The Miami Dolphins are likely thrilled with the continued development they’ve seen from tight end Mike Gesicki throughout the first month of the 2020 NFL season. Gesicki has been a productive weapon and continues to showcase a renewed nose for the end zone as a third-year talent. As Miami’s passing offense continues to grow and gel, the opportunities for Gesicki to receive targets figures to only expand from here.
But we’re here to tell you that the Dolphins have the chance to add a new dynamic to this offense with another tight end in the picture. The Dolphins run much of their offense through 11 personnel — but the lack of balance between the likes of Gesicki and the rest of the tight end room (Durham Smythe and Adam Shaheen) makes it quite apparent when the Dolphins are looking to pass and when they’re looking to throw.
So much so that the Dolphins are looking for creative workarounds, including running the same concepts to try to add an extra body onto the blocking surface by calling upon slot receiver Isaiah Ford at times. Miami will flex Ford tight to the line of scrimmage and have him run a return motion to try to indicate man or zone before either blocking play side or inserting across the set to pick off an end man on the line of scrimmage. In theory, it works well — but Ford isn’t built to serve as a blocker in the box. The Dolphins have run many of the same concepts with TE Durham Smythe, but Smythe’s presence offers very little to no threat in the passing game. Add in Gesicki’s limitations as a blocker and there’s no real answer to Miami finding balance with that extra body out of spread sets. Either the team compromises their blocking ability by trying to deceive opposing defenses and calling on Ford to block in the box or they tip their hand to runs by inserting Smythe into the mix.
The long-term answer may not be too far away. There are two “move” tight ends eligible for the 2021 NFL Draft in Kyle Pitts (Florida) and Brevin Jordan (Miami) who can do the best of Ford & Smythe combined. Perhaps that’s an area Miami could look to upgrade their offensive versatility? And doing so would change nothing about Mike Gesicki’s role in the offense; which is an added bonus. They’ll have another few months to review the existing pieces on the roster, but if more progress isn’t made, perhaps the 2021 NFL Draft can hold a solution.