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This time, we'll be looking at the long neglected Tight End position in Mike McDaniel's offense. Will this be the year where he adds another element to the Dolphins already potent attack? He claims that we'll see more TE usage, so let's look at the personnel.
Slotting TE spots on our final roster is tricky. One year, we broke camp with 5, last year, we cut to 2 before adding another later on. So McD has been totally unpredictable here... and this may be another case of us cutting one or two guys who we'll attempt to resign on the following day--after players are added to short-term IR.
Honestly... I'm afraid to make any sort of bet here. I figure we'll end up with 3-4 TEs by week one, but that last minute scramble for the bottom slots is going to be nerve wracking for all but the top two guys.
Last year's primary starter, Durham Smythe has always been more of a TE2 than a true starter. He's a try hard guy who catches whatever comes his way, but doesn't do much after the catch. In McD's offense, he's been more of a decoy than anything else. He could have done more with more targets, but the Dolphins' offense already has so many intermediate weapons that Smythe became an afterthought.
The new import, Jonnu Smith came over on a REALLY reasonable contract and is the new and immediate starter. He's better than his stats over the past few years would indicate.
He spent the last 3 years acting as the TE2 in bad offenses... first with Hunter Henry in Boston, then with Kyle Pitts in Atlanta. He'll get TE1 targets for the first time in 3 years.
That 13m/year contract that he signed with Belichick might have made him rich, but it killed his upward momentum. He was a rising star in Tennessee and now in Miami at age 29, he should be at the absolute peak of his game and this time, he's in a great offense. If McD is actually sincere about adding a TE to his attack, he's found the right guy, and at a ridiculously low price. (4-5m/year). He's our starter.
The next two are Julian Hill, who the team seems to love, and Jody Fortson, who came over from KC.
Let's take a look at Fortson first. He's already 28 and has only 2 years and 18 NFL targets to his name, and more troublingly, he weighs less than 230 lbs. In KC, he seemed to be used as a surprise red zone target... and some sites list him as a Wide Receiver, rather than a TE. Oddly, he has 3 Super Bowl rings, but never played in any of them.
I know some of the brothers here were excited about his signing, but this guy looks like a cut and resign guy to me. He's an older, lighter, and more injury prone Tanner Conner. Could he make the team? Sure... but he'll have to be stellar during the preseason before he gets any snaps.
So back to Hill. The 'phins cut to two TEs last year... and he was one of them, keeping him over a draft choice. Then they gave him snaps during the season and he proved to be a tenacious blocker. Unless he absolutely face plants, he'll be our TE3. He's 23, 251lbs, and Smythe's eventual replacement.
The last two guys are fighting to remain in the NFL. Tanner Conner, who has already spent two years on the PS, and Hayden Rucci, an extreme longshot to ever be more than a blocking TE. (17 receptions in his college career).
One of these two may make the practice squad... maybe. I wouldn't bet on it though; other team's cuts may look better than these two.
So... my final guess on our cut day keepers? Jonnu, Smythe, and Hill. Fortson looks like the type of guy we could waive and then resign after putting Chubb or Phillips on short-term IR.
Slotting TE spots on our final roster is tricky. One year, we broke camp with 5, last year, we cut to 2 before adding another later on. So McD has been totally unpredictable here... and this may be another case of us cutting one or two guys who we'll attempt to resign on the following day--after players are added to short-term IR.
Honestly... I'm afraid to make any sort of bet here. I figure we'll end up with 3-4 TEs by week one, but that last minute scramble for the bottom slots is going to be nerve wracking for all but the top two guys.
Last year's primary starter, Durham Smythe has always been more of a TE2 than a true starter. He's a try hard guy who catches whatever comes his way, but doesn't do much after the catch. In McD's offense, he's been more of a decoy than anything else. He could have done more with more targets, but the Dolphins' offense already has so many intermediate weapons that Smythe became an afterthought.
The new import, Jonnu Smith came over on a REALLY reasonable contract and is the new and immediate starter. He's better than his stats over the past few years would indicate.
He spent the last 3 years acting as the TE2 in bad offenses... first with Hunter Henry in Boston, then with Kyle Pitts in Atlanta. He'll get TE1 targets for the first time in 3 years.
That 13m/year contract that he signed with Belichick might have made him rich, but it killed his upward momentum. He was a rising star in Tennessee and now in Miami at age 29, he should be at the absolute peak of his game and this time, he's in a great offense. If McD is actually sincere about adding a TE to his attack, he's found the right guy, and at a ridiculously low price. (4-5m/year). He's our starter.
The next two are Julian Hill, who the team seems to love, and Jody Fortson, who came over from KC.
Let's take a look at Fortson first. He's already 28 and has only 2 years and 18 NFL targets to his name, and more troublingly, he weighs less than 230 lbs. In KC, he seemed to be used as a surprise red zone target... and some sites list him as a Wide Receiver, rather than a TE. Oddly, he has 3 Super Bowl rings, but never played in any of them.
I know some of the brothers here were excited about his signing, but this guy looks like a cut and resign guy to me. He's an older, lighter, and more injury prone Tanner Conner. Could he make the team? Sure... but he'll have to be stellar during the preseason before he gets any snaps.
So back to Hill. The 'phins cut to two TEs last year... and he was one of them, keeping him over a draft choice. Then they gave him snaps during the season and he proved to be a tenacious blocker. Unless he absolutely face plants, he'll be our TE3. He's 23, 251lbs, and Smythe's eventual replacement.
The last two guys are fighting to remain in the NFL. Tanner Conner, who has already spent two years on the PS, and Hayden Rucci, an extreme longshot to ever be more than a blocking TE. (17 receptions in his college career).
One of these two may make the practice squad... maybe. I wouldn't bet on it though; other team's cuts may look better than these two.
So... my final guess on our cut day keepers? Jonnu, Smythe, and Hill. Fortson looks like the type of guy we could waive and then resign after putting Chubb or Phillips on short-term IR.
