Mike McDaniel walked as much as Erik Ezukanma earlier than his first apply as a Miami Dolphins participant and commenced to tease the rookie.
The Dolphins’ coach was seemingly tried to chop the strain, ease the nervous vitality the crew’s fourth-round choose had percolating by mentioning his physique fats, and telling the previous Texas Tech receiver he wanted to get it down.
“I’m at 4 p.c,” mentioned Ezukanma, who caught 138 passes for two,165 yards and scored 17 touchdowns throughout his 4 seasons with the Pink Raiders. “He was cracking a joke on me. We had somewhat snigger.”
Earlier than taking to the sector on Friday throughout the first on-field session of Dolphins rookie minicamp, all of the newcomers — the 4 draftees, the 14 undrafted rookie free brokers, and camp tryout gamers — have been measured, weighed, examined, examined, and principally over-analyzed to find out precisely what every participant is working with.
So, what are these newbies bringing to the crew?
The proper reply to that query about this handful of kids, who will seemingly get off to a gradual begin within the NFL due to how deep Miami’s roster seems to be, is inexperience.
And with that comes a facet of errors, and rising pains like what Jevon Holland, Jaelan Phillips, Jaylen Waddle and the remainder of final 12 months’s rookies skilled earlier than choosing up their productiveness within the second half of the 2021 season.
That’s why it’s not protected to anticipate any of those rookies to play vital roles in 2022.
Former Kansas State standout Skylar Thompson may spend his rookie season on the apply squad except he balls out within the preseason and turns into a developmental quarterback the Dolphins can’t expose to the waiver wire.
Until Channing Tindall is a soccer savant, don’t be shocked if the previous Georgia linebacker Miami chosen with the 102 choose within the 2022 NFL draft spends his rookie season struggling to be taught Miami’s difficult hybrid protection.
The percentages of Tindall, who was a tad smaller than I anticipated regardless of being listed at 6 toes 2, 230 kilos, unseating Jerome Baker and Elandon Roberts for one of many beginning inside linebacker spots are slim. Baker has led the crew in tackles for 3 years, and Roberts, a two-time crew captain, is coming off a profession 12 months, one the place he wasn’t a full 12 months into the rehab of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee till December.
So in a really perfect world Tindall, who was a job participant on the Georgia crew that received the nationwide championship final fall, change into a package-based participant. Perhaps he’ll push Duke Riley for the function he held final season as a pass-coverage specialist.
“School was fast-paced, but it surely’s even sooner right here,” Tindall mentioned following Friday’s apply. “That’s in all probability the largest factor I took from right now.”
Cameron Goode, the California go rusher the Dolphins chosen within the seventh spherical, dealing with the same uphill climb. Until this 6-foot-3, 232-pounder turns into an edge-rushing demon throughout coaching camp and the exhibition season he’ll seemingly have to carve out a contributing function on particular groups.
Which may not look like loads, however it might be greater than what final 12 months’s seventh-round picks — tailback Gerrid Doaks and offensive deal with Larnel Coleman — did for the Dolphins. Miami stashed Coleman on the harm report final season, and Doaks spent the complete season on Miami’s apply squad regardless of the Dolphins’ determined want for tailback assist at midseason.
After Friday’s session Goode commented on how “surreal” it was to be on an NFL roster.
That’s why his 5:45 a.m. alarm didn’t hassle him regardless that Goode was up until round midnight learning his newly issued playbook, and watching movie on the team-issued iPad.
“My thoughts was racing,” Goode explaining why he couldn’t sleep.
“Once I awakened this morning I used to be telling myself there is no such thing as a place on earth I’d moderately be,” mentioned Goode, who registered 172 tackles, and 20.5 sacks within the 37 faculty video games. “I used to be drained, however I couldn’t be mad.”
In any case, he’s dwelling his dream, a dream so many different faculty soccer gamers have, however don’t get an opportunity to make a actuality. Even whether it is as a job participant, or roster lengthy shot.
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