Tag: Dolphins training camp

What we learned from release of Dolphins’ 2022 depth chart

The return roles are certainly interesting.

The Miami Dolphins are set to play their first preseason game of the 2022 NFL season this week, as they travel to Tampa Bay for joint practices and a Saturday matchup with the Buccaneers.

Training camp has gone well for Miami, with some of their more important players showing that they’re making improvements and continuing to grow in their careers. However, there are still some obvious things to be concerned about.

On Monday, the Dolphins released their depth chart for joint practices and their game later in the week. Here are some interesting nuggets that we learned from the depth chart.

Report: Dolphins have discussed trading Preston Williams, Lynn Bowden

Williams has already made his feelings on his position on the team known.

The Miami Dolphins spent this offseason improving their offense, which included acquiring a number of talented wide receivers.

Veterans Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson Jr. joined Jaylen Waddle, who broke the NFL’s rookie reception record last year, forming a formidable top three. Beyond them, Miami has a number of players likely vying for three spots on the depth chart.

With fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma and undrafted free agent Braylon Sanders impressing those attending training camp, there may be a few capable NFL receivers who may be out of jobs in South Florida. If that’s the case, the Dolphins would be smart to be taking calls on some of those guys.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Miami is doing exactly that. Breer reports that the Dolphins have had trade conversations centering around Preston Williams and Lynn Bowden Jr.

Both players have gotten limited opportunities in training camp, to this point, and Williams has already made it known that he’s unhappy with his playing time.

While depth is a great thing for this developing team, there just aren’t enough spots to roster all of these talented players. Miami may be better suited taking other teams’ draft picks or players at positions of need.

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Dolphins’ Sam Eguavoen says he thrives with his back against the wall

There’s a lot of competition at his position.

This offseason, the Miami Dolphins were set to have nearly all of their linebackers hitting free agency, but they decided to bring most of the group back on one-year deals.

That group includes Sam Eguavoen, who has been with Miami since 2019 after three seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL. Entering his fourth season with the Dolphins and his first under new head coach Mike McDaniel, he’ll have to prove that he’s deserving of not only a spot on the roster but playing time once the season starts.

After Sunday’s training camp session, Eguavoen was asked about dealing with competition, and he explained that it’s something he’s used to.

“Always competition,” Eguavoen said. “That’s just how I grew up. I was competing with my brother, and now I’m competing with my brothers in here. I embrace competition. I hype up the guys in front of me, I hype up the guys behind me, but I’m always comfortable. I’m always comfortable with my back against the wall. I get nervous when it isn’t against the wall. Just like you’re going to a bar, you always get to the back wall so you can see everything. So, I’m comfortable and I embrace competition.”

The former Red Raider said that he’s been working a lot at inside linebacker, a position that currently boasts Elandon Roberts, Duke Riley, Jerome Baker and rookie Channing Tindall. While there may be more results and promise with some of the guys around him, Eguavoen is still going to hit the competition with the same ferocity.

“I mean, it’s always the same thing,” he said. “That’s just the NFL. It’s a mindset thing, whether– even if I’m Tindall and I’m (drafted in the) third round or I got drafted first round. You have to have the mindset of my back is against the wall. I don’t care if I may be favored or anything like that because the goal is to stay in the league for a long time, and if you don’t have that mindset of ‘(competition (means) somebody is coming for your job,’ you’re not going to last. So I don’t look at the draft (and say), ‘Oh dang, they drafted a linebacker.’ At the end of the day, I have to do my best. I have to put my best foot forward and whatever happens, happens, and I’m OK with that.”

With his versatility and experience, Eguavoen has as good of a shot as any to make it through the final cuts.

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Notes from Day 10 of Dolphins training camp

One more public day before joint practices.

The Miami Dolphins took the field on Sunday for their last public practice at Baptist Health Training Complex for a while, as this upcoming week will consist of private sessions and joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Sunday’s practice was led off by undrafted rookie linebacker Deandre Johnson hyping up the fans in attendance with Dolphins mascot T.D. Fans were lucky to see another exciting day from Mike McDaniel’s team.

Here’s what we learned from Miami’s tenth day of training camp.

Jaylen Waddle shares what it’s like learning from Wes Welker

The coach has learned a lot from Mike McDaniel.

When the Miami Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel to be their new head coach this offseason, it wasn’t just the former offensive coordinator who made the trip from San Francisco to South Florida.

McDaniel was joined by Jon Embree and Wes Welker, two assistant coaches who could really help Miami’s offense. While Embree has been coaching since the early 1990s, Welker only retired from playing just a few years back and is fairly new to the profession.

