Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
A few young Dolphins should have larger roles in 2024.
Miami Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has put together a talented roster loaded with superstar veterans and rising youngsters that was good enough to make the postseason in 2023.
While Grier will have his work cut out for him over the next several months through free agency and draft season, there are some players on the roster who should see their playing time go up next year.
Let’s take a look at three Dolphins who should get more opportunities in 2024.
A look at Miami’s linebackers, and the year they had in 2023.
The Miami Dolphins finished their 2023 campaign with an 11-6 record and made the postseason for the second time in as many years under head coach Mike McDaniel. Unfortunately, it came to an end with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round.
While other teams are in the midst of their playoff run, it’s time to do some reflecting on the team in South Florida.
Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be reviewing and evaluating different positions for the Dolphins in 2023. Today, we’ll look at the linebackers.
His rookie year was unimpressive.
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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It was a bit of a mixed bag from the linebackers.
The Miami Dolphins have finished their search for a defensive coordinator, as Vic Fangio will officially take over once the Philadelphia Eagles’ season finishes in the Super Bowl.
Fangio will have a talented unit to work with, considering there will be a few from the 2022 team returning.
For now, we’ll keep reviewing the performances of different position groups from the last season.
After starting with the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, offensive linemen and defensive linemen, we’ll continue the defense with the second level. These are the grades for the Dolphins linebackers during the campaign.
The undrafted players did more than those who were selected.
The 2022 Miami Dolphins didn’t reach the heights that they would’ve liked, but they still found their way into a playoff game for the first time in six years and lost by just three points to a team that was one of the best in the league.
While Mike McDaniel’s team got a great deal from the veterans, some of the first-year players made an impact on the field as well.
Today, we’ll take a look at the seasons of four rookies that the Dolphins used draft picks on, as well as some that they didn’t.
The rookie likely won’t play on Sunday.
The Miami Dolphins are headed into this Sunday afternoon matchup with the Baltimore Ravens with a few players whose status for the game is up in the air.
According to Pro Football Network’s Adam Beasley, Miami has added linebacker Channing Tindall to that list, as he’s been listed as doubtful due to an illness.
The third-round pick out of Georgia was expected to take on a decent role at some point this season, but he started out playing just two special teams snaps in the season opener against the New England Patriots.
Miami will likely still have most of their other linebackers for this contest, with Andrew Van Ginkel getting more playing time, as he’s further removed from having his appendix taken out.
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Some quick thoughts on the game, and Miami’s release of their depth chart.
The Miami Dolphins will be opening their 2022 season against the New England Patriots this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium. It will mark the 11th time in team history, and the third-straight year, that these franchises open the season against each other.
Miami’s all-time record against New England is 59-54, and the teams are 5-5 in openers against each other. The Dolphins are 3-1 when opening the season at home against the Patriots. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is also 3-0 against New England so far in his career.
This opener is coach Mike McDaniel’s first regular season game as head coach of the Dolphins. Across the field will, of course, be Bill Belichick, and as McDaniel jokingly put it during Monday’s press conference, “Can there be a larger disparity in career win-loss total?”
While McDaniel is looking for his first win, Belichick is third all-time with 290 regular season wins, behind only Don Shula and George Halas.
McDaniel realizes this is not a coaching matchup, and told the media, “luckily, the schedule came out a long time ago, so I digested that and knew what Week 1 was, and luckily it’s the Miami Dolphins versus New England Patriots and not a one-on-one square-off between head coaches.”
The Dolphins will look to start fast out of the gate, and newly acquired wide-receiver Tyreek Hill has a career habit of that. In his six NFL seasons, Hill has scored six touchdowns in Week 1 games, while averaging 95 receiving yards in the opening contest through those seasons.
In addition to Hill, there are playmakers all over the field for Miami, as they hope to extend their current home win streak of six games and three-game streak against New England.
The Dolphins will be without their star cornerback Byron Jones, and, as per Miami’s depth chart, Nik Needham is listed opposite superstar Xavien Howard. Slot duties could be handled by depth corners Keion Crossen or Kader Kohou, or even more creative with safeties rotating in the nickel corner role with Needham filling in for Jones.
Needham is a natural boundary cornerback, although he was moved to the slot last season and proved to handle the transition admirably. He was among the NFL’s top-producing slot corners in 2021.
Other depth chart notes include the initial starting offensive line, which will see Terron Armstead at left tackle, Liam Eichenberg at left guard, Conner Williams at center, Robert Hunt at right guard and Austin Jackson at right tackle.
Handling the kickoff returns will be the duo of Raheem Mostert and Jaylen Waddle, while Hill will return punts.
The running backs and wide receiver charts are status quo, as is the tight end room. Mike Gesicki, who’s adapting to the McDaniel need for his tight ends to block, is listed as the starter with Durham Smythe and Hunter Long behind him, followed by Cethan Carter and rookie project Tanner Conner.
As for the defensive front seven, Melvin Ingram is another veteran Miami added in the offseason who’s listed as a starting outside linebacker opposite second-year stud, Jaelan Phillips. Jerome Baker and Elandon Roberts will man the middle with rookie Channing Tindall, Duke Riley and Sam Eguavoen adding depth.
