Kelly: Patrick Paul’s on a mission to become elite in the NFL | Opinion
The punch is violent. It’s heavy, and usually clean.
Patrick Paul’s jab of defenders allows him to lock out and send edge rushers wide, keeping the pocket clean.
From time to time, he looks like he’s directing traffic doing it.
He routinely knocks defensive linemen off their base like it’s nothing.
The Miami Dolphins’ 2024 second-round pick is big, powerful and long, so when he gets his hands on a defender it’s usually over, their balance is gone.
Miami’s starting left tackle’s play this season is proof he’s no longer a mountain of potential.
After sitting and learning from recently retired offensive lineman Terron Armstead as a rookie, handling most of the first-team reps in practice all season — but only playing 337 snaps in seven games — it appears he’s arrived.
He’s exactly what the Dolphins drafted and coached up the 6-foot-7, 326-pounder to be, a franchise left tackle.
“I’ve put a lot of work into this,” said Paul, whose grandfather is Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, who served as the President of Nigeria in 1966 before he was assassinated.
His older brother Chris Paul is also an NFL offensive lineman, a guard who has started six games for the Washington Commanders in his fourth season.
While Chris is a fringe NFL starter, Patrick’s skill set hints he has the potential to become a star.
“I can always improve in areas, especially with the run. Pass blocking is kind of like; unless you’re in a slide, you’re kind of just by yourself. Even if you are in a slide, you’re by yourself,” Paul said. “Run [game], it’s a lot of combination [blocks] and just working with somebody else. I think that we’ve just got to keep on doing it, keep on getting the reps and keep on trusting what I’m coached to do, and it’ll show.”
It already has.
Flip the tape on in the run game and there’s clip after clip of Paul overwhelming his opponents.
His legs are usually churning, extending with each stride as his feet glide 10 to 20 yards downfield with the grace of a 300-pound ballerina.
There are rare instances, like the sack All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett recorded on him two weeks ago, when Paul tried to pass Garrett off to rookie left guard Jonah Savaiinaea, and Garrett slipped his block, going underneath both to sack Tua Tagovailoa.
But those things happen to even the best offensive linemen from time to time. Even Hall of Famers get beat on a given play.
The biggest indicator of how effective he has been this season is that Garrett routinely went to the other side to rush the quarterback in Cleveland’s 31-6 win against Miami.
That’s right, Garrett chose to attack Larry Borom instead of Paul, who will be making his 12th start against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.
Twelve down and hopefully 150 more to go if he has a 10-year career as a starter.
“He has plays that he knows by the end of the season, those will be his worst plays and that’s where he’s at. Very reasonable expectation — very high expectations — but very reasonable,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “That’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Paul, who turns 24 on Monday, is still young, and on the surface of what he could become if he stays healthy for the next few years and continues to work.
It’s not just his raw power that makes him special. The technique is showing because Paul’s learning to use all his tools — the size, the strength, the reach from his arm length, which creates a 7-foot-6 wingspan.
This is what growth looks like for an offensive line.
Paul has allowed two sacks and nine pressures this season in his 458 snaps, so he hasn’t been perfect. He has also committed five penalties.
But from a comparison standpoint, former Dolphins offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil, a five-time Pro Bowler who is recognized as one of the best in the game, has allowed one sack, 19 pressures and committed nine penalties for the Washington Commanders this season.
At Paul’s pace he will become general manager Chris Grier’s best draft pick since he selected Tunsil and cornerback Xavien Howard, two Pro Bowlers, in the 2016 Draft.
Paul’s far from a finished product, but he’s clearly headed in the right direction in his second season.
In fact, I would argue he’s the one untouchable player on the Dolphins roster heading into Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline because an upper-echelon left tackle is worth at least one first-round draft pick. And a young one who is approaching the prime of his career is worth more, much more.
The one thing the Dolphins know is that Paul’s willing and ready to do the work.
“He came in with the mind-set I got to be good right now,” center Aaron Brewer said about Paul’s second offseason program, where he was often one of the first players in the building. “No half-stepping.”
As a result, his body got stronger and leaner, and the changes are showing up in his play.
Tagovailoa realized Paul had turned the corner, becoming a force during training camp because he would consistently stonewall Miami’s best pass rushers. Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips admitted the most irritating part of going against Paul was his full body laugh after he would effectively stop one of their rushes.
It’s as if his laughter hurt just as much as his jab.
“You can see he has something to him based on how he’s talking. I’m like ‘Dude, this guy has no fear,’” Tagovailoa said. “He’s able to clamp guys off and [then] let them know.”
If Paul keeps playing the way he has this season, soon enough the entire NFL will know.
