Speaker 1: To on the move, Going Deep, Speedless, Peace do Hell.
Speaker 1: From the Baptist Health Studio. This inside the Baptist Health
Speaker 1: Training Complex. This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield. He's got
Speaker 1: my advands in the playoffs.
Speaker 2: What is up Dolphins? And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
Speaker 2: I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
Speaker 2: we have two episodes left before our first training camp
Speaker 2: entire day recap here at the Baptist Health Training Complex
Speaker 2: in Miami Gardens. We're gonna talk about the Dolphins offense today.
Speaker 2: I tell you what my expectations are for each player
Speaker 2: and position group on this team as we embark on
Speaker 2: this journey to break the roster from ninety down to
Speaker 2: fifty three. We'll go quarterbacks, running backs, wideouts, tight ends,
Speaker 2: offensive line. From the Baptist Hell Studios in side the
Speaker 2: Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Drive Time podcast.
Speaker 2: We've done roster resets. I think I don't know three
Speaker 2: or four times. There's always applicable times to do that,
Speaker 2: and this episode is not exactly that. It's kind of that,
Speaker 2: but it's taking the collection of the entire offseason, all
Speaker 2: the moves, the direction, the vision, the work we saw
Speaker 2: in spring ball, back in OTAs and trying to forecast
Speaker 2: what we might see in training camp, some intriguing battles
Speaker 2: we could run into it, certain position groups and just
Speaker 2: kind of forecast what each player in each room looks
Speaker 2: like here. And we start this thing off with the
Speaker 2: quarterback position. And we start this thing off with the
Speaker 2: player that everybody is most intrigued by on any roster,
Speaker 2: especially on the Dolphins roster, and it's quarterback. To a
Speaker 2: tongue of I loa the entire room. Let's go ahead
Speaker 2: and ride a little mom off real quick, TUA. You
Speaker 2: guys know the players here to a tongue of iloa,
Speaker 2: Mike White, Skyler Thompson, and Gavin Hardes. And is my
Speaker 2: depth chart going into this thing. Darryl Bebbles the quarterbacks
Speaker 2: coach and passing game coordinator, and don't forget the name
Speaker 2: Chandler Henley, assistant quarterbacks coach. He is going to be
Speaker 2: a fast riser in this league in terms of assistant
Speaker 2: coaches and finding positional work. I'm sure he'll have his
Speaker 2: own room here before you know it in the coming years.
Speaker 2: This room you can probably go by the quickest. But
Speaker 2: let's just go ahead and go buy each player here
Speaker 2: and talk about this. So I think Tua is about
Speaker 2: to have his best year as a pro. I think
Speaker 2: he's about to have his best camp as a pro.
Speaker 2: And I think that stems back to the work I
Speaker 2: saw in OTAs where I didn't see picks, I didn't
Speaker 2: see balls hitting the ground. I saw more velocity. I
Speaker 2: saw more easy gas. I saw further better high arching
Speaker 2: throws down the field. I saw more escapability and elusiveness
Speaker 2: and choppier feet opposed to maybe heavier ankles. I just
Speaker 2: think everything in his game physically is going to be,
Speaker 2: you know, one or two percent better. And then on
Speaker 2: top of that, McDaniel addressed this this offseason that the
Speaker 2: mental aptitude, because of the continuity, because of the third
Speaker 2: year in the system, because of just even more familiarity
Speaker 2: and comfortability with his coaches and his players, that that's
Speaker 2: gonna be where the bigger stride happens. And that's the
Speaker 2: most important part of the game. As you know, if
Speaker 2: you listen to this podcast, if you take my word
Speaker 2: for it, I don't think that physical traits win, like
Speaker 2: playing the quarterback position wins in this league. And I
Speaker 2: think Tua is already one of the best in the
Speaker 2: NFL in that regard, and I think he's going to
Speaker 2: take a significant step in that direction this year as well.
Speaker 2: So he's the starting quarterback. If you get him for
Speaker 2: seventeen games, you're gonna win a whole bunch of games.
Speaker 2: And that's the hope. The next part of the position
Speaker 2: group here is where it gets I guess a little
Speaker 2: bit intriguing for me. It's a clear cut back up
Speaker 2: and a clear cut number three, and in fact a
Speaker 2: clear cut number four as well as Gavin Hardison takes
Speaker 2: the role of James Blackman last year kind of trying
Speaker 2: to find his way or I guess reed set a
Speaker 2: few years ago who did kind of make it work
Speaker 2: out for him in terms of getting you know, some
Speaker 2: NFL work. But Hardson takes on the unenviable role of
Speaker 2: camp arm trying to find reps and trying to just
Speaker 2: you know, put tape together that shows that he can
Speaker 2: play at this level, whether it's practice or exhibition games.
Speaker 2: And we know he'll play in the preseason, but you
Speaker 2: don't often see I don't remember seeing James Blackman playing
Speaker 2: a whole lot of reps or getting a whole lot
Speaker 2: of reps in camp last year, So it comes down
Speaker 2: to Mike White and Skylar Thompson. I think Mike White
Speaker 2: as a pretty clear winner in that race, especially going
Speaker 2: into camp right now. There was some kind of back
Speaker 2: and forth last year, but just in the way he
Speaker 2: sees the field, the way he processes the way that
Speaker 2: he can kind of, I guess I think he's the
Speaker 2: best one in this room to continue what this offense
Speaker 2: is if there is an absence of the starter into
Speaker 2: a tongue of bailoa, and he's got enough pop in
Speaker 2: his arm, he's got enough wibble to make some plays
Speaker 2: happen here. He's not the most fleet of foot, the
Speaker 2: most athletic, or the biggest arm, but he does process
Speaker 2: the game really well and see the field really well
Speaker 2: and throws a very good catchable football. So I think
Speaker 2: that Mike White is a pretty good backup. He's the
Speaker 2: best part about the backup, especially if you get what
Speaker 2: you desire in seventeen games from you're starting quarterback, is
Speaker 2: you're going to get really good support for your starting quarterback.
