Dolphins 2023 Camp: August 5 Practice Observations

What stood out during the ninth practice of Miami Dolphins training camp

Highlights, lowlights and observations from the ninth practice (day 11) of Miami Dolphins training camp Saturday:

-- The Dolphins held practice at Hard Rock Stadium and — shocker — there was some rain during the proceedings. It was accompanied by lightning, which caused a suspension of practice.

-- The practice at the stadium was not a pure scrimmage, but it involved a lot of team sessions.

CAM SMITH RETURNS, ARMSTEAD SITS OUT

-- We'll start off with the attendance check, which included the good news of cornerback Cam Smith being back after he left practice early Friday.

-- But as one 2023 draft pick returned, another sat out as third-round selection De'Von Achane missed practice with an undisclosed issue. He was spotted doing some work with heavy ropes on the sideline.

-- Tackle Terron Armstead was on hand but did not practice, not exactly shocking given his injury history and the fact he recently had a minor knee procedure.

-- DBs Brandon Jones, Trill Williams and Keion Crossen did not practice, and the same goes for LBs Duke Riley and Malik Reed and WR Erik Ezukanma.

-- Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. went to the locker room early in practice, but returned after two fingers taped together and resumed working.

-- Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins wore the orange jersey as the top performer from Friday.

NOAH IGBINOGHENE AND TYREEK HILL WITH BIG PLAYS

-- The two most noteworthy plays of practice involved wide receiver Tyreek Hill, though one of them was a highlight for the defense.

-- Igbinoghene picked off a mid-range Tua Tagovailoa pass down the left sideline after Hill stopped his route, a sign of possible miscommunication between quarterback and receiver.

-- On Tua's next series, he and Hill connected on a 58-yard touchdown pass down the right side, though it didn't come before rookie safety Keiondre Smith punched the ball out of Hill's hands before he reached the goal line, only for the ball to bounce back to Hill.

-- As usual, there was a one-on-one session before team periods, and the story there in the receiver/DBs part was the flag fest, with DPI all over the place.

-- One very unusual occurrence was an interception by Xavien Howard on a Mike White pass after Hill tried a series of moves 5-10 yards downfield but couldn't shake him.

-- The one touchdown pass in that session came when Skylar Thompson hit Robbie Chosen in the end zone despite tight coverage from Eli Apple.

GOOD DAY FOR THE DEFENSE

-- Despite the long touchdown pass from Tua to Hill, the defense probably had the better of the play during team sessions.

-- It started with rookie free agent Aubrey Miller Jr. meeting Raheem Mostert at the line on a run on the first play.

-- On the third play of that opening 11-on-11 set, Connor Williams sailed the shotgun snap over the head of Tua, which obviously would have resulted in a big loss in a game situation.

-- Williams, to be fair, came right back on the next play with a nice block against Raekwon Davis on a run by Mostert.

-- Before Tua connected with Hill deep for that touchdown, Tua tried another bomb to him, this one near the left sideline, but Hill was double-covered and newcomer Myles Dorn knocked the ball away.

-- Safety Jevon Holland also had a deflection on an incomplete deep pass, this one from Thompson intended for Braylon Sanders.

-- Rookie free agent linebacker Garrett Nelson, linebacker Jaelan Phillips, defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman each had a sack, and Wilkins also could have been credited with one (depending on who's scoring at home).

-- Zach Sieler again had a tackle for loss on a run.

-- Rookie quarterback James Blackman got his first 11-on-11 snaps of camp, though his one series included two running plays and the sack by Twyman when Blackman never had a chance to avoid him.

-- White had a nice completion to Chosen on a slant.

-- Braxton Berrios was involved in back-to-back noteworthy plays shortly before practice was stopped. On the first, Howard did a nice job of coming up to meet him at the line after a quick throw from White. On the next, he was the target of another White pass after making a cut to the outside, but the ball got there just as he was about to run into cornerback Eli Apple.

DEFENSE DOMINATES AFTER DELAY

-- The defense dominated even more once practice resumed.

-- Sieler started things off with a tip of a Tua pass at the line.

-- Bronson had a sack, followed on the next play by another potential sack on a play where Raekwon Davis got the initial pressure.

-- Robbie Chosen had a couple of big plays, a 23-yard completion from Thompson and later a completion after he was covered by Igbinoghene on a slant and the ball was bounced up. That might have been a long touchdown in a game.

-- Tight end Isaiah Higgins had a nice play off a rollout by White when he blocked Miller to the ground and then got open to catch a short pass.

-- Mitchell Agude had a couple of noticeable plays, a QB pressure and then a tackle for loss against Myles Gaskin.

-- DB Bryce Thompson had a sack on a blitz and then followed that with great coverage against Waddle to force an incompletion.

-- Tua completed a pass to himself after Twyman tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage.

-- Verone McKinley III forced an incompletion after an apparent completion from Thompson to Sanders.

-- Rookie Anthony Montalvo and Twyman had back-to-back sacks against Thompson in a two-minute drill.

-- DB Elijah Campbell picked off Thompson on a pass that went off WR Freddie Swain's hands on a play where Brandon Pili got a lot of pressure up the middle.

-- On the last two-minute drill of practice, Eli Apple was the star, first jumping a route by Cedrick Wilson Jr. and getting his hands on the ball for a pass breakup and ending practice by getting in front of tight end Durham Smythe to pick off Tua near the goal line.

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