Dolphins Camp 2022 Day 8: Practice Observations

Miami Dolphins practice highlights included a strong day for rookie Erik Ezukanma and Teddy Bridgewater having the best quarterback performance of the day

The Miami Dolphins had a second padded practice at the Baptist Health Training Complex on Wednesday, and the fans in attendance got treated to a much different musical playlist after Tua Tagovailoa was given the orange jersey for his performance the previous day.

Things kicked off with "Hawai'i Aloha" and the practice featured a heavy dose of Bob Marley with some K.C. & The Sunshine Band and some oldies such as "Pass The Dutchie" and "Red Red Wine."

With that, let's dive into the practice report:

ATTENDANCE REPORT

Offensive lineman Michael Deiter and fullback John Lovett continued to miss practice with their recent injuries, though they were accompanied on the no-go list by some veterans either rehabbing or getting "load management" days.

Players who did not work included Tyreek Hill, Terron Armstead, Raheem Mostert, Alec Ingold and Chase Edmonds.

It is worth noting that this was the second consecutive day off for Armstead, who had offseason knee surgery.

Edge defender Jaelan Phillips, who left the practice field early Tuesday, was a full participant.

PRACTICE TOP PERFORMERS

— Salvon Ahmed looks like a forgotten guy in the team's running back room, but he had himself a really impressive practice. He looks fast and decisive on his running plays and he also had a catch on a swing pass from Teddy Bridgewater that would have resulted in a big gain.

— Wide receiver Erik Ezukanma was very visible in the passing game as the rookie fourth-round pick continues to impress. He had four catches 

— The last of our three nods has to go to rookie free agent tight end Tanner Conner, who has made the transition from college wide receiver. He was on the receiving end of two long completions, one down the right sideline from Teddy Bridgewater and one deep down the middle from Tua Tagovailoa.

QB WATCH

Because it’s training camp, we need to talk about the quarterback performances every practice.

— Tua didn't have nearly as good a practice as he did Tuesday, and he finished (by our unofficial count) with 10 completions in 16 attempts. He best throw might have come in a late red-zone drill when he zipped a pass inside to Jaylen Waddle. He also had a long touchdown pass off a quick to WR River Cracraft on a play where there appeared to be a busted coverage. But there also were some plays where Tua held the ball a long time because he couldn't find anybody open.

-- Teddy Bridgewater had himself perhaps his best practice of camp so far, completing 7 of 10 passes, including the long one to Conner. He also had the swing pass to Ahmed along with a deep completion down the middle to Braylon Sanders and two touchdown passes in the red-zone drill

— Skylar Thompson completed 5 of 8 passes, his last pass a touchdown to running back Gerrid Doaks in a red-zone drill when Doaks slipped open on the right side. Thompson's best pass was a relatively short throw outside to Mohamed Sanu where he put a lot of zip on the ball.

OTHER PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS

-- Because of his tweet Monday night, we have to continue keeping tabs on Preston Williams, who yet again wasn't targeted in team drills.

-- There again were some shotgun snap issues, again not bad enough to cause a turnover but enough to throw off the timing. This time there were two by Connor Williams and two by Adam Pankey.

-- Before team drills, the Dolphins again did one-on-one work, and the highlights in the DB-WR matchups included Xavien Howard (again) with tight coverage on two reps against Jaylen Waddle; Noah Igbinoghene and Cedrick Wilson Jr. each winning one rep against each other; cornerback Keion Crossen blanketed Sanders on their first rep before Sanders came back to catch a deep sideline pass from Tua with a great body adjustment near the sideline; and Trill Williams blanketing Preston Williams on a rep.

-- Linebacker Sam Eguavoen, who's been noticeable lately, met Doaks in the backfield on a running play.

-- Tough day for tight end Hunter Long, who dropped two very catchable passes.

-- Rookie Za'Quandre White fumbled at the end of a running play and Brennan Scarlett recovered for the defense.

-- Waddle, Cracraft and Wilson both failed to come down with tough, but makable, deep catches.

-- Zach Sieler met a running back from the backfield.

-- Porter Gustin, who had two sacks Tuesday, did a great job of holding the edge on a running play.