Tag: Jonnu Smith

Jonnu Smith says Dolphins teammate is ‘LeBron James of the NFL’

“The guy is 1,000 years old and playing like he’s 21.”

LeBron James will turn 40 next month, but the NBA legend’s production on the court doesn’t show it. The Los Angeles Lakers star is averaging 23.3 points, 9.2 assists, and 8.6 rebounds per game so far in his 22nd career season.

Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith says there’s a player on his team that has managed similar age-defying play.

“Calais [Campbell] is one of my favorite teammates in all the sports I’ve played,” Smith said Monday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “He’s like the LeBron James of the NFL right now. As far as his age and the production that he brings to the game, still playing at a high level. The guy is 1,000 years old and playing like he’s 21.

“The best leader I’ve been around. Good dude, good person, deserves everything that’s coming to him.”

Campbell, 38, recorded his fourth sack of the 2024 season in a 34-19 win against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. It brought his career total to 109.5, moving him into a tie for 29th all-time. With two more sacks, he’d pass fellow future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald for 28th.

The Dolphins signed Campbell to a one-year, $2 million contract in the offseason. In August, he revealed it was “the cheapest offer” he received “by a large margin,” but he took the deal because he believed in the team.

When the Dolphins spiraled to a 2-6 start to the year, they reportedly received calls from other teams looking to acquire Campbell before the midseason trade deadline. But Miami spurned those offers to keep the 17th-year defensive lineman.

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Dolphins player of the game, Week 11: TE Jonnu Smith

All six of Jonnu Smith’s receptions Sunday resulted in either a first down or a touchdown.

In a 34-19 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Miami Dolphins offense was surgical and efficient. The most reliable and dynamic target for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who had to consistently get the ball out quick, was tight end Jonnu Smith.

The veteran pass catcher finished his big day with six receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns.

Smith’s first touchdown occurred on the opening drive of the game. Miami embarked on a 14-play, 70-yard drive that took over eight minutes off the clock. The Dolphins found themselves in a fourth-and-goal situation a yard away from the end zone and Tagovailoa connected with Smith for the game’s first touchdown.

Smith’s second touchdown was the dagger of the game when Tagovaioa found the tight end wide open in the middle of the field for a 57-yard touchdown

That touchdown was the final blow and all but sealed a Dolphins victory. All six of Smith’s receptions Sunday resulted in either a first down or a touchdown.

After a slow start to the season, Smith has settled into the Miami offense and has found a significant role, becoming one of Tagovailoa’s favorite targets. That was especially evident Sunday in a stellar performance.

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Bills troll Jonnu Smith for Buffalo wings take after 30-27 win

The Bills wasted no time reminding Jonnu Smith about his July comments that “the Buffalo wings ain’t even good.”

Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith made himself a villain in Buffalo during the offseason when he insulted both the city and one of their most cherished inventions: Buffalo wings.

“It’s the worst place you can be in the world,” Smith said of Buffalo on The Dive Bar Podcast in July. “And the Buffalo wings ain’t even good. They ain’t even good. I’m throwing all types of shots at Buffalo.”

The Buffalo Bills heard.

After a 30-27 win Sunday, the first thing the Bills’ social media team did was remind the world of Smith’s offseason comments.

While the Dolphins came up short in the Week 9 loss, Smith did his part in helping the offense put up strong numbers against Buffalo. The tight end hauled in five receptions for 46 yards against the Bills secondary.

Through eight games, Smith is tied with De’Von Achane for the third most receiving yards on the team with 302.

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Chiefs veteran extends olive branch to Bills fans with hot take on Buffalo wings

#Chiefs DL Chris Jones may have helped squash the #Bills’ beef with Kansas City after making a comment about Buffalo wings on Twitter.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills have developed an impressive rivalry in the Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen era, and with a Week 11 matchup between the AFC powerhouses on the horizon, tensions between the teams may hit a fever pitch in November.

But Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones isn’t letting Kansas City’s competition with the Bills get the best of him.

When word spread that Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith had trashed Buffalo’s famous hot chicken wings, Jones took to Twitter to voice his opinion on upstate New York’s culinary merit.

Check out what Jones had to say about Smith’s comments:

 

Though Jones won’t let his affinity for Bar-Bill wings stand in the way of a dominant showing against the Bills in Week 11, this gesture of good-faith gastronomical analysis is sure to endear him to fans in Buffalo, even if only temporarily.

Jonnu Smith: ‘The Colts didn’t beat us. The Dolphins beat us’

Jonnu Smith says the Dolphins were their own worst enemy Sunday.

Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith put together his best performance with the team on Sunday, recording seven receptions for 96 yards that included a 10-yard touchdown reception.

It wasn’t enough.

Despite Smith earning a team-best 91.2 grade from PFF, the Dolphins were shut out in the second half of a 16-10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. And according to the veteran tight end, the defeat had much more to do with mistakes made by Miami than anything the Colts threw at them.

