After acquiring wide receiver Tyreek Hill from the Kansas City Chiefs last offseason, the Miami Dolphins were left with just four draft picks for the 2022 selection process.
Miami ended up using all four picks, the first, of which, was used to draft Georgia linebacker Channing Tindall.
While the Dolphins had put forth a concerted effort to re-sign all of their free agent linebackers last offseason, Tindall was allowed some time to learn and grow under the veterans.
He finished his rookie season with just nine defensive snaps and three total tackles in his 16 games.
Jumping from college to professional football is always difficult, especially when playbooks can vary so much. That’s something that slowed down the linebacker’s progression in his first year.
“The NFL playbook is very different from a college playbook,” Tindall told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “It took me a while to grasp it. I feel I’m in a good spot now. Even to this day, there’s stuff that’s confusing to me. Around midseason that’s when I started picking it up.”
Going into 2023, Miami has most of their linebackers hitting free agency once again, and it would be nice to know that the former Bulldog can be relied upon, but there’s no evidence of that just yet.
Tindall will likely see an increased role in his second season either way, as his skill set should fit certain packages and duties in Vic Fangio’s defense.
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