbying for an extension from San Francisco, which has $46.5 million in cap space, but has a ton of players with their hands out looking for bigger paydays.
This could be a situation where the Dolphins offer the 49ers an early round draft to lure Kittle in a trade-and-extend situation much like how Miami secured Tyreek Hill, Bradley Chubb and Jalen Ramsey’s services.
Even though the Dolphins, who are roughly $13 million over the projected salary cap, don’t possess much cap space at the moment, this franchise has consistently found a way to create financial freedom the past couple of offseasons, and annually target a whale. Kittle, who caught 78 passes and turned them into 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns in his eighth NFL season, fits that description and would pair well with Smith, giving the Dolphins the best tight end duo in the NFL.
This isn’t a deep crop of draftable tight ends with eight being among this draft’s top 150 prospects. A talent such as LSU’s Mason Taylor, the son of Hall of Fame Jason Taylor, would fit Miami’s offense well as a developmental player. Taylor is a polished pass catcher and showed the ability to help in pass protection.
