Miami Dolphins: Battle at the Wide Receiver Position
The Miami Dolphins were already solid at wideout when they added two more receivers in the 2016 NFL Draft. So how much room is left on the roster for guys like Griff Whalen or Matt Hazel?
The Miami Dolphins entered the 2016 NFL Draft with a number of questions on both sides of the ball. One of the few positions the team was solid at was wide receiver, yet the team spent not one, but two, selections on the position. These draft picks, along with the talent already on the roster, leads to the question “What is the wide receiver position going to look like next season?”
Last season, 2014 second-round pick Jarvis Landry set a career and franchise record with 110 catches. He amassed 1,106 yards and four touchdowns. He’s firmly rooted as the team’s number one receiver, and rightly so. He has been one of the few bright spots for the team over the last two tumultuous seasons.
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The team’s first-round selection last season, DeVante Parker, and Kenny Stills, are also firmly rooted as the team’s second and third wide receivers. In the 2016 NFL Draft, the team added the talents of Leonte Carroo and Jakeem Grant, and both figure to make the team due to the unique talents that each of them possesses, but how much room is left on the roster after these five?
That is the question that, once answered, will directly affect the careers of both Matt Hazel and Griff Whalen.
Hazel and Whalen are fighting for a position on the roster that may not even be there. There is a distinct possibility that the Dolphins only carry five wide receivers on the roster into the season, opting to leave that roster spot open to have more depth at another position.
If the Dolphins do decide to carry a sixth receiver on the roster, who should it be? Should they keep their sixth-round selection of the 2014 NFL Draft in Matt Hazel, or should they keep Whalen whom they signed in the off-season from the Indianapolis Colts.
Whalen comes to the Dolphins after four seasons with the Colts, in which he has totaled 45 receptions for just under 500 yards and three touchdowns. Where he has really contributed throughout his career, however, is on special teams. Whalen has 71 combined punt and kickoff returns including experience in the playoffs, a contribution which could be invaluable to a team looking to right the ship after years of mediocrity.
However, the Dolphins already have plenty of options to consider in the return game, with Landry having been the team’s primary return man in the past, and both Grant and running back Kenyan Drake, the team’s third-round selection from Alabama, come to the team as experienced special teams contributors in college.
Now that there are options on special teams, and Landry has shown consistent ability to be the team’s leading receiver, I would expect the Dolphins to want to remove him from his return duties, which should all but guarantee roster spots for both Drake and, more importantly, Grant.
Despite Grant’s small size, he has shown ability in the return game, and has reportedly been impressive in the team’s OTA’s. Here’s what Miami Dolphins reporter Andrew Abramson had to say about Grant’s performance during a recent interview with The Fan SportsRadio 1340:
"“Jakeem Grant is a little guy…he’s listed at 5-foot-6, and there’s no one on the field that compares in size to him,” Abramson said. “The players love him though, he’s already earned the nickname ‘Mighty Mouse’. Ryan Tannehill hasn’t stopped praising the guy, stating that he can not only help special teams, but the offense too.”"
After being drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 draft, Hazel has struggled to make a contribution to the team. He has appeared in only five games in his first two season, failing to notch a reception in any of them. Despite the lack of production, Hazel has shown flashes of potential during his playing time in the preseason, but has yet to turn that potential into any real contribution.
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Both Whalen and Hazel could provide the Dolphins with depth at the position but with the talent ahead of them on the roster it’s hard to project either one of them making any sort of tangible contribution to the Dolphins in the 2016 season. Ultimately, the team may be better suited leaving the roster spot open for someone to provide depth, leaving both players looking for work elsewhere for the 2016 season.