The Miami Dolphins’ running back reclamation project produced significant change this offseason. In the immediate aftermath of the 2019 season, in which the Dolphins produced their worst rushing attack in franchise history, Miami completely reshaped their backs with the signing of Jordan Howard and the trade of Day 3 of the 2020 NFL Draft to acquire Matt Breida from San Francisco. The fresh faces in the room figures to offer an exciting new challenge for running backs coach Eric Studesville — who was one of several Dolphins assistant coaches to meet with the South Florida media yesterday.
One of the first questions posed to Studesville was what dynamics each of the fresh faces in the room brings to the table.
“We’re excited about the addition of Jordan Howard, his experience, being in two different places and what he brings here. He’s a smart guy. He’s been able to pick things up so far, and what we’re talking about – teaching concepts. You love his size. He’s got good feet for a big back. He’s got good vision. I think he’ll have a chance to be a physical presence for us, as well as effective in the pass game with what we’re asking for,” said Studesville.
“Matt Breida obviously with his experience, his speed. You see his burst and quickness early on as soon as he touches the field, so we’re excited about him.”
These are different players with their strengths and weaknesses. Breida is the twice reigning fasted player in the NFL based on live-game action, he’s a blazer who has frequented in an outsize zone heavy rushing offense in San Francisco to start his pro career. Howard, on the other hand, met more success in a between the tackles role with the Chicago Bears early in his career before a brief (and productive) stop in Philadelphia in 2019.
But just because they’ve played in different styles before doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be ready to see either of them step into Miami’s offense and be ready to shoulder the load on any given week — because that’s what Studesville expects.
“I coach these guys to be complete backs. They all have to be able to have the entire skillset, whether that’s running, blocking, catching the ball, evading people, running routes, whatever those things are,” he said.
“They are all coached that way. Now they all do it differently and at a different level. However, the expectation is that you can do that because you never know when you’re going to need one of these guys to step in.”