The effort put forth by the Miami Dolphins’ special teams units this season could be described as pretty, well, special. The Dolphins have seen several herculean efforts in football’s third phase to help Miami overcome and make the necessary plays needed to reach the point they’ve now come to: a winning record after seven games and a legitimate chance to make a postseason push in 2020.
The latest star on the special teams unit is receiver Jakeem Grant, who was honored today for his efforts against the Los Angeles Rams by being named the AFC’s Special Teams Player of the Week.
You could try to catch him…but you won't 😏@_TheDreamIsHere is AFC Special Teams Player of the Week! pic.twitter.com/3hjjY17XKh
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 4, 2020
Grant joins Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders as Miami players who have claimed the award this season — and Grant’s breakout has felt a like a well-deserved performance that has been a long time coming. Grant has been close on a number of occasions to gaining the edge on kicks and that finally came to fruition for the Dolphins against the Rams.
It was first a kickoff return that netted the Dolphins starting field position near midfield, but the real shining performance was Grant’s 88-yard sprint to the end zone up the Dolphins’ sideline: the first punt return touchdown of the year in the NFL and the longest such punt return in the history of the franchise.
Grant may be an irregular contributor on the offensive side of the football, but his special teams value should never be questioned: he’s got blinding speed and needs just the smallest of creases to take it the distance. The Rams learned that the hard way on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium. And now the rest of the Dolphins’ opponents this season can say they’ve been properly warned; as Grant now has some hardware to show for his performance against the Rams as well.