Additionally, Andrew Van Ginkel could be making his return from an appendix removal just a few weeks ago to provide a rotation in the pass-rush along with newly signed Trey Flowers.
The Patriots flew down to Miami on Tuesday in order to get themselves acclimated to the September heat and hometown humidity of South Florida. McDaniel had a bit of advice for his opponents after starting with, “I feel very lucky, almost overly lucky that I get to work on my tan all the time.”
He concluded his presser with, “I’m sure there’s a lot of players and coaches for the Patriots that’ll be excited to bronze up a little bit before the TV regular season starts. So I know that for a fact that if you don’t put sunscreen on, you will get bronzed. So, factually, they better SPF up.”
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Three are rookies, and one is a veteran.
When rookies are drafted or signed to their organization, they typically have limited numbers that they can choose from due to their being many players on the roster already.
Miami Dolphins rookie linebacker Channing Tindall, who was the team’s first draft pick in 2022, got No. 51 when he arrived in South Florida after wearing No. 41 during his collegiate career at Georgia. No. 41 was being worn by linebacker Darius Hodge, but Hodge was recently released during the roster cutdowns.
With that, Tindall shared on his Instagram story that he’s going back to his collegiate number for the season.
Erik Ezukanma, another Dolphins rookie, is also changing his number. While he wore No. 84 and No. 13 at Texas Tech and had been wearing No. 87 in Miami, he’ll be wearing No. 18 going forward. That number was previously held by Preston Williams.
Undrafted rookie tight end Tanner Conner, who had been wearing No. 48 in the preseason, is switching back to his collegiate number – No. 80, which was held by tight end Adam Shaheen. Shaheen is on season-ending injured reserve after knee surgery.
One player that’s changing their number that isn’t a rookie is running back Myles Gaskin. Gaskin had worn No. 37 during his time in Miami, but he’s moving on from that and is switching to No. 3. Lynn Bowden Jr. had worn No. 3 this offseason, and Will Fuller donned it last season.
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Georgia DI Jalen Carter might have been the best player on 2021’s historic defense. Carter seems ready to be even better in 2022.
The Georgia Bulldogs’ 2021 defense was historically great, and that reflected in Georgia’s draft status on that side of the ball in 2022. Edge-rusher Travon Walker went first overall to the Jaguars. DI Jordan Davis went to the Eagles with the 13th pick, linebacker Quay Walker went to the Packers 22nd overall, DI Devonte Wyatt also went to Green Bay, this time with the 28th pick, and safety Lewis Cine finished out the first round, going to the Vikings with the 32nd pick.
Five defensive players from one school in one first round? That’s the most ever. Linebackers Nakobe Dean (Eagles) and Channing Tindall (Dolphins) each went in the third round, so if you want to know how great that defense was, and those players were… there’s your answer.
Still, when you ask people familiar with Georgia’s defense, many will tell you that the best player on that defense in 2021 is still on the Bulldogs’ roster. That would be DI Jalen Carter, who’s eligible for the 2023 draft. Last season, Carter totaled four sacks, six quarterback hits, and 24 quarterback hurries. But as we have detailed, you can’t analyze Georgia’s defenders based on pressure numbers; you’ll miss the forest for the trees. You have to watch the tape, and in Georgia’s 2022 opener against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday afternoon, Carter already looked in playoff form. On this tackle for loss, Carter (No. 88) took Oregon’s Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu — all six-foot-6 and 330 pounds of him — and threw him aside like the proverbial sack of potatoes.
Jalen Carter lmao pic.twitter.com/3MTCBpFoBh
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) September 3, 2022
The six-foot-3,m 310-pound Carter had a knack for plays like this last season. Here, Georgia Tech’s right tackle tried to keep up with Carter on the edge, and one simple swipe move later, it was all over.
And on this play against Kentucky… well, I’m not sure how the right guard was supposed to deal with Carter’s ungodly combination of quickness across the blocker’s face and speed to the pocket, but it wasn’t this.
And if you’re going to run a simple slide against Carter, as UAB did here, you’re basically bringing a spork to a gunfight.
We’ll get a lot more into Carter’s pass-rushing abilities as time goes on — he seems like a lead-pipe top-three pick if this keeps up, and I had him going second overall to the Texans in my most recent mock draft, behind only Alabama EDGE Will Anderson Jr. to the Falcons first overall. This is just a reminder to Georgia’s opponents that unless you get off the ball very quickly, and you bring all kinds of help to deal with him, Jalen Carter is going to ruin your offense.
The highest-ranked Dolphin at these positions might be a bit surprising.
With the end of another NFL offseason insight, football fans are eagerly awaiting the release of the newest installment of the Madden video game series, Madden 23.
After the release of wide receiver and tight end ratings on Monday, EA Sports, the publishers of the game, released EDGE defender and linebacker ratings on Tuesday. The Dolphins have a top 10 linebacker and a top 10 defensive end, according to Madden.
Here’s a look at most of Miami’s EDGE defenders and linebacker ratings for launch and how they compare to other players at the same position
There will be more ratings coming out before the game’s release on August 19.
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