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As the Miami Dolphins work through their mandatory minicamp sessions, the battle for depth wide receiver spots continues.
Miami’s offense boasts a number of talented weapons, and the receiver room holds the majority of them. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are the impressive tandem at the top of the depth chart that recorded over 3,000 yards combined last season.
Behind them, veterans Braxton Berrios, Robbie Chosen (formerly Robbie Anderson) and Cedrick Wilson Jr. are expected to be the next three with varying roles.
However, a true first-world problem that the Dolphins have is that the depth goes beyond that. River Cracraft, Erik Ezukanma, Freddie Swain, Braylon Sanders, Chris Coleman and Daewood Davis are all fighting for a potential sixth spot on the active roster or practice squad jobs.
Ezukanma, Miami’s fourth-round selection out of Texas Tech in 2022, recorded just one reception for three yards as a rookie in his lone game on the gameday roster.
On Tuesday, head coach Mike McDaniel spoke about the former Red Raider and his progress heading into this second year.
“I challenged him – I was on the phone with him before this offseason, just checking in on how he was doing just knowing that it was going to be a big year,” McDaniel said. “You go zero to 60. You know, he did get active at the very end of the season, but for the most part, it almost feels like a redshirt year for him. Which it’s not. You have to learn a ton and he knew that we have a very talented receiving corps. So he had no – all those learning lumps that really every rookie incurs, but specifically wide receivers that are hearing huddles for the first time.
“He knew he’s was going to have to be on his stuff at not just one but multiple positions. And he’s probably made the biggest gains from last year to this year and ownership of the offense. So what that does; that allows him the opportunity to try to carve out a specific role for himself because otherwise he wouldn’t have a shot. There’s too many – specifically the receiving corps that he’s practicing within is competitive and deep with bona fide NFL players that I’ve been around so the challenge is real, but he’s put himself in a position to really compete for opportunities which is – I’m happy for him as it stands and moving forward I can’t wait to see what he does.”
Making a name for yourself as a mid-round rookie is an extremely tough task, especially within a group that’s already well-established. Now, that’s he had a full year to adjust to the game and learn McDaniel’s playbook, Ezukanma should be in a much better position to compete.
Still, that talent ahead of him may be too much. If Miami opts to hold six wideouts for the regular season, Ezukanma will likely be the last one.
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