Dolphins Saturday Mailbag: Tyreek, Wright, Chubb, and More

How big of a role could Jaylen Wright get as a rookie? What's the next step in Chop Robinson's development? Tackling those and other Miami Dolphins issues

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris greets Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (3) and wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) during warmups for a preseason game at Hard Rock Stadium. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Part 1 of a weekend Miami Dolphins mailbag:

From Jason Kirkland (@1bigdad424):

Hi Alain, it seemed that Bell was having a great camp, but disappeared against the Falcons. Do the Falcons have an elite O-line or is this another indictment on Miami's O-line? Obviously, going against Washington is another opportunity for him to show it against someone else.

Hey Jason, the nature of practices were offensive linemen aren’t as physical as they will be in the regular season lends to pass rushers being able to shine in camp practices. And while the Falcons do have a solid offensive line, none of their front-line players suited up against the Dolphins, so that wasn’t a factor. And, yes, Washington is another important opportunity for him.

From Dave (@angryvet59):

Another of my Poupart Crystal Ball questions but when opposing teams put a governor on Miami's speed (how's that one?), can McDaniel quickly adapt to something else?

Hey Dave, this was the idea (I think) behind bringing in other options for the passing game like Jonnu Smith and OBJ. And, yes, McDaniel certainly is smart enough to quickly adapt, though he has to resist the temptation to default to what has worked best.

TYREEK HILL AND THE DOLPHINS WIDE RECEIVERS

From Luke Fader (@lukefader):

Hi Alain, do you think the Dolphins will intentionally rest Tyreek Hill early in games to take advantage of tired defenses similar to how he's been rested in training camp?

Hey Luke, zero chance. The Dolphins want Tyreek in the game as much as possible because he’s a game-wrecker and it doesn’t matter when he wrecks the game for opponents.

From Jayco (@ljc7975):

Are you as concerned as I am about the state of the WR position? After the starters, Beckham is questionable (age & health), EZ is a bust, Welker is a JAG and RC is serviceable. This puts more pressure on Tua behind a sub-par line.

Hey Jayco, I’m going to assume you voluntarily had “Welker in there instead of Braxton Berrios because the playing styles are similar. As for your question, I can’t say I disagree with you because it is a very top-heavy WR corps (with all due respect to everybody else besides Hill and Waddle).

From Andy Bunting (@AndyB250):

You have often said that the way Miami play leaves less margin of error when things aren't going to plan; have you seen enough in this supposed new, be the bully not be bullied approach in camp to have optimism that when December (esp. in Cleveland) comes we are more prepared.

Hey Andy, I’d love to tell you I have a high level of confidence in that aspect, but I still need to see it in a game. And, based on the personnel, I would lean toward the idea that maybe it still would be a concern.

From Sal Calderone (@AmesCalderone):

Do you think Jaylen Wright will be RB1 by midseason?

Hey Sal, this is what we call a classic case of premature evaluation. Yes, Wright looked great against Atlanta, but let’s not forget that was done against second- and third-teamers playing a vanilla defense. And can we not forget about Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane just yet? So, no, Wright will not be RB1 by midseason — barring injuries, of course.

From Phins654321 (@phins654321):

Hope the OL has a good season but not too confident. Has Tua been working on improvising? Extending plays when the play/ first few reads break down?

I don’t know that Tua has been “improvising” because it’s not like he didn’t continue plays under pressure last summer, but what I will tell you is that it’s pretty obvious his movement is a lot better this summer with the weight loss. Because of that, I do believe you’ll see more plays off schedule in 2024.

From Fins Broke My Heart (@Phinzup44):

Is Bradley Chubb the next cap casualty?

That is a very good and legitimate question. It’s awfully hard to look at the Dolphins’ 2025 salary-cap situation and look at Chubb having no guaranteed salary and see how Miami could save $20 million against the cap and not think it’s a realistic possibility.

From Marco Crescenzi (@Mafioso1313):

Will the Dolphins utilize the tight end spot and actually throw to them; 0 touchdowns last year for tight ends. Why does McDaniel and Tua not throw to them?

Hey Marco, if it doesn’t happen this year, it might never happen, right? I get that the focus has been, is and always will be Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but I’m with you that the Dolphins maybe didn’t maximize their offense last year by neglecting the tight position. The argument could be made the Dolphins didn’t have a great receiving option at tight end last year, but the addition of Jonnu Smith solved that issue.

YOUNG DOLPHINS DEFENSIVE PLAYERS

From Francisco Rivero (@Francisc0River0):

Alain, you once gave a young Xavien Howard your stamp of approval of becoming an impact NFL player. Are you ready to give Chop this same stamp? If not, what else do you need to see?

Hey Francisco, thanks for bringing that up. Love being reminded of my W’s. I made that comment during X’s second training camp when he was tying DeVante Parker in a knot after a rookie season that was sidetracked a bit by injuries. I do like what I’ve seen from Chop very much so far, but I’m not quite ready yet to put the stamp because I need to see him do it in game situations instead of just practice. But I do think there’s a real good chance the Dolphins got themselves a stud there.

From Bob Windle (@BobWindle):

What is your opinion of Cam Smith’s performance so far in training camp?

Hey Bob, the thing with Cam Smith is he was injured for a good chunk of camp, so it’s tough to evaluate his performance. I will tell you I liked his practices this week Wednesday and Thursday with Washington.

From Richard Hulme (@RichardHulme7):

Rank biggest gap left as a result of these departures & subsequent signings: Hunt, Wilkins, Howard.

Hey Richard, very interesting question and I’ll offer a caveat before I answer in that Howard wasn’t quite the same prime X because of injuries. We also have to consider positional value because a cornerback is more important than a DT or a RG. Having said all that, I think the biggest gap would be Wilkins by a small margin, followed by Hunt and Howard.

From John Hunt (@IronmanJohnHunt):

With the new kickoff rules this year, do you see the team making this a point of emphasis given all of our speed available?

Hey John, if we’re talking about kickoff returns, I’m thinking “point of emphasis” suggests using front-line players in that role, guys like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. The problem with that is I would see opponents then simply kicking the ball out of the end zone and letting the Dolphins start at their 30 (which isn’t bad but not great either). Even beyond that, I’m not sure I’d see the Dolphins using prime offensive players on a regular basis, maybe a turn here and there for Jaylen Wright or De’Von Achane, though.