“It felt like this is one we let get away from us,” Smith told reporters after the game. “It’s just a few mistakes here and there. The Colts didn’t beat us. The Dolphins beat us today. Don’t get me wrong, all respect to them that came out here and did enough to win. But from us, for our perspective, I feel like the Dolphins beat us today.”

The Dolphins out-gained the Colts by more than 50 yards (337 to 284), but a couple fumbles from Raheem Mostert and Alec Ingold proved especially costly. Mostert’s afforded the Colts the field position they needed to score their only touchdown of the day. Ingold’s wasted an opportunity in the red zone when the score was tied 10-10.

“It wasn’t one specific play,” Smith said. “It was us collectively, all 11 in all three phases. We didn’t do enough and didn’t play to the standard that we all play at, including myself. Nobody is excluded from this.”

The return of Tua Tagovailoa, who has been out since Week 2 due to a concussion, could go a long way toward cleaning up many of the errors that have plagued the Dolphins. Particularly, their issue with pre-snap penalties.

On Sunday, Miami racked up 50 yards of penalties — double the Colts’ 25 penalty yards — which didn’t include two infractions that were declined and a defensive pass interference that was offset by an Indianapolis illegal formation.

The Dolphins will play the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8 before a divisional rematch with the Buffalo Bills in Week 9.

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Tyler Huntley got Dolphins receivers back early from bye for extra work

Tyler Huntley didn’t “want to bother too many guys,” but he convinced a couple Dolphins pass catchers to come back early from their bye.

The Miami Dolphins had a week off to get healthy and reset after a rough start to the year, but Tyler Huntley spent that time working to catch up on the offense.

On Monday, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said that Huntley used the time to “jump into” the offense ahead of his third straight start in relief of the injured Tua Tagovailoa. On Wednesday, Huntley revealed that he asked some Miami pass catchers to come back early from their time resting to get some extra work.

“I didn’t really want to bother too many guys, you know what I mean?” Huntley said. “The guys that were able to come back early and had a chance to catch a few passes, it was good.”

Huntley didn’t want to specifically say which players cut their bye week short to get back to work. Tight end Jonnu Smith was the only one specifically mentioned by name.

“I think we’ve all seen a big jump from the first week he was with us to the second one, and he’s gotten a lot more comfortable,” Smith said of Huntley earlier this week. “We were able to go in there and win with him and we’ve showed that we can do that and that’s just the expectation. He’s a phenomenal, phenomenal player but a better person, so I’m glad to have that guy back there leading us.”

In Huntley’s first start, the Dolphins struggled to get going, finishing with only 78 passing yards and 184 yards of total offense in a loss against the Tennessee Titans. A week later, Miami more than doubled those totals with 372 offensive yards and 179 passing yards in a win against the New England Patriots.

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Mike McDaniel explains ‘F’ position on Dolphins’ depth chart

Alec Ingold and Jonnu Smith are both listed as ‘F’ on the Dolphins’ latest depth chart.

When the Miami Dolphins released their official depth chart ahead of a Week 1 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was hard to miss one significant change.

Jonnu Smith and Tanner Conner, who were previously listed as tight ends, were grouped with Pro Bowl fullback Alec Ingold at a newly added position labeled “F,” which isn’t short for “fullback.”

“Most of the time our fullback — by definition of what a fullback is known to be — isn’t playing fullback,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel explained Wednesday. “He’s playing receiver, or tight end, or a multitude of things. For us, F can be a third down target, can be a core blocking tool, an asset, a guy you’re trying to get the ball to in space. Maybe if you have some players that occupy a lot of space that defenses have to regard, Fs can take advantage of underneath space in defense.

“What is an F? He’s not the Y, Z, or X, and he’s a good football player that probably has some skills that the football team can benefit from.”

Ingold, 28, joined the Dolphins as a free agent in 2022 after beginning his career with the Las Vegas Raiders. While listed as a fullback in his first two seasons in Miami, McDaniel is right that Ingold did much more than just that.

In his 426 offensive snaps last season, Ingold was lined up at fullback 184 times, according to PFF. The other 242 snaps saw Ingold at everywhere from slot receiver and wide out to tight end and running back.

https://twitter.com/Jason_Sarney/status/1700979286906405177/

So even though the F made its depth chart debut Wednesday, it’s far from a new concept for the Dolphins. McDaniel even talked about it near the beginning of training camp.

“The most challenging position each and every week to learn the plan of attack is in that F-position, which is both tight ends and fullbacks,” McDaniel said on Aug. 3. “And the versatility of that room, turn the page, there’s the versatility of your offense. And I think that role is ever-expanding based upon what the defense presents.”

It’s also no surprise that the Dolphins will look to get Smith involved in more ways than a traditional tight end role. They showed as much in preseason with Smith getting some creative touches in his limited snaps.

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“He’s used in multiple ways, as you guys have seen,” Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said of Smith in August. “We look at him sort of as a YAC monster. He catches the ball, and he can get some yards after the catch. He’s very versatile in what we can do with him. We’re just slowly, slowly finding things to do with guys like ‘Nu.’”

