Thursday Camp Report

From SI.COM

The Miami Dolphins were back in practice Thursday, with officials present for the first time this camp.

Attendance report at Dolphins practice: Not working Thursday were TE Jonnu Smith, WR Erik Ezukanma, RB Salvon Ahmed, C Ireland Brown, S Jordan Poyer, OLB Grayson Murphy, DT Neville Gallimore, LB Anthony Walker Jr. and CB Cam Smith.

• Running back De'Von Achane wore the orange jersey as the practice player of the day for Tuesday.
• Rookie tight end Hayden Rucci was tasked with pumping up the crowd before the start of practice.
• New wide receiver Willie Snead IV was wearing 82, the number that belonged to rookie seventh-round pick Tahj Washington before he was placed on injured reserve.
• The first competitive perid involved one-on-ones, with wide receivers going against cornerbacks from the 10-yard line on the field closest to the stands.
• The highlights of that period involved two battles between Jalen Ramsey and Tyreek Hill and one between Ramsey and Jaylen Waddle. Hill beat Ramsey in the end zone on the first one, but Ramsey came back to knock down the other two passes.
• Cornerback Siran Neal stepped in front of a Skylar Thompson pass intended for Malik Washington near the sideline for an interception.
• On the flip side, Nik Needham struggled in a drill (which favors the offense) getting beat once for a touchdown and then being flagged for defensive holding.
• In the first set of 11-on-11s, Emmanuel Ogbah got into the backfield immediately on a end-around to Jaylen Waddle and would have blown up the play in a live situation.
• Zach Sieler would have had a sack of Tua in a live situation, but the play continued after Sieler stopped and Tua unleashed a beautiful deep pass to Tyreek Hill.
• Rookie sixth-round pick Malik Washington had a hard time making catches, failing to come up with two tough but makable receptions. On the second, he initially bobbled the pass before Needham knocked it a way.
• DT Teair Tart blew up a running play when he helped the left side of the defensive line pushed back the blocking wall.
• Mike White had a nice throw in tight coverage to River Cracraft, who did a nice job of snatching the high throw.
• Chris Brooks had a nice decisive run on the right side of the line on a play where guard Chasen Hines led the way.
• Kader Kohou had a nice pass breakup on an outside throw to Hill, though Tua's throw was slightly behind Hill.
• Snead had a short reception from White.
• Rookie Mohamed Kamara would have had a sack when he burst through the middle and immediately got to White.
• Tua's best throw might have been a short outside completion to Waddle in the face of a blitz.
• Newcomer Curtis Bolton burst through the line to meet Jaylen Wright after Wright took a pitch.
• The Dolphins ended the first competitive period with one play at the end of the first half from the 10-yard line, and Tua threw an incomplete pass before Skylar Thompson threw into coverage to Braylon Saunders and was lucky he wasn't picked off.
• In the next 11-on-11, with the offense starting at its 35, Tua led the No. 1 group to a quick touchdown, which came on a 34-yard pass to tight end Julian Hill after he found himself wide open in the niddle of the field because of a bad breakdown on defense.
• The first play of the drive was a nice 15-yard completion near the sideline to Hill.
• The offense didn't move with either Skylar Thompson or Mike White at quarterback.
• In Thompson's series, DT Jonathan Harris stuffed Jeff Wilson Jr. for no gain on third-and-1 and on fourth-and-1, Da'Shawn Hand and Chop Robinson got to White immediately after he faked a handoff.
• The next series had the offense starting at the opponent 12 and Tua threw a touchdown pass to Waddle in the back of the end zone, after which Hill took the ball and punted a good distance toward the fans.
• Braylon Sanders failed to come up cleanly with a pass from Mike White and it was knocked away by Storm Duck.
• Jordyn Brooks had a nice leaping deflection on a swing pass to Tyreek Hill.
• Je'Quan Burton had a nice diving catch in the end zone from Tua after there was some pressure that may or may not have resulted in a sack in a real game.
• Among players who looked good on this day were Quinton Bell (again) and River Cracraft, while it wasn't a great outing for T Kendall Lamm and Malik Washington.
• In a final 11-on-11 starting from midfield, Jalen Ramsey had blanket coverage down the left sideline against Cracraft, leading to a Tua incompletion.
• On the next play, Tua threw a perfect pass on a quick slant to Cracraft to beat Ramsey despite great coverage.
• And then Waddle easily beat Ramsey on a deeper slant on a third-and-3, catching a perfect pass in stride for a 43-yard touchdown.
• White then took over at quarterback, and Washington had a nice catch over the middle.

https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/dolphins-camp-day-seven-practice-report-01j476wb3h4m

 

So perhaps Dolphins wide receivers are making up for lost time this summer because Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle have both cooked the seven-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer for long touchdowns in the first seven days of camp.

Miami Dolphins’ Must-See Jaylen Waddle-Jalen Ramsey Matchup
Last week, Hill got far behind his star teammate for a touchdown on a vertical route after Ramsey got caught looking in the backfield.

That was impressive — but not as impressive as what Waddle did on Thursday. He got inside leverage on Ramsey on a third-down slant route, corralled the ball in stride, and turned on the jets for a 43-yard touchdown strike.

Now, this shouldn’t be taken as us dumping on Ramsey, who has made plenty of plays this camp, including a PBU vs. Hill in one-on-one coverage on Thursday.

But these last two weeks should give those watching a greater appreciation for just how good the Dolphins’ top two receivers have been.

MORE: Simulate the NFL Season With PFN’s Playoff Predictor

If they can do this against Ramsey, how does the rest of the league have a prayer this year if the Dolphins’ offensive line can give Tua Tagovailoa enough time?

Hill said trash talk between Ramsey and the Dolphins’ receivers “goes back and forth.”

“We got a real good team,” Hill added. “We’re very fortunate to have Ramsey on the other side. A very competitive guy, a guy who doesn’t shy away from anything, man. So, it’s fun. It’s a part of the game, man. You win some, you lose some.

“Fortunate for us, we’ve been on the winning side, so it’s been a lot of fun. And I’ve learned a lot playing with Ramsey, understanding different leverages, understanding different releases I can use against different guys with longer arms. The process has been fun.”

Probably more for Hill and Waddle than Ramsey, at least thus far.

Dolphins Injury Report
Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. not only avoided major injury after getting rolled up on during a live rep on Tuesday, he seemingly avoided injury altogether.

Wilson was back on the field for Thursday’s practice, and apparently to work without limitation.

That’s certainly welcome injury news for a Dolphins offense that is without three of its top eight wide receivers. Rookie Tahj Washington is out for the year, while Erik Ezukanma is out of practice with something so concerning that the Dolphins signed Willie Snead IV on Wednesday.

Of course, the biggest question at the position remains Odell Beckham Jr., who has yet to practice with the Dolphins due to an undisclosed injury that predates his time in Miami.

Dolphins wide receivers coach Wes Welker suggested that the Dolphins don’t need to get a ton out of Beckham in training camp, “with a guy like that, with the talent, and as smart as he is.”

“In L.A., he was in the same type of system. He’s been working his tail off trying to get back out there. When we see him, we see him” Welker added. “We’ll try to build from there. Making sure his body is right and mind is right.”

Meanwhile, Raheem Mostert and David Long Jr. also returned to practice on Thursday after getting Tuesday off.

Running back Salvon Ahmed, tight end Jonnu Smith, offensive lineman Ireland Brown, defensive lineman Neville Gallimore, linebacker Anthony Walker Jr., safety Jordan Poyer, and cornerback Cam Smith did not practice on Thursday.