It was actually Miami where Welker started to showcase his skills as a receiver and returner from 2004-06 before he was traded to the New England Patriots.

Now, instead of making plays on the field, he’s in charge of a young, talented wide receiver room that boasts the likes of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle as the top two players on the depth chart.

Waddle spoke about learning from Welker after practice on Friday, and it’s clear the former Dolphin has the respect of his guys.

“It’s a different approach because he actually played and he had success in this league,” Waddle said. “You really take into consideration what he’s telling you because he did it before. It just makes it hit home a little better.

“I think he’s just himself. Out here and in meetings, he’s himself. He’s not going to sugarcoat nothing. He’s going to tell you if that was a bad play, that’s a bad play. That’s all you can ask for from a coach, honestly, is to give his true opinion.”

This is Welker’s sixth season as a coach in the NFL and his fourth working with McDaniel. That relationship has blossomed, and the head coach has taught him a few things about how to get the receivers prepared, including how to cut impactful coaching tape.

Waddle says the tape that Welker shows can really help a player, especially if reps aren’t perfect.

“It’s good,” Waddle said. “It makes it full circle, especially if you mess up and he shows you a play that you get the same look from the defense – kind of how it’s supposed to be. So he paints that picture in your mind so the next time you go out there, what to expect and how you’re going to treat it.”

While it’s only been seven seasons since Welker last played in an NFL game, he’s quickly catching on and becoming a respected positional coach in the league. Helping Waddle continue to grow and a guy like Erik Ezukanma, a former Red Raider like Welker, get adjusted to the league can only be beneficial for the young coach in the early stages of this new career.

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Tyreek Hill says he’s ‘sick of going up against Xavien Howard’ in practice

He’ll get to face another team’s cornerbacks this week.

For nine days, the Miami Dolphins have been going against each other on the practice fields at the Baptist Health Training Complex. While they’ve been enjoying the competition of practicing against themselves, practicing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week will be a welcomed change.

After Saturday’s training camp session, wide receiver Tyreek Hill was asked if he’s getting antsy to compete against other players, and in his answer, he paid a high compliment to Miami’s top cornerback.

“Yeah, man. I’m really sick of going against ‘X’ (Xavien Howard), man,” Hill said. “He’s been locking me up in practice. I’m really eager to go against somebody else. Somebody that I’ve played twice. I really can’t wait to get to Tampa and I know the guys are very eager to get down there as well to play. Everybody is excited.”

Hill and Howard have had their battles at practice, and obviously, both players have walked out with their own victories. It’s that constant competition between a top cornerback and a top wideout that sharpens even the best players’ skills.

If Hill can get beat Howard, he should have no problem with most cornerbacks for the 31 other teams, and the same could be assumed of Howard against other receivers.

Everything looks different in joint practices, so we’ll see if both players continue to show up and show out each and every day against another team with a new coach in Tampa Bay.

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Quick-hit takeaways from Day 9 of Dolphins’ training camp

Any practice that start’s with “Public Service Announcement” is a good one.

On Saturday, the Miami Dolphins hit the practice fields at the Baptist Health Training Complex across from Hard Rock Stadium for the second day in a row. Once again, fans were in attendance and got to enjoy some solid competition with both sides recording some highlight plays.

As is customary, the fans were pumped up by the rookies, and for this session, those duties fell into the hands of defensive linemen Ben Stille and Jordan Williams. Stille dropped to the ground and showed off his best dance move – the worm, while Williams supported.

That’s the type of practice it was going to be. Here’s what we learned from the ninth day of Dolphins’ training camp.

Quick-hit takeaways from Day 8 of Dolphins’ training camp

Back to work.

The Miami Dolphins had a day off from the practice fields at the Baptist Health Training Complex in Miami Gardens on Thursday, but they were right back it for more work on Friday in front of many fans in attendance.

Head coach Mike McDaniel led his team in practice, but it was undrafted rookie offensive lineman Kellen Diesch that was tasked with pumping up the fans in the crowd, and he did a great job. It might not have been as exciting as Blaise Andries’ day, but it was a solid effort.

Here’s what we learned from Friday’s training camp session.

Mike McDaniel says he’s not concerned with Connor Williams’ snapping struggles

Unfortunately, they don’t have a ton of options at this point.

This offseason, the Miami Dolphins made a concerted effort to improve their offensive line after it was one of the worst units in the league in 2021.