And that’s what it mostly boils down to: the F is a player who is versatile and will get the ball in multiple ways. Ingold and Smith fit the job description.

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Dolphins TE Jonnu Smith is a ‘galvanizer’ in more ways than one

Jonnu Smith signed with Miami on a two-year, $8.4 million contract this offseason, and he showed glimpses of what he could do Saturday.

More than seven years ago, Frank Smith got his first taste of what tight end Jonnu Smith could do on the football field.

Frank Smith was part of the coaching staff that worked with the former Florida International player at the 2017 Senior Bowl, and it was immediately clear that Jonnu Smith was meant to play in the NFL.

“You could just see when he was coming out of FIU, certain things were new to him, but he was just a guy who got football. He got it fast,” Smith said earlier this week. “To watch him and see how his career has gone has been awesome … you knew this guy is going to be a good pro, and he’s going to have a long career.”

Now, the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator gets to use his talents over the course of a full season. Smith signed with Miami on a two-year, $8.4 million contract this offseason, and he made his debut in the Dolphins offense on Saturday.

The former Titans, Patriots and Falcons player made his first catch in aqua against the Commanders. He ended the night with four catches for 23 yards, including a jet sweep touch pass play that showed glimpses of how he could be used throughout the season.

While Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel wouldn’t own up to any pre-planned packages for the multi-faceted player, he did say Saturday was a step forward in getting Smith comfortable in the offense.

“It was important for us to get him some burn that way so he could be comfortable like we know him to be and for him to be his best self,” McDaniel said Wednesday. “Jonnu is an example of, I think there’s multiple players offensively for us that can serve different roles at different times, which from a schematic standpoint, you’re able to present different problems in varied personnel groups and feature different skill sets that makes your offense more multiple.”

Outside of what Smith’s talents provide to the Dolphins offensive game plan, his personality and physicality make him a valuable asset for Miami, McDaniel said. The head coach mentioned Smith’s physicality, while Smith praised the tight end’s willingness to play a blocking role in a play-action offense.

And it doesn’t hurt that he’s invigorating the sideline.

“I think his second touch during the last preseason game was cool for multiple reasons,” McDaniel said. “If you look back on it, seeing some of his teammates on the sidelines and what energy he brings to the game, how connected the team is at this stage. I think we’ve been a very close team the last couple years, and I think we’re much further along in those relationships, and so that’s exciting for us. I think he is a galvanizer, and I think (on) the sidelines you can see how that is.”

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Dolphins excited to keep ‘finding things to do’ with TE Jonnu Smith

Tua Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel are enjoying finding ways to get Jonnu Smith involved in the Dolphins offense.

Jonnu Smith got his first action in a Miami Dolphins jersey Saturday night when he caught four passes for 23 yards in a preseason game against the Washington Commanders. It wasn’t a huge stat line, but Smith also didn’t play a ton of snaps.

The tight end — who signed a two-year deal with the Dolphins in March — offered a peek behind the curtain at what his role could be when the Miami offense kicks into full gear in September.

While he caught a few short passes, it was his 9-yard gain on a misdirection touch pass that stood out as a potentially interesting wrinkle for the Dolphins.

“He’s used in multiple ways, as you guys have seen,” Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said after the game. “We look at him sort of as a YAC monster. He catches the ball, and he can get some yards after the catch. He’s very versatile in what we can do with him. We’re just slowly, slowly finding things to do with guys like ‘Nu.’”

Mike McDaniel echoed that sentiment in his postgame press conference.

“I think there’s times when your offense is clicking that defenses will really just try to defend space, and really the field is expanded so to speak with where the defenders are defending in those situations, having fast, aggressive playmakers with the ball in their hands,” McDaniel said. “They can take advantage of those types of things so I think he’s a great addition to our team, and I think there’s a multitude of ways that you can use players, and he’s no exception.”

Smith finished last season with 50 receptions for 582 yards and three touchdowns during a one-year stint with the Atlanta Falcons. That kind of production would be a welcomed addition for the Dolphins, who saw only Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle eclipse 400 receiving yards during the 2023 season.

The preseason debut of Smith offered plenty of signs that he could put up those kind of numbers — and perhaps much more — in Miami.

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Dolphins’ Jonnu Smith takes shots at Buffalo, Bills Mafia and more: ‘Worst place you could be’

Nice guy…

Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith had next to nothing nice to say about the city of Buffalo, the Bills, fans, and more in western New York during a recent interview.

“That’s why the fans be hating so much because they want to be down here (in Miami),” Smith said. “I don’t know how those dudes do it. I don’t know how they did it. I don’t know how they did it, man. Going from anywhere in the country, man, and going to Buffalo. It got to be the worst place you could be.”

Smith even went on to take shots at chicken wings, too. Oh boy, that’s going to go over well with Bills Mafia…

Smith previously spent time with the New England Patriots and signed with the Dolphins this offseason.

The clip of Smith can be found below:

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