Speaker 2: Mike White is a great teammate, a great dude, and
Speaker 2: he will support Tua with you know, hey, I need
Speaker 2: a third down reel from you know, even front pass
Speaker 2: rush with they over like whatever it might be, He's
Speaker 2: gonna go find two was highlight clips and help him
Speaker 2: put those things together and help him get ready for
Speaker 2: the games on Sunday while getting himself ready for Skyler.
Speaker 2: I really think that this is kind of s or
Speaker 2: get off the p if you know what I mean,
Speaker 2: off the pot type of season for him, because we
Speaker 2: saw him play that rookie year and there was flashes
Speaker 2: and camp in preseason was very impressive. But that's like,
Speaker 2: you know, judging spring training in baseball. And I'll go
Speaker 2: back to the Mariners here once more. The Mariners are
Speaker 2: pacing right now to be one of the worst offenses
Speaker 2: in the history of the National football in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 2: This is like a week early, so I could be
Speaker 2: jumping the gun here. In fact, they scored seven runs
Speaker 2: last night in the game they play, so maybe maybe
Speaker 2: they're turning it around. But they are literally bottom of
Speaker 2: the league in batting average OPS and they strike out
Speaker 2: more than any team in the history of Major League Baseball.
Speaker 2: And if you go back and look at those guys
Speaker 2: ops is in spring training they were all over one
Speaker 2: thousand and now those guys are like DFA candidates. Guys
Speaker 2: they basically get cut midseason because they can't hit the baseball.
Speaker 2: That's how I view preseason football statistics. It just flat
Speaker 2: out does not matter, because once you get live bullets,
Speaker 2: and you get game plans, and you get more disguised
Speaker 2: and deception and actual defensive calls, that's when the game
Speaker 2: starts to happen. And that's where Skuyler struggled the most
Speaker 2: for the first two years of his career.
Speaker 1: In camp.
Speaker 2: Last year I thought was pretty pretty tough to watch
Speaker 2: in that regard too, So I think that this year,
Speaker 2: in his third season, needs to show a major leap
Speaker 2: in progression in terms of the mental side of the game,
Speaker 2: how he sees the field, how quick the ball comes out,
Speaker 2: because those are imperative parts of this offense, and when
Speaker 2: you didn't have that, this offense is broken and cannot
Speaker 2: move the football. So a big year for him to
Speaker 2: show progress in that regard. I expect it because I
Speaker 2: think he's the kind of worker that can develop that
Speaker 2: type of success in progress.
Speaker 1: But it has to happen for him, you know.
Speaker 2: I think this year before the Dolphins would ultimately if
Speaker 2: it doesn't progress, I would assume you have to kind
Speaker 2: of go back into the draft thinking we've got to
Speaker 2: find the next backup quarterback here in the late rounds
Speaker 2: of this year's draft. So it's a friendly, you know
Speaker 2: system for the quarterback. Tua really accentuates that and puts
Speaker 2: the ball and in the best spots possible. And this
Speaker 2: whole thing's built around him. So a little bit more
Speaker 2: toolsy for him and a little bit more experience, I
Speaker 2: think is ultimately a good thing. And I just love
Speaker 2: the overall continuity in this room. It's the same two coaches,
Speaker 2: it's the same top three guys. We swap out the fourth,
Speaker 2: you know, kind of trying to get some reps guy,
Speaker 2: the camp arm, if you will. That continuity in the
Speaker 2: quarterback room will not be lost on this football team
Speaker 2: and running back my projected depth chart heading into this thing,
Speaker 2: I have a really tough time at the top because
Speaker 2: I think that Devon ah Chan is like Chris Johnson good.
Speaker 2: But I refuse, I absolutely refuse to overlook what Raheem
Speaker 2: Moster means to this football team, what his skill set is.
Speaker 2: And in fact, if you're on Twitter and you're the
Speaker 2: one that I had this discussion with, I think it
Speaker 2: was two tweets back and forth. I couldn't disagree more
Speaker 2: with the fact that most stats are not a reflection
Speaker 2: of his game. I think that he is a fantastic
Speaker 2: running back who, like so many Dolphins, gets overlooked for
Speaker 2: whatever reason. He has breakaway speed, which to me is
Speaker 2: the most important thing. The vision to hit that breakaway
Speaker 2: speed and hit long touchdowns. Because in an NFL where
Speaker 2: I can throw the ball, if I have two on
Speaker 2: my offense, I can throw the ball for eight point
Speaker 2: three yards per attempt. Why the hell am I going
Speaker 2: to line up and run the ball for four yards.
Speaker 2: I'm literally accepting a positive outcome as half of the
Speaker 2: average of my passing outcome. When it's positive, why the
Speaker 2: hell would I do that. I want to hit big
Speaker 2: runs in the running game. I want to get good
Speaker 2: first down runs and running spots where they're not expected.
Speaker 1: Of course, I want to convert short yardage.
Speaker 2: I think that's a big area where this football team
Speaker 2: has to improve, and I think they have addressed that
Speaker 2: a little bit here. We'll talk about that in a second.
Speaker 2: But where he moster a big play waiting to happen,
Speaker 2: he can definitely get to the perimeter and exemplify what
Speaker 2: this offense wants to be in terms of how you
Speaker 2: better defend the entire field sideline to sideline, and then
Speaker 2: off of that, we can attack your overplay and hit
Speaker 2: windows in the passing game behind you, hit bend back runs,
Speaker 2: and Raheem expands that entire option of your playbook with
Speaker 2: his speed, with his decision making. But most importantly, and
Speaker 2: this gets so overlooked, and I tweeted about the stats
Speaker 2: and why ESPN's Insider GM whatever that thing was listed
Speaker 2: twenty names before Raheem moster got brought up.
Speaker 1: Watch him run.
