That 3rd threat will very rarely be be a complete player, and that's ok. Giving more space to Waddle and Hill can be done in alot of ways, many of which doesn't include an all-pro TE. There is so much speed on this offense that opposing defenses are already concerned with defending every depth of the field, adding yet another dangerous receiving option wouldn't change how they defend you all that much, although you would get better results on average.
Now a Good blocking TE does change the way they have to defend you, especially when you have 4.3 speed at running back. This puts them in much more of a conflict a will put more people in the box as opposed to in coverage, which ultimately creates space for every receiving option on any given play. The beauty of it is, 4.3 speed at running back doesnt even need to be all that good, it just needs to be there to get the attention.
Of course if available, you'd like your TE to be great at everything, but that pretty much goes for every position on your team, at some point, when you get outside of the top 10-15 players on your team, you're not dealing with complete players and you have to decide which traits are needed at different spots to complement the great players you have. When you have arguably the best WR duo in the NFL and blocking is your only glaring weakness on the team, it makes alot of sense to me that the trait they'll value the most at TE is blocking capability.
Agree. The TE doesn't have to be Kittle 2.0, but I'd like a TE to be good enough receiver the D can't ignore him. Yes, blocking is a priority in this O. TE doesn't have to get 5 touches a game - he needs to be dependable and able to beat a LB.
At some point in the season Miami will play a team that is poor in covering TEs. Mcd needs a TE who can be productive in that situation and Mcd needs to take advantage.