The Miami Dolphins are well into training camp and fresh off a Tuesday practice with the Atlanta Falcons. Like most teams that can call themselves contenders, the Dolphins are rich in talent, especially in certain position groups.
The depth in certain rooms makes many wonder: who will be the odd player or players out? In a testament to that talent, the top three rooms where popular names and fan favorites line up are the skill position groups.
The tight-end group is the most interesting.
When the first depth chart was published on Monday, veteran Durham Smythe was listed as the Dolphins’ tight end. The longest actively tenured player on the roster, he is extremely reliable. In his six seasons as a pro and with Miami, he has a catch rate of 77.8 percent.
Believe it or not, his 35 catches for 366 yards last season was good for third on the roster behind wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. His 2023 catch rate was 81.4% and his success rate was 72.1 percent.
However, neither he nor any other Dolphins’ tight end scored a touchdown last season.
In 2024, undrafted free agent Julian Hill returns. He enters his second season looking to build on his in-line blocking expertise. Recently, he has performed well as a pass catcher in camp and is looking to improve his overall game. Hill is making his presence felt.
Also back is an undrafted free agent from 2022, Tanner Conner. As a more developmental player, Conner will look to not only make the roster but stay there and get on the field. He has not seen significant action in his two seasons and could factor in as a pass-catching weapon should he make the 53.
While that is a tall order for Conner, it’s due to Miami bringing in a pair of free agents who do a number of things very well and have been missing from Dolphins tight ends for some time.
First, Jonnu Smith is one of the top-tier yards-after-catch-producing tight ends in the game. In this metric, he is comparable to George Kittle in his career. Both have averaged over 7 yards after the catch per reception, the tops in the league since Smith’s rookie season.
Smith’s red zone touchdown scoring ability is added to that. He has 15 touchdowns within the opponent’s 20-yard line and 11 from within the 10.
Adding to this is former Kansas City Chief Jody Fortson. On IR all of last season, his previous two were behind Travis Kelce and company. In limited offensive action from a target standpoint, he has 14 catches on 18 targets and four touchdowns.
Interestingly, three of those touchdowns were from the two-yard line or closer, adding to now a potent threat of goal-line pass catchers for quarterback Tua Tagovialoa. Beyond near the goal line, when Fortson does go out for passes, it’s with about double the depth of target than Smith does. No knock, just very different ways of earning their yardage between the 20-yard lines.
This room could see four on the 53, at maximum, which means someone is on the outside. Miami will have other tough calls at wide receiver and running back, yet the tight end room could be the most intriguing regarding how they roster and utilize the stable this season.
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