Speaker 2: He runs through guys, and he's top five and broken
Speaker 2: tackles and yards after contact or top six or seven
Speaker 2: whatever it was, like, he's one of the best running
Speaker 2: backs in the NFL. So I'm conflicted at top at
Speaker 2: the top because Devon Hcham, I think, is gonna be
Speaker 2: a top five NFL back. So I guess I'm not
Speaker 2: that conflicted because I think the EIGHTHCHM is a premier
Speaker 2: player and Raheem is like on the cusp of an
Speaker 2: elite running back. He's maybe not maybe not that level,
Speaker 2: but hey, what a good problem to have, right, So
Speaker 2: I guess I just solved my own argument here, and
Speaker 2: I'll go with e Chan up top because I think
Speaker 2: that his expansion in the passing game is going to
Speaker 2: really be next level and take this offense to essentially
Speaker 2: having a reek and a waddle. I think you have
Speaker 2: one more of those guys now in Devon H.
Speaker 1: Chan. I really really do.
Speaker 2: On top of Odell Beckham being a substantial upgrade to
Speaker 2: the rest of the room, on top of John Smith
Speaker 2: being a substantial upgrade to the tight end position, I
Speaker 2: just think you have so many weapons.
Speaker 1: I think Devon A.
Speaker 2: Chan is a lynchpin of that freakish ability, freakish vision
Speaker 2: and lateral quickness to hit holes that don't seem like
Speaker 2: they're there. We talked about him Jake Mendel from the
Speaker 2: he does the podcast with Josh Hout's great nickname for him,
Speaker 2: Flat Stanley last year. I think that's a perfect name
Speaker 2: because he seems to hit these creases that just are
Speaker 2: not there and he accelerates through them and he averaged
Speaker 2: over eight yards per carry. So, like I talk about
Speaker 2: the whole running game and passing game, like, what's a
Speaker 2: good outcome for both, it's half the yards. Not with
Speaker 2: this guy, it's not eight yards per rush. I guess
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go eight chan then Moster are, but I
Speaker 2: think maybe start the game or start this with Moster
Speaker 2: as a nod to a record holder in your franchise
Speaker 2: for touchdowns and a couple of thousand yard seasons, like
Speaker 2: what a special year he had. Number three is where
Speaker 2: it gets interesting. I'm gonna go with the rookie Galen right.
Speaker 2: I just think he's a perfect fit for the offense
Speaker 2: and how he can find those cutback lanes, how he
Speaker 2: can maximize these light box opportunities you get where arm
Speaker 2: tackles will not bring him down. And once he gets
Speaker 2: in the second level, Gosh, he has moves. Gosh, he
Speaker 2: has speed to burn. Gosh, he has the wherewithal and
Speaker 2: the vision to run to daylight and maximize those runs.
Speaker 2: You go side to side in this league, you're gonna
Speaker 2: sacrifice yards. He doesn't do that. He gets downhill and
Speaker 2: does it with speed and conviction. And I think that
Speaker 2: he is a special talent that is going to make
Speaker 2: this running back room the best in the National Football League.
Speaker 2: When you think about those top three guys, like I
Speaker 2: think you could look back at the end of the
Speaker 2: year and be like yeah, the Dolphins had three top
Speaker 2: fifteen backs in the NFL. They also had two top
Speaker 2: ten receivers. They also had a top five cours Like, yeah, man,
Speaker 2: it's about to get scary for opposing defenses on this offense.
Speaker 2: So those are my top three guys going into it.
Speaker 2: I'll go ahead and start here with Alec because what
Speaker 2: a valuable addition he is to the offense. And really
Speaker 2: only three or four teams have a guy like this,
Speaker 2: And you know Kyle Yuschek and Patrick Ricard who was
Speaker 2: differently built in different style for the Ravens in that
Speaker 2: full back room. But it creates such a different dynamic
Speaker 2: to your offense when you can go twenty one personnel
Speaker 2: and essentially get to your vertical play action passing game
Speaker 2: out of those looks and buy yourself one less deep
Speaker 2: defender because of Ingole's presence. And if they don't respect that,
Speaker 2: if they don't honor it, if you get a game
Speaker 2: against the Buffalo Bills where they stay in that nickel
Speaker 2: package all game long and maybe you commit to maybe
Speaker 2: a little bit more running, you can roll up two
Speaker 2: hundred plus rushing yards against a team like that because
Speaker 2: Ingold on a slot cornerback is a mismatch for the ages.
Speaker 2: I think that his ability to catch the football is
Speaker 2: unique in the full black landscape, and his leadership and
Speaker 2: his character and what he brings to the locker room
Speaker 2: invaluable piece. Team captain got an extension last year. I mean,
Speaker 2: what more do you want on this football team? We're
Speaker 2: two position groups, one and a half position groups in
Speaker 2: this and we're talking about all these freaking all stars.
Speaker 2: After that is where I think it gets the most interesting,
Speaker 2: because you basically have Savon Ahmed, Chris Brooks, and Jeff
Speaker 2: Wilson battling for that for the next hierarchy in touches.
Speaker 2: I think Chris Brooks has a lot of ability. I
Speaker 2: think he offers something that nobody else in the room does.
Speaker 2: Probably I'll probably put him here just because of my
Speaker 2: own experience with watching him in camp and in the
Speaker 2: preseason and a couple of regular season reps as well.
Speaker 2: He's kind of my surprise pick here in the running
Speaker 2: back room to jump over Savon and Jeff Wilson. And look,
Speaker 2: I love Jeff's game too. I think he offers some
Speaker 2: physicality and an edge to him, but it just seems
Speaker 2: kind of like if there's an odd man out. It
Speaker 2: might be him, but he's gonna go somewhere else and
Speaker 2: get significant touches if that's the case, and be a
Speaker 2: productive back as well.
Speaker 1: So you'd have a really good problem here.
Speaker 2: In fact, I don't know if anyone's training for running
Speaker 2: backs these days, but maybe maybe you have some trade
Speaker 2: capital here to go out and recoup a draft pick.
Speaker 2: And then Savon Akhmed he kind of falls in that
Speaker 2: Jeff Wilson category for me, even though he's probably the
Speaker 2: best special teamer of the group. So what does it
Speaker 2: surprise me to have him be the fourth back who
Speaker 2: is kind of an ace on special teams?
Speaker 1: Not at all.
