June 6, 2025 • 34 mins
With OTAs wrapping up next week, and the summer content series on the way, Travis is putting a bow on the offseason by predicting 10 things he thinks could happen based on the Dolphins 2025 offseason. Plus, an examination of the tackle position and how Miami could see a massive leap in performance from those spots this season, and the latest on new DT Ben Stille.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
What is up Dolphins and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
I want to talk tackles. Jack talk tackles very well,
Austin Jackson and Patrick Paul and I want to discuss
how I think we the Royal we might be under
selling what we've got in that position a little bit.
(00:31):
And then for fun, I went through ten things I
think I think Peter King style ten predictions if you
will that I think we could see this season if
it all goes according to plan. So we'll have some
fun with that. From the Baptist Health Studios inside the
Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Draft Time Podcast.
So Ben Stilly's back in the house. The Dolphins signed
(00:53):
the former undrafted rookie of the Miami Dolphins to a
contract to a one year deal after he was cut
by the Cardinals on May twenty seventh. He finds a
new landing spot which was an old landing spot for him,
and went back and watched a little bit of his
tape with both the Cardinals and the Bucks, the two
places that he got some playing time played for the
Browns as well back in twenty twenty two, and I
(01:14):
remember him being a really good leverage power player with
good vision, and that's what I saw on the tape
watching him for just a few reps here. Because he's
he's played sparingly throughout his career. He's got eighteen games played,
one start, let's see two sacks, seventeen tackles, one TfL,
three quarterback hits, so there's not a ton of production.
(01:35):
And when I look at his body composition, six foot four,
two ninety six is what he's listed on Pro Football Reference.
I watched a lot of his tape and it's basically
trying to stack up blocks and try to two gap
and kind of stack peak shed, which I know he
learned a lot of that from Coach Clark down here,
and that was pretty good on the tape that I saw.
But playing at that size at that position without a
(01:55):
ton of burst is difficult, and I think that's kind
of the challenge that he has run into. But he'll
get a chance to come in here and work under
Coach Clark and possibly carve out a role as a
rotational piece in this defensive line that all of a sudden,
like back before the draft, you're like, who's gonna play
reps in the defensive tackle position. Now you've kind of
got a logjam there to figure out. So he can
compete with with Zeke Biggers, probably more of a three
(02:17):
technique guy in terms of where he can play on
the defensive line. Some more competition for Jordan Phillips and
for Matt Dickerson, guys like that. So Ben Stilly been
in the league for three years, played just over three
hundred snaps. He is back with your Miami Dolphins. And
if you couldn't tell, that was an add in part
to the podcast there. So let's go ahead and continue
now with our regularly scheduled programming, the Patrick Paul Austin
(02:38):
Jackson Tackles Breakdown and our ten predictions.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Go ahead and jump into it right now.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So much of the focus this offseason has been on
the interior offensive line, and quite frankly for the last
four years, because well, this is a this is a
system I should say, I was gonna say regime, but
really it goes back to the entire Shanahan system that
free years has invested heavily in tackle and found parts
(03:03):
that fit their system in various avenues of player acquisition
to round out the interior offensive line. And because of
all of that, I think the fans have a perception
that tackle is always in a good position and the
interior is not. But this year there was a emphasis
on adding players to the interior, and the tackles are
still here too. One of those guys is a proven dog,
(03:24):
one I think is on his way, as you all
recall from the Patrick Paul film study Deep Dive podcast
we did a month or two ago, and just the
way I talk about him in general. But I've been
watching film from around the league to get ready for
my summer preview podcast series, and I watched the Bills
game against US in Buffalo, and I think people forgot
(03:44):
just how good Austin Jackson has become. And there's like
a stigma that comes with you his first couple of
years as a first round draft pick not playing at
a high level, and I feel like there's some hesitancy
to acknowledge how good he's become because of that. And
I think, rather than just pontificate this on my own,
the idea was really solidified by a couple of experts
(04:06):
who both have forgotten more football than i'll ever know
in Mike McDaniel and Brian Baldinger, and I also have
a quote and here from Lewis Riddick which he fits
that category as well. Let's go ahead and start with
this commentary from Coach McDaniel on Austin Jackson when Coach
was asked about Austin's recovery. And I think there's a
disconnect between the some of the beat and where Austin's
(04:27):
at because Austin was full go for OTAs, but the
question came up twice will he be ready for training camp?