That resulted in former New Orleans Saints left tackle Terron Armstead and former Dallas Cowboys left guard Connor Williams joining the Dolphins roster during free agency. While Armstead will be remaining at his primary position, Williams has been practicing at center, a position that he’s never played meaningful NFL snaps.

During training camp, Williams has had his struggles in getting the ball snapped to his quarterbacks. The snaps aren’t going over their heads, but they’re off enough to be noticeable, and they’ve thrown off the timing of plays a number of times.

Prior to Friday’s session, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was asked about his confidence in Williams’ snapping ability, and the coach backed his player.

“I would be concerned if he didn’t work at it,” McDaniel said. “That is, even with guys that have been doing that for an extended period of time, shoot, Alex Mack last year, that is something that when you’re asking players to do various things post-snap out of the shotgun, you have to kinda learn how to negotiate the accuracy of those. I would be concerned if he wasn’t working at it. I’m very very confident in how far he’s come. He’s earned that because of his ownership of the position that he’s trying to go and take, and I think the rest of the team is pretty confident that that’s not necessarily an issue. There are a lot of snaps that are on target as well.”

It’s not just the work, it’s also the experience of the coaching staff.

“What’s cool is we have a plethora of offensive line coaches, as you guys know,” McDaniel said. “I have first-hand experience with Mike Person, as a player, doing the same thing. Those are things that aren’t lost, that you’re thinking about. It’s been cool. Little known fact, (offensive coordinator) Frank Smith was a center for Ben Roethlisberger in college. We have a good amount of center experience in our coaching staff, and that’s something that players can really lean on and is very helpful. That’s why I haven’t really been that concerned about it because I do have history with moving guards to center and understand the little bumps in the road along the process.”

With former Dolphins starting center Michael Deiter sidelined with a foot injury, the only other true center option for Miami is Cole Banwart at this moment.

Williams will continue to work on the most important aspect of his new position, but if he can’t adjust and do it consistently, many will wonder if it’s just a matter of time before he’s back at guard.

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Slimming down has been an objective for Dolphins entering 2022

It’s all about being the most athletic they can be.

After the second day of padded practices for the Miami Dolphins, right guard Robert Hunt had an opportunity to speak to the media, and the first topic of discussion was how slim he looks.

“I appreciate that, thank you,” he replies. “Since spring? Probably – I can’t give you an answer. I’m a lot slimmer though. I’m a lot slimmer since spring. A lot slimmer.”

The former Lousiana Ragin’ Cajun said that he loses roughly two pounds per practice session.

Hunt hasn’t been the only one to talk about weight loss during the offseason program. Staring across from Hunt is often interior defensive lineman Raekwon Davis, who has also slimmed down a bit.

“I’ll start off by saying I started like, a meal prep,” Davis said. “I got my diet better first. I started with that. I started more cardio. Even after practice, I do my cardio, stay on top of my shape. Because I’m a big guy so it’s so easy for me to like, consume weight, to put on that weight, so I just try to do my best to maintain it throughout the camp and try to have it right there to have it at for the season.”

Davis mentioned that this is the lightest he’s been since his sophomore season at Alabama.

And, on the right side of Hunt is Austin Jackson, who’s making the switch to his third position in as many seasons. He’s also dropped some pounds.

“My body fat is down a lot,” Jackson said. “I would say probably like eight percent from last year. I had a really good – really great offseason. I won’t say good, I’m going to say great. A really great offseason. I reported around this time last year at the upper 320s, and I’m now at like a really lean 310 with my lean muscle mass higher as well.”

All of this is done in an effort to have the big men in South Florida capitalize on their athleticism. Speed has been on the main talking points in Miami this offseason, and if the Dolphins’ line wants to stay in front of guys who are as fast as Raheem Mostert, they’re going to have to be in great shape.

Head coach Mike McDaniel confirmed this is something they want the team working on.

“It was kind of a concerted effort by the coaching staff, both starting with (Offensive Coordinator) Frank Smith and (Defensive Coordinator) Josh Boyer, but trickling down to each and every position coach and their assistants that the idea is to show them a vision of what we want to be,” McDaniel said. “On both sides of the ball in both retrospects, it behooves a player to be at the maximum athleticism – their maximum explosion, their maximum speed with flexibility, all of those things. We did, I think, a good job in the offseason kind of really painting that picture for them, and it’s to the player’s credit.”

Players are probably appreciative of that work now, as they’re stepping on a field that’s close to 100 degrees every single day. However, they’ll be even more appreciative if they can outrun and out-burst their opponents on gamedays.

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