Speaker 2: He has some good pass game ability, had a couple
Speaker 2: of nice big players early in the season last year,
Speaker 2: and had a couple of touchdown runs. Just I mean,
Speaker 2: from top to bottom, this entire room is really really special,
Speaker 2: And of course the coach of the room is also
Speaker 2: associate head coach Eric Studisville. Let's go ahead and take
Speaker 2: a break right there. Come back on the other side.
Speaker 2: We'll do receivers and tight ends next, and then finish
Speaker 2: up on the offensive line. The third segment, that's next
Speaker 2: Draft Time Podcast. Your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you
Speaker 2: by Auto Nation segment two, talking about probably the best
Speaker 2: room on the entire football team, and that says a lot.
Speaker 2: After the praise we just heaped on both the quarterback
Speaker 2: and running back room for your Miami Dolphins, we look
Speaker 2: at the wide receiver and the projected depth chart of
Speaker 2: this group. You guys know who's up top. We'll go
Speaker 2: ahead and talk about them together, Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle,
Speaker 2: who is hands down by far no question about the
Speaker 2: best one to two punch in the National Football League.
Speaker 2: In effect, when when Tyreek's playing days are no more
Speaker 2: and Waddle the twenty five year old megastar, He's gonna
Speaker 2: step right into that role and be your Tyreek kill
Speaker 2: when he's gone. So we basically have two of those guys,
Speaker 2: two guys that can score if money were on the field,
Speaker 2: Two guys that take absolute, absolute control over their entire
Speaker 2: career by the work they put in, by the offseason
Speaker 2: sweat equity they build up, by the way they practice
Speaker 2: and by the way they prepare, and by the way
Speaker 2: they essentially rally their teammates to be better players. I
Speaker 2: just look at, you know, improvements, incremental improvements in terms
Speaker 2: of footwork and timing and pacing and rhythm. And we
Speaker 2: saw it last year with the vertical passing game, as
Speaker 2: you know, in twenty twenty two two as deep balls
Speaker 2: to Hill might have been on the back shoulder and
Speaker 2: twenty twenty three they were out in front. He ran
Speaker 2: under those and had even more explosive long touchdowns. Like
Speaker 2: I expect that same incremental progress to occur in twenty
Speaker 2: twenty three, especially for Waddle who was just banged up
Speaker 2: all year and couldn't really seem to you know, he'd
Speaker 2: come back for a game and look explosive for a
Speaker 2: couple of plays, and then he would get nicked up
Speaker 2: and like it would slow him down. And then we
Speaker 2: got him back in that playoff game, but he wasn't
Speaker 2: all the way right, and that in fact you saw
Speaker 2: him in practice, it was like, yeah, he's about seventy
Speaker 2: five percent, and we know that he's he's not going
Speaker 2: to miss games, you know, and this is a league
Speaker 2: where guys do miss games sometimes when they can go.
Speaker 2: If he can go, he's gonna tape it up and
Speaker 2: he's going to go. And I think you have to
Speaker 2: really respect that about his makeup and his mentality. He
Speaker 2: is just that type of dude. I think that they
Speaker 2: create conflict in terms of how you defend this team
Speaker 2: in different personnel packages. You can run off of their threats.
Speaker 2: You can run comebacks, you can run routes that nobody
Speaker 2: else can run because of this threat, like the twenty
Speaker 2: five yard comeback that Tyreek Hill runs, like nobody else
Speaker 2: runs that in the National Football League. And Tua can
Speaker 2: just layer that thing out there and let him essentially,
Speaker 2: you know, time up when that intersection of football and
Speaker 2: come back on the route down the stem occurs, and
Speaker 2: it always looks so perfectly orchestrated. And I always say, like, man,
Speaker 2: professional football, so cool the way these guys are so
Speaker 2: sharp and so in tune. And that's like what I'm
Speaker 2: talking about. It's just such a fine, fine level of
Speaker 2: professional expertise these guys feature and Reak and wattle Man,
Speaker 2: I can't you can't say enough about those two guys.
Speaker 2: They are two of the best in the National Football League.
Speaker 2: The number three to me is also clearcut. It's Odell
Speaker 2: Beckham Junior. Talked about his tape a whole heck of
Speaker 2: a lot this offseason with regards to how he might
Speaker 2: factor in here and go back over the tape last
Speaker 2: year man the games when the third down offense wasn't
Speaker 2: very good, the games where critical drives stalled out on.
Speaker 2: Just like narrow misses, you're gonna watch a receiver play
Speaker 2: inside and get blanket on a two way go or
Speaker 2: a three way go, the vertical inside and outside options
Speaker 2: to them without safety help because they've kicked it over
Speaker 2: to Reagan Waddle and we can't generate any separation at
Speaker 2: any point of the route and it's just a non
Speaker 2: like the quarterback sees that coverage and it's like non negotiable.
Speaker 2: I can't throw the ball into that window because he's
Speaker 2: not open. That happened all the time with Odell. It's
Speaker 2: just not gonna happen. You can't cover him that way.
Speaker 2: He's too good. I know he's not what he used
Speaker 2: to be in terms of the explosive, game breaking umber
Speaker 2: number one receiver, but that's not what he cost either,
Speaker 2: And in fact, he costs quite a bargain compared to
Speaker 2: what he was last year seventeen million dollars a year ago.
Speaker 2: He can score in the red zone, he can score
Speaker 2: from deep, he can go vertical, he can stack receiver defenders,
Speaker 2: and he just is a professional route runner, man Like.
Speaker 2: That's going to be the thing that I think most
Speaker 2: people have lost here is you look at the numbers
Speaker 2: or the production and whatever you want to look at
Speaker 2: for Odell back in the last few years and some
Speaker 2: situations that maybe weren't ideal for him. But when you
Speaker 2: go back to a precision quarterback who wins with anticipation,
Speaker 2: what did Kurt Warner say on Twitter? He said that
Speaker 2: the best anticipation quarterbacks he put Matt Stafford and to
Speaker 2: a tongue of by low in that grouping is Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2: That no chance, Lamar Jackson's an elite quarterback, but that's
Speaker 2: not the strength of his game.