I'm like, we watched him practice last week, what are
you talking about? So I don't think coach understood the
I guess where the question was coming from in that
same way, but it didn't stop him from giving us
gold on this answer. Let's go ahead and hear from
coach on Austin Jackson, where he's at and kind of
(04:48):
the expectation for what he's going to begin twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
As good as as he's ever looked, finding ways to
improve upon his real growth. I think he minimizes what
I see. You know, the National Football League is full
of opportunities, and the opportunities are disguised in various ways.
(05:12):
Sometimes you have the journey of a high draft pick
that you know is finds himself trying to define who
he is, you know, with everybody looking on on him
and judging him. And I don't think people quite understand
(05:33):
how rare of an occurrence it is for a guy
like Austin Jackson to hear the label, live it, and
play through it and come out the other side. It's
a testament to to his work ethic, who he is
as a person, and his working relationship, you know, with
our coaching staff with uh you know, as butcher Berry
(05:56):
leads that room is as good as any.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
And going back to that Falo game, like go watch it,
he was pushing their wig back, and really the entire
season before that. I think it was the Jacksonville game
we had a touchdown run maybe or it might have
been a different game, but he like took a edge
all the way to the pylon on the corner of
the end zone. And I mean the splits kind of
tell you the story there. With Austin Jackson. Last year,
(06:19):
two hundred and forty four attempts in the running game
one thy seventy one yards. That's four point four yards
per carry. They ran for six touchdowns, fifty percent conversion
on third downs, and they averaged one point five yards
before initial contact, so fifty percent. One point five and
four point four are kind of the numbers to remember
there without him, two hundred and four attempts, so forty
(06:40):
less attempts and that's one extra game. They had nine
without eight with seven hundred and twenty four yards. That's
three point five yards per carry, so a point eight
yard per carry. Decrease, the same number of touchdowns with six,
but a twenty five percent conversion rate on third down
that's half what you had with him, and point four
eight yards before contact, a full yard less before contact
(07:04):
without Austin. Jackson and Kyle Krabs wrote a deep dive
on this and had the similar numbers in there, and
I thought it encapsulated Austin's prowess well. This line from Kyle,
he's tailor made fit for McDaniel's wide zone running scheme
while also boasting displacement power in the vertical run game.
It reminds me of what Lewis Riddicks said on the
Drivetime back in twenty twenty three. He said, quote that
(07:24):
group can put a hurt in on you. They have
this label of a finesse offense, but that's from people
not watching Austin Jack take dudes from a lion of
scrimmage and run them off the point of attack the
way he finishes blocks. He's a great athlete, but there's
nothing finesse about his game.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
End quote.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
I mean, if you want to establish your toughness and
be a team that pushes people off the football, doesn't
that kind of sound like the exact right kind of guy,
especially when you factor in his scheme fit and how
he doesn't reduce your ability to run off the football
the way they want to do. And he's the best
version of himself according to the head coach, Like, sign
me the hell up for that. And Austin's media availabilities
(08:00):
are always great because he's very clearly an intellectual. You'll
see his like his brain process the question and how
measured he can be in his answers before he gives
you gold most of the time. And this quote stood
out to me on Tuesday when he was asked about
Patrick Paul. And if you've spent any time at all
around Patrick Paul, you know that that rhymes. But you
(08:21):
also know that he's the exact same way and the
way he is an intellectual and Austin recognizes that in
his Bookend Counterpart. Here's what he said about Patrick Paul
on Tuesday's media availability.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
And really consistent in his training, which is really good
for a young player, and especially for him last year
to this year. He lost a little bit of weight
and has still been able to maintain his strength. So
that's another big jump that tackles have to adjust to
when they come into the league.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
And we had the great Brian Baldinger out at practice
and he was pretty locked in on the offensive line,
and that prompted him to post a Baldy breakdown later
that night on X and he showed cutups of technique,
his power and his feel to recognize, you know, certain
rush lanes and rush moves and games that teams want
to run up front as strong points for a rookie.
