Pre-Season Position Group Battles: Tight Ends | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Pre-Season Position Group Battles: Tight Ends

Feverdream

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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.
 
Drive Time Dolphins podcast loves Fortson.
Podcasts tend to deal in the extreme. To get viewers they tend to deal in absolutes... and lots of yelling. Yeah, I'm not a podcast guy normally. Can you tell? Lol.

I suppose that Fortson could make is as a move TE... at his weight, he's not a traditional TE. The fact that this will be his 28 year old season and that he's accomplished so little leads me to believe that this is who he is... sort of a TE version of River Cracraft.

If he were to gain 20 pounds of lean muscle, then I'd say maybe... but at his age? If he were 24, I'd say okay... but KC made no effort to keep him, so I'm going to come down on the side of 'show me'. I think he'll have to be awfully good before he makes it.
 
Drive Time Dolphins podcast loves Fortson.
Yeah, well, Travis can never say anything negative about any player. He works for the organization. Don't expect any non biased analysis from Drive Time.

You have to take it ALL with a huge grain of salt.

That's not to say it isn't a well done, well produced show. It absolutely is. For player interviews, background, etc., it's great.
 
Podcasts tend to deal in the extreme. To get viewers they tend to deal in absolutes... and lots of yelling. Yeah, I'm not a podcast guy normally. Can you tell? Lol.

I suppose that Fortson could make is as a move TE... at his weight, he's not a traditional TE. The fact that this will be his 28 year old season and that he's accomplished so little leads me to believe that this is who he is... sort of a TE version of River Cracraft.

If he were to gain 20 pounds of lean muscle, then I'd say maybe... but at his age? If he were 24, I'd say okay... but KC made no effort to keep him, so I'm going to come down on the side of 'show me'. I think he'll have to be awfully good before he makes it.
Drive Time isn't that type of podcast. It's part of the Organization's media department.
 
Spot on Fever!!

Hill played well and was a surprise udfa find. He's all effort on blocking, and he did look to run better routes as season progressed. I can see him within 2 years developing into TE2. He's a better athlete than smythe.

Smythe is a good fit as TE2, but that contract is a tad steep for such a limited #2.
 
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.
I totally agree that it will be Jonnu, Smythe, and Hill on the opening day roster. Nice writeup.
 
Agree with everything, except that I think Fortson probably has a better shot at making the roster than you project. We gave him $425k guaranteed, which is too much for us to view him as a roster long-shot. We could definitely still cut him, but with that much guaranteed, we probably think it’s at least 50/50 that he makes the team.

I do agree with everything else, though, including everything on Jonnu and Smythe and the fact that I’d slot Hill over Fortson.
 
I totally agree that it will be Jonnu, Smythe, and Hill on the opening day roster. Nice writeup.
I agree. Hill appears to be well liked. I think Fortson, is the hybrid guy, who can play various roles. It's possible Miami keeps him with specific packages in mind for him?
 
Yeah, well, Travis can never say anything negative about any player. He works for the organization. Don't expect any non biased analysis from Drive Time.

You have to take it ALL with a huge grain of salt.

That's not to say it isn't a well done, well produced show. It absolutely is. For player interviews, background, etc., it's great.
Did he ever have anything negative to say about any Dolphins player even when he posted on here? He was always the biggest homer. :lol:
 
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.
pretty much agree with everything here. Good write up
 
Podcasts tend to deal in the extreme. To get viewers they tend to deal in absolutes... and lots of yelling. Yeah, I'm not a podcast guy normally. Can you tell? Lol.

I suppose that Fortson could make is as a move TE... at his weight, he's not a traditional TE. The fact that this will be his 28 year old season and that he's accomplished so little leads me to believe that this is who he is... sort of a TE version of River Cracraft.

If he were to gain 20 pounds of lean muscle, then I'd say maybe... but at his age? If he were 24, I'd say okay... but KC made no effort to keep him, so I'm going to come down on the side of 'show me'. I think he'll have to be awfully good before he makes it.
Cracraft was good when he played though ❤️
 
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.
Totally agree with your assessment. Good job!
 
Interested to see how Fortson performs and if he is fully healthy. My read is that he was an under the radar targeted acquisition by GM Chris Grier. I think that he may be a helluva lot better than some expect. Should also be noted that just spending decent time in the Chiefs' TE room with Travis Kelce would be educational. TK is probably in contention for greatest Tight End of all time*.

*Taylor Swift concurs
 
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Podcasts tend to deal in the extreme. To get viewers they tend to deal in absolutes... and lots of yelling. Yeah, I'm not a podcast guy normally. Can you tell? Lol.

I suppose that Fortson could make is as a move TE... at his weight, he's not a traditional TE. The fact that this will be his 28 year old season and that he's accomplished so little leads me to believe that this is who he is... sort of a TE version of River Cracraft.

If he were to gain 20 pounds of lean muscle, then I'd say maybe... but at his age? If he were 24, I'd say okay... but KC made no effort to keep him, so I'm going to come down on the side of 'show me'. I think he'll have to be awfully good before he makes it.
28 puts him in his pime, Tanner Conner has has his chances and has dropped the ball every time
 
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