Speaker 1: And go back to Cleveland. Was that Baker's game? No,
Speaker 1: it wasn't.
Speaker 2: You go back to the Giants, Eli Manning, that was
Speaker 2: his game. Surprise, surprise. So Odell Beckham's about to have
Speaker 2: his best year in a while. He's about to a
Speaker 2: lot of opportunities in one on one situations, and the
Speaker 2: only reason he might not is because there's just so
Speaker 2: many damn mouths to feed in this offense. But there
Speaker 2: was a clear line from one to two those guys
Speaker 2: are obvious, and then there's a clear drop off, and
Speaker 2: then there's a clear drop off after number three, and
Speaker 2: then that's where the battles get interesting. I'm gonna start
Speaker 2: with Eric Azukama in that number four role as a
Speaker 2: guy that I think has a chance to potentially be,
Speaker 2: you know how like Ben Skearonic was like a blocking
Speaker 2: receiver slash tight end for the Rams. I think Aszukama
Speaker 2: can be sort of like a Brad Smith like for
Speaker 2: the Jets field like ten fifteen years ago. That's probably
Speaker 2: gonna age a lot of you guys out of the
Speaker 2: conversation here, but he was like a wildcat trigger quarterback
Speaker 2: who would take jet sweeps and run the football. I
Speaker 2: think Aszukama can do that. I think he has a
Speaker 2: vertical skill set. I think he has really good high
Speaker 2: pointing and contested catchability. Just got to stay on the field,
Speaker 2: you know, third year in he should know all the
Speaker 2: positions by now, that should no longer be a concern.
Speaker 2: Last year he was coming along strong in that regard
Speaker 2: and just got injured and it took away the rest
Speaker 2: of his season. So I think he has a great chance.
Speaker 2: But actually I will go with Malik Washington as my
Speaker 2: number four. I'll start with Azukama just for the fact
Speaker 2: that he's a rookie in Maleague, Washington, and I'll put
Speaker 2: him number five to go into camp, and I expect
Speaker 2: that that's flip here pretty quickly into camp. I think
Speaker 2: that this is going to be your golden retriever, your
Speaker 2: China route, your whip route, your create separation quickly in
Speaker 2: a one on one situation. I talked about Beckham winning
Speaker 2: those You're not going to cover this guy in a
Speaker 2: pham booth and then from there he can catch it
Speaker 2: and he can run you over, he can run past you,
Speaker 2: has incredible contact balance, and every football is his. He
Speaker 2: snatches him up and he showed that in training camp
Speaker 2: as well. So I expect him to kind of assert
Speaker 2: himself as the next option as we get into the
Speaker 2: season with Azukama having a specialty rule, and then after
Speaker 2: that going into camp, I'm gonna go with Craycraft as
Speaker 2: kind of the reliable. He's gonna be where he needs
Speaker 2: to be. Every single rep he takes. He's gonna catch
Speaker 2: everything that you throw his way up. He's gonna help
Speaker 2: in the blocking game, just steady as he goes. We
Speaker 2: are creak craft at number six heading into camp. After that,
Speaker 2: I think I'm gonna go Taj Washington for the vertical
Speaker 2: dynamic skills that that he features, and he could have
Speaker 2: caught a billion balls because he separated quickly at USC
Speaker 2: as well. But Caleb Williams's whole game was scramble and
Speaker 2: hero ball and he was phenomenal at that. And I
Speaker 2: think that robbed Taj of some catches, whereas here in
Speaker 2: a rhythm based passing offense, it might not not happen
Speaker 2: his rookie year, but it's a good fit for him.
Speaker 2: I'll go Braxon Barrios next. I think that I think
Speaker 2: Barrios's game at this point of his career as return man,
Speaker 2: I just thought that, you know, talking about those situations
Speaker 2: I covered in the third downs and the critical drives
Speaker 2: like that, that's kind of an indictment of Barrios and
Speaker 2: Cedric Wilson in terms of their inability to get open
Speaker 2: on those critical third downs. It's on all of the tape.
Speaker 2: You don't mean, you can't miss it if you watch it.
Speaker 2: So he'll go number seven. I'll go Sanders, Brayln Sanders,
Speaker 2: who kind of had a red shirt, you know, sophomore
Speaker 2: year last year, as you will number eighty six after
Speaker 2: having some appearances as a rookie. I'll take Anthony Schwartz
Speaker 2: next on that list, and then we'll finish up here
Speaker 2: with Jakwan Burton, the undrafted rookie who's got some skills
Speaker 2: in his own right as well.
Speaker 1: So a pretty fun battle there.
Speaker 2: I think that four or five spot is kind of
Speaker 2: where you start to think about the big competition. But
Speaker 2: this room is is really well set up under coach
Speaker 2: Wes Welker, who's also a past game specialist here in
Speaker 2: Miami as well. For what it's worth, at the tight
Speaker 2: end position, another spot where the Dolphins got better. I
Speaker 2: think all the skill groups this year, the Dolphins got better.
Speaker 2: I think maybe a little bit of regression on the
Speaker 2: offensive line, but we know that this offense prioritizes skill players,
Speaker 2: and it starts with John Hwus Smith, who the bass
Speaker 2: in his voice alone kind of like asserts his presence
Speaker 2: in the room like he is. He is a captain
Speaker 2: type of player. He is gonna, you know, follow my lead.
Speaker 2: I'll show you how it's done in this league. I
Speaker 2: can play in line, I can play nasty splits, I
Speaker 2: can flex into the slot, I can you know, flex
Speaker 2: out wide. He's not like a punishing blocker by any
Speaker 2: stretch of the imagination, but he does open up your offense.
