90 minutes before kickoff, the Miami Dolphins announced both Kendall Lamm and Terron Armstead will not play vs the Houston Texans. That means Patrick Paul will start at LT and Jackson Carman will start at RT.
Inactives for #MIAvsHOU pic.twitter.com/ntS0agKNRK
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 15, 2024
Dante Collinelli broke down Paul’s play vs the Jets this past Sunday in his All-22 column. Here is what he had to say below.
The Patrick Paul Experiment
Let’s finish things up with a look at Miami’s second-round pick, who replaced Terron Armstead at left tackle early in the game. Patrick Paul made one start this season vs. the Titans and was mostly a non-factor — not good or bad.
I’d wager Paul’s performance against the Jets was roughly the same. He mostly held up in pass protection, handling rushers like Haason Reddick well enough, especially given how quickly the ball comes out in Miami’s offense.
Super curious to see how Patrick Paul grades out this week. Thought you got a little bit of everything with his performance, including some nice pass pro. pic.twitter.com/hmSbV9qCKF
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) December 9, 2024
Paul overset a lot in this game, leaving himself open to inside counters, and his hand placement on initial contact is still a mess. That said, he mostly ate up rushers when they did get into his chest early in reps. That’s the benefit of being a massive player.
I would prefer Paul to use his length better than that, but given Miami’s offense and Paul’s rookie status, his current strategy makes sense.
Still, he wasn’t perfect in pass protection on Sunday. PFF tagged him with three pressures, but the third one was a little questionable. However, this play was a clear miss as Paul gets way too top-heavy, allowing Quinnin Williams to swim move him away.
One his 3 charged pressures (I would’ve tagged him 2) as he just gets too top heavy, a common issue. pic.twitter.com/bqjqLnRjri
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) December 9, 2024
Paul’s run-blocking reps left a lot to be desired. He wasn’t bad, but he didn’t make many impact blocks on Sunday, either. He did show some physicality, which, as we talked about last week, is something this line is sorely missing without Austin Jackson.
Nice finish on McDonald here pic.twitter.com/rRjKsb41YG
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) December 9, 2024
The framing of this block isn’t perfect, but he’s so powerful and strong that McDonald can’t get free. Paul keeps driving and eventually pushes McDonald into the ground.
Paul gets into space well, and I recognize this isn’t an easy play, but his actual accuracy in space is an area I’d like to see improve. pic.twitter.com/m9IbS5VsfT
— Dante Collinelli (@DanteCollinelli) December 9, 2024
My biggest complaint with Paul as a run blocker is his lack of accuracy in space. This popped up when he played against the Titans, and he missed a few more blocks, including the one above, on Sunday.
To be fair to Paul, blocking a cornerback at full speed like this is quite hard. I’m less concerned about this play, specifically, and more about the actual trend.
He moves well in space for his size, and the Dolphins love to get their offensive linemen in front of screens and reverses like this. Paul’s ability to get into space is a huge reason Miami drafted him so high, but he needs to actually make contact when he gets there.
Right now, he’s whiffing, and it’s preventing the Dolphins from generating explosives when they have an otherwise great play call.
Overall, Sunday’s game was a step in the right direction for Paul. His kick slide looked a lot more explosive, and he mostly held his own against the Jets pass rush. However, his technique is still a mess, and he’s not maximizing his tools in the running game.
All of that is understandable, given Sunday’s game was just the second time he played more than 20 snaps in a game. We’ll see if he gets more action down the stretch with Terron Armstead’s nagging knee injury.