Speaker 2: And that was the Patriots plan with him back when
Speaker 2: they signed him and Hunter Henry was to have this
Speaker 2: twelve personnel grouping, you know, not all all Gronk and
Speaker 2: Aaron Hernandez, but like a knockoff version of that in
Speaker 2: terms of we can be you know, personnel diverse in
Speaker 2: terms of how we run things with these two very
Speaker 2: flexible tight ends. It's not his game to go knock
Speaker 2: a you know, a nine technique into the ether, but
Speaker 2: he can certainly do it. He's willing to do it,
Speaker 2: and he's one of the best spot up pass receivers
Speaker 2: in the league. Some of those play action boots where
Speaker 2: we have a naked league with a tight end and
Speaker 2: the quarterback all alone into the flat, like he's gonna
Speaker 2: take that eight yard gain and make it an eighteen
Speaker 2: yard gain. So it's just I think it's a massive
Speaker 2: upgrade in the passing game in terms of how you
Speaker 2: can be flexible with your offensive personnel decisions as well.
Speaker 2: So I can't speak highly enough of Jhona Smith who
Speaker 2: last year had fantastic tape. He and Kaleis Campbell for
Speaker 2: the Falcons were very very good players last year. Durham
Speaker 2: Smyth is back, steady as he goes. You guys know
Speaker 2: about him. He's going to provide some of that you know,
Speaker 2: quasi fullback role, inline h back type of stuff as well.
Speaker 2: He can catch the football here and there. As my
Speaker 2: good friend Seth Levit always says, the game starts when
Speaker 2: Durham Smyth gets his first reception.
Speaker 1: Although Seth, I think given the state.
Speaker 2: Of the offense this year with Reeke and Waddell and
Speaker 2: Beckham and Washington and Azukama and johnays Smith and Moster
Speaker 2: and h and Jalen Wright, I don't know where Smice
Speaker 2: factors into the hierarchy there on receptions, but I could
Speaker 2: see him just having another productive you know, maybe maybe
Speaker 2: a little bit of a reduction in snaps, maybe he
Speaker 2: plays five hundred snaps, but I can see him, you know,
Speaker 2: being a very productive player for the Dolphins once again.
Speaker 1: I'll go one two there.
Speaker 2: Although Jody fortsen Man since we signed him, intrigues the
Speaker 2: hell out of me. He has leaping ability, he's massive,
Speaker 2: he's kind of that spot up target in the red zone.
Speaker 2: You go back to his Chiefs tape, and he can
Speaker 2: really kind of out leverage guys and out and box
Speaker 2: him out and make plays that way. He also has
Speaker 2: enough speed to run away from linebackers and safeties. Don't
Speaker 2: call him like a speedy receiver, because he did test
Speaker 2: as a receiver coming out of college and he is
Speaker 2: like a three point six ris guy, So he's not
Speaker 2: a superb athlete that way, but the tight end position,
Speaker 2: he's pretty athletic and he can run away from guys
Speaker 2: a seambuster, a guy that can you know, if you're
Speaker 2: gonna roll your safeties to the perimeter and open up
Speaker 2: the middle of the field, Two is gonna be more
Speaker 2: than happy to throw you know, ladder balls where he
Speaker 2: can climb up there and just basically moss a linebacker
Speaker 2: who just can't get that vertical on him because Two
Speaker 2: was so precise he can do that. And Fortson has
Speaker 2: the body control and the contortion to in the hands
Speaker 2: to make those types of plays and then land on
Speaker 2: his feet and come down and continue to get yards
Speaker 2: after the catch. So I think Fortson could have a
Speaker 2: big role in this passing off and not a big role,
Speaker 2: but like a situational role that could be super valuable.
Speaker 2: He's been number three going in. I'll go with Julian
Speaker 2: Hill at number four as a superb blocking tight end.
Speaker 2: The receptions, uh, the passing game was not there for
Speaker 2: him last year. A couple of drops had a fumble,
Speaker 2: like maybe it was like nerves. Maybe it was like
Speaker 2: I got my rep finally, and I don't want to
Speaker 2: make the I want to make the most of it.
Speaker 2: And you can kind of, you know, maybe overthink those
Speaker 2: situations at times. But I think that he has a
Speaker 2: role in this offense as a blocker. If they want
Speaker 2: to go that way, as a special teams guy, maybe
Speaker 2: you trade somebody, Like there's there's so many there's so
Speaker 2: much depth of some man of these spots that you
Speaker 2: can probably say, like we have too many guys, maybe
Speaker 2: we can try to get some draft capital back for them.
Speaker 1: So he's the number four going in. I'll go Tanner
Speaker 1: Connor is the five.
Speaker 2: I had some high hopes for Connor coming into last
Speaker 2: year or I guess his career because he flashed so
Speaker 2: much in that camp in preseason, and not just like
Speaker 2: his playmaking ability, but like running down on special teams
Speaker 2: and eclipsing twenty miles prior was pretty impressive to me.
Speaker 2: He still has all those athletic features and he's been
Speaker 2: a guy that you know, they've liked. So if he
Speaker 2: can maybe stay healthy, maybe he gets a crack at
Speaker 2: you know, if forts and can't if someone can't stay healthy,
Speaker 2: but he can be the guy that steps in and
Speaker 2: takes that role. And then Hayden Rucchie, who I didn't
Speaker 2: think the table was great at Wisconsin. Maybe there's more
Speaker 2: to it in this offense than what they saw at Wisconsin.
Speaker 2: But he would be the guy bringing up the rear
Speaker 2: at the tight end position. All right, last break right there,
Speaker 2: come back on the other side and talk about a
Speaker 2: group that has a lot of names, the offensive line.
Speaker 2: That's next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought
Speaker 2: to you by autotation, saving the position group that you
Speaker 2: all want to talk about the most for very last.
Speaker 2: Quite frankly, to me, I think it's kind of an
Speaker 2: order of importance in the program where it belongs right here.
Speaker 2: Although you can definitely make a case that late in
Speaker 2: the season, end of the postseason, the Dolphins have to
Speaker 2: get better in this regard. They have to be healthier
Speaker 2: in this department, and I would agree with all of that.
Speaker 2: Let's go ahead and break this thing down in terms
Speaker 2: of how I view it going in a training camp.
Speaker 2: Let's go ahead and talk about this. We'll lay it
Speaker 2: out for you, and then we'll get into the individual.
Speaker 2: So for me, my projected lineup going into training camps
Speaker 2: to Ron Armstead, although we're probably not gonna see him
Speaker 2: out of bubble wrap until September, maybe maybe I will shoot.
Speaker 2: Last year, he got into practice against Houston and I
Speaker 2: think the first rep of team he went down, he
Speaker 2: got rolled up on and it was like damn it,
Speaker 2: you know, and then we had to go through the
Speaker 2: whole thing at him tweeting out like pictures of his
Speaker 2: ankle or a crutch and be like I'm okay, y'all.
Speaker 2: And we had that whole scare, and I remember people
Speaker 2: were like saying, the season's already over, Like what a
Speaker 2: time that was, right, But hopefully he can make it
Speaker 2: to week one this year and in play as many
Speaker 2: games as possible because he is an in elite left
Speaker 2: tackle when he is out there, My left guard is
Speaker 2: Isaiah Whim. I think there's no question about that. And
Speaker 2: if he's healthy because he was very very good last year.
Speaker 2: He fits this offense and he was so good in
Speaker 2: one on one situations and pass protection last year that
Speaker 2: you really need a player like him, I think, to
Speaker 2: hopefully go the distance, but he also has not done
Speaker 2: that in his career, so dubious prospects with regards to availability.
Speaker 2: Aaron Brewer is the center at the athletic skill set,
Speaker 2: the ability to get out on the edge. He is
Speaker 2: even more athletic than Connor Williams was, but also the
Speaker 2: same issue there in terms of anchoring against power. So
Speaker 2: we'll see how that impacts the offense this year. The
Speaker 2: right guards the position that I think is open for competition.
Speaker 1: I'm going to go with.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go with Jack Duriscoll there to kick things
Speaker 2: off to start it. I think he had some really
Speaker 2: good moments in OTA's that showed sort of flash his
Speaker 2: ability to kick inside and do that. I didn't like
Speaker 2: to Philly Tape there at either guard or tackle, but
Speaker 2: it's a different offense and I think that there's a
Speaker 2: vision here for how he can play in this offense.
Speaker 2: And that was kind of more what he was at
Speaker 2: Auburn as a potential guard convert who can play this
Speaker 2: athletic off the ball kind of in your face at
Speaker 2: the second level ability. I'll go with him to kick
Speaker 2: off camp in that position. And then Austin Jackson, who
Speaker 2: I think the world as a person and as a
Speaker 2: player at the right tackle spot. I think he's you know,
Speaker 2: turned his career around. He showed you what you know
Speaker 2: tenacity and perseverance can do for you, and just brings
Speaker 2: an edge to tenacity to this offense that otherwise, you know,
Speaker 2: I don't think anybody else matches that on the offense.
Speaker 2: And he kind of gets under guy's skin with the
Speaker 2: way he plays with the echo of the whistle. He's
Speaker 2: a guy that you want to go into a dark
Speaker 2: alley with, which is so funny because he's so soft spoken,
Speaker 2: in such a nice and intelligent and thoughtful human being
Speaker 2: that he flips that switch and he gets out there
Speaker 2: and kicks guy's butts on either side. So I didn't
Speaker 2: mention this. I just want to be through in doing this.
Speaker 2: The tight ends coach is also an assistant head coach,
Speaker 2: and John Embry let's go ahead and close off the
Speaker 2: offensive line, Butch Berry is the offensive line coach. As
Speaker 2: you guys, know, and the assistant O line coach is
Speaker 2: Lemuel John Pierre didn't want to. I want to be
Speaker 2: comprehensive here and get all that stuff taking care of.
Speaker 2: So that's my starting line going into it. Armstead, Win Brewer, Driscoll,
Speaker 2: and Jackson, and then I think the battle at right
Speaker 2: guard is probably kind of how you decipher the sixth man,
Speaker 2: which right now appears to be Liam Mikeenberg, who I
Speaker 2: thought that was a position that he kind of settled
Speaker 2: in at last year at times, and he'd moved to center,
Speaker 2: and it just that the whole center project I didn't.
Speaker 2: I didn't never thought that really worked. I think I
Speaker 2: like Driscoll's opportunity to kick inside at center more than
Speaker 2: I do Leam Miichenbergs because off balance on the ground
Speaker 2: trying to get in space, running back to yelling at
Speaker 2: him for not hitting the right block. If he can
Speaker 2: make an Austin Jackson leap, that'd be fantastic, But that's
Speaker 2: kind of where it has to go for it to
Speaker 2: work out for him. I think long term here, I
Speaker 2: think i'd go with Robert Jones as kind of the
Speaker 2: next guy in there, and if you put him in,
Speaker 2: he's not going to play center. He can play tackle,
Speaker 2: but I like him best at either the guard positions.
Speaker 2: A kind of a adaption to adapting to more of
Speaker 2: a man gap power scheme with him in the games,
Speaker 2: it's more his game than what he than what this
Speaker 2: system is. And you know, he does the most what
Speaker 2: he has physically in terms of that athletic ability, but
Speaker 2: I think his game is more downhill and so I
Speaker 2: like how they kind of adapted to that in the
Speaker 2: Dallas game last year when he had a great drive
Speaker 2: to cap things off there. I think Patrick Paul is
Speaker 2: the guy I would put in next, and I think
Speaker 2: that he might have a crack a chance to play
Speaker 2: at some point this year.
Speaker 1: Man, I just think he's gonna be I think he's
Speaker 1: gonna work out.
Speaker 2: I think that the technique and the skills have come
Speaker 2: a long way from Ota' from what they were on
Speaker 2: the college tape. Like it wasn't a playable at Houston.
Speaker 2: It got better at the Senior Bowl, and then as
Speaker 2: he kind of had an off He's gonna go through
Speaker 2: and work technique. He came back in OTA's and he
Speaker 2: looked pretty damn sharp. I kind of forgot Kendall Lamb there.
Speaker 2: He's also in that company, and you know he's gonna
Speaker 2: play at some point this year. Just a technician, a
Speaker 2: real pro, can handle one on one opportunities and seems
Speaker 2: to have really taken to the system there. So you
Speaker 2: have to me, I think those guys and I would
Speaker 2: put key on Smith probably in this group as well.
Speaker 2: I think you have ten guys there that are above
Speaker 2: that Chris Furster line that he talks about where it's
Speaker 2: like we don't need, like, you know, a Tyreek Hill
Speaker 2: of the offensive line, which you kind of have that
Speaker 2: an elite player in toront Armstead, right, but his availability
Speaker 2: is not the same as Tyreek Kills.
Speaker 1: But I digress.
Speaker 2: The whole idea is, do we have enough guys that
Speaker 2: can play above this line that allows our offense to
Speaker 2: remain functionable on the line, to create the opportunities that
Speaker 2: we need for all the guys on the perimeter that
Speaker 2: can be game breakers with the football in their hands.
Speaker 2: That's how this entire thing is designed. That's how the
Speaker 2: entire thing is built. And I think that they do
Speaker 2: have those ten guys. I'll take Armstead, Win Brewer, Driscoll,
Speaker 2: Jackson I think are obviously well above the lines.
Speaker 1: My five starters.
Speaker 2: I think Kendall Lamb, Patrick Paul Leam, Eikenberg, Robert Jones,
Speaker 2: and Keon Smith are five more that can play above
Speaker 2: that line. As far as what we've seen so far.
Speaker 2: The rest of the guys are kind of unknowns, and
Speaker 2: in fact, you know, I'll kind of just lump them
Speaker 2: together here because I don't really know much about those guys.
Speaker 2: I will say, if you heard the All twenty two
Speaker 2: podcast last year in the film reviews, I thought it
Speaker 2: was a really tough year for Lester Cotton, and I
Speaker 2: would put him in this group of these guys because
Speaker 2: of that. With Chase and Hines, who's trying to kind
Speaker 2: of carve out a spot in the NFL. Ryan Hayes,
Speaker 2: the draft pick from two years ago that left and
Speaker 2: now has come back and trying to get his, you know,
Speaker 2: his NFL career on track. There, Matthew Jones Andrew Meyer
Speaker 2: were undrafted guys, Ireland Brown in that category, and then
Speaker 2: Bidron Metos, the guy that we had in the Podcast
Speaker 2: of the Day. He's developmental long term, has a long
Speaker 2: way to go, but man, there are some physical traits
Speaker 2: there to work with with that guy. I can see
Speaker 2: where you're concerned on this on this group are it's
Speaker 2: not the name power we have and the entire rest
Speaker 2: of the roster, which you know, defensive tackle got taken
Speaker 2: care of, Receiver death got taken care of, safety got
Speaker 2: taken care of. All these spots were addressed, and you
Speaker 2: might say the offensive line didn't get addressed. Well, trust me,
Speaker 2: there's a reason for that. They have belief in certain guys,
Speaker 2: certain a number of guys that can play above that line.
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's the ones that I mentioned.
Speaker 2: That's my own personal view. How they view it, what
Speaker 2: we'll find out, but I think there's enough there right
Speaker 2: now to at least get you back to what you
Speaker 2: were last year. What I like to see someone like
Speaker 2: Greg Van Routin, Of course I would, yes, one hundred percent.
Speaker 2: I would like to see that. We'll see what happens,
Speaker 2: you know. I think Kyle Krabs put an episode out
Speaker 2: last week or something where he talked about potential trade candidates,
Speaker 2: like just don't don't think that they're going to be
Speaker 2: done and sit on this thing. Like if they if
Speaker 2: it doesn't work out the way they want to en camp,
Speaker 2: they'll be aggressive and local get the guy they need
Speaker 2: to you know, make this group that one player better.
Speaker 2: So just be patient. We'll see what happens. Let camp
Speaker 2: play out. Let every practice play out, left, the games
Speaker 2: play out. Let the roster, you know, acquisition portion of
Speaker 2: early September play out before we start panicking this year.
Speaker 1: Can we agree on that?
Speaker 2: All right?
Speaker 1: Sounds good.
Speaker 2: That's the offensive preview. Come out to the training camp.
Speaker 2: Tickets are available now at Miami Dolphins dot com. I
Speaker 2: believe it's slash training backslash training camp, So come check
Speaker 2: it out.
Speaker 1: Come say hi to me if you come out to camp.
Speaker 2: We'll go ahead and do one more of these podcasts
Speaker 2: on Monday, reviewing the defense and the depth chart that way,
Speaker 2: and then it's on. Man, it's on for training camp
Speaker 2: in the twenty twenty four season is here. My golf
Speaker 2: career is put back on hold. I'm recording this before
Speaker 2: my family goes on vacation or they're going back home
Speaker 2: to the Pacific Northwest, and I am going to be
Speaker 2: the ruler of the roost by myself for like thirteen days,
Speaker 2: and I can't wait to just like watch baseball, watch
Speaker 2: the Mayors games until twelve thirty in the morning, sleep
Speaker 2: in and go play golf every single day.
Speaker 1: Maybe go to the pool by myself. I usually have
Speaker 1: kids with me.
Speaker 2: That means I don't get a relax and just kind
Speaker 2: of float around on the water like I like to do.
Speaker 2: So I am going to be off the grid for
Speaker 2: a little bit there, but once once this podcast comes
Speaker 2: out on Thursday.
Speaker 1: The what is it the eighteenth?
Speaker 2: Uh yeah, Monday will be the last podcast before camp.
Speaker 2: Then it's it's full go. But just now I'm playing
Speaker 2: golf right now and hear this podcast, So that's my
Speaker 2: time today. You all please be sure to subscribe to
Speaker 2: the podcast on Apple Spotify, where you get your podcasts from.
Speaker 2: Go ahead and leave us a rating and leave us
Speaker 2: a review. You can follow me on social at wingfold NFL.
Speaker 2: The team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the fish Tank
Speaker 2: podcast with Seth and Juice, the YouTube channel for media availabilities,
Speaker 2: Dolphins Today, and so much more, and last but not least,
Speaker 2: Miami Dolphins dot Com. Until next time, Finn's up, Coln
Speaker 2: and Cameron Daddy, He's coming home.