And how in his second year when he is now
(09:11):
going from a guy that played three hundred and thirty
snaps and was kind of working on developmental developing his
game and just getting those extra practice reps to now
a guy that can be a thousand snap taker at tackle,
and how he can really, you know, make himself into
the best version of himself. And it got me thinking
about Paul's media and his confidence and his training, how
he's quote unquote built for this, and Austin's comment about
(09:33):
the way Pat approaches the game, or last week when
butcher Berry said the jumping off point was that he's
an absolute football junkie and because of that, we have
this shared passion that allows us to have the same
understanding and same groundwork to work from and effectively work
towards that improvement every single day. Like it just falls
into the category to me of this is a guy
that's too physically talented, who works too hard for it
(09:57):
to not work for him. And I've gone the podcast
in the past and said it's more than that. Sometimes
you have to just be good at football, like it's
an intangible But I think in Pat's case, I think
he's we'll find out about that side of things. I
think it's there, but I think the rest of the
stuff is so telling about what he is as a
player that I have a hard time seeing him not
be a certain baseline level of good that allows us
(10:19):
to really get this offense roll on the way we
want it. To and all of this ties back to
something to Ron Armstead said last year in training camp.
He said, quote, this is an offense that allows tackles
to be playmakers. It empowers us to feel like we
can really make a difference in the game.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
End quote.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And damn it if Pat and Austin don't both have
elite athleticism for the position, and they do it with
a real aggressive you know, you don't want to catch
these guys in a dark alley type of mentality, type
of mindset. I don't know, I'm excited about it. Last
year we missed Austin for nine games. T Ron missed
two games, but he played seventy two percent of the
total snaps, which, in addition to two miss games, he
(10:56):
played fewer than fifty percent of the snaps in three games.
Those are exits, and that's almost harder when he doesn't
when he misses the game entirely, because now you've got
guys that have to come and hold off the bench
who didn't practice all week or didn't get you know,
starting reps with the ones in the week of practice.
And then he also had three other games where he
had just over fifty percent of the snap so six
(11:17):
games that he played in of the fifteen he had
to exit early, and that's a tough thing to overcome.
So if Patrick Paul can just be a solidified left
tackle and you get Austin Jackson at twenty twenty three
when he played all seventeen games at his high level,
I think you're looking at possibly the best tackle ten
and we've had because of the availability, Like if that happens,
you know, Kendall Lamb missed some time last year as well.
(11:38):
That Houston game turned into a disaster at the tackle
position because we were so deep into the death chart
and all things told, we had four tackles that played
more than three hundred snaps and if you can, you know,
reduce that number with better availability. We had a fifth
tackle play seventy snaps. That was the Jackson Carmen Houston game.
So getting healthy tackles back and two guys that I
think are absolute difference makers should well should make it difference.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
That's the too long, didn't read version.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Let's go ahead and take a break right there, come
back and get to my ten predictions for this season.
That's next Draft Time podcast, brought to you by aut donation.
You can kind of tell I'm getting close to the
summer months because I'm sort of running thin on content,
ideas and for full transparency like we'd like to do
on this show here if I were in a different outlet.
(12:24):
And I'm sure you guys recognize that, right there are
certain things I can't cover until they become official.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
It's part of the deal.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
It's part of the you know, the I guess the
red tape that stands in the way between what I
did un lockdown Dolphins what I'm trying to do here.
But there's so many more advantages I get here and
benefits and access and things that I now have knowledge
of that I would not have in the past. Like
you always have to recall that when Travis says something,
it's coming from a place of experience and knowledge, and
Travis is wrong a lot plenty of times. In fact,
(12:50):
I was couldn't have been more wrong about Odell Beckham.
I'd heard things about Odell Beckham that gave me confidence
in that acquisition and his presence on the roster.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
None of that stuff came to fruitions.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
So I am aware that I'm not completely unfallible, but
I do have a pretty good source of things and
what's going on to help shape and formulate these ideas
and predictions and things of that nature. Right, So, just
want to be fully transparent because of certain parameters that
make me strapped at this time of year to pontificate
(13:20):
about what John new Smith trade return could look like
if that were to happen, or top cornerbacks of it,
like whatever it might be. There's just certain things I
cannot do right now, and so I am kind of
trying to claw for more content at this time of
year because a lot of the stuff I've done, like
there are different angles to take to look at certain things,
(13:40):
but I mean, I've kind of covered it all. Like
we're kind of the point where it's time to move
on to the next faction of the off season, which
will be you know, NFL content player interviews on Media
Day that I'm going to run out through the course
of the summer and get you guys going for August
and training camp and a different type of podcast that
comes out then. So just wanted to put that all
out there. But I did have this idea that at
(14:02):
first I was like, that sounds like a dumb podcast segment, Travis,
don't do it.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
But the more.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
I thought about it and kind of got some research
into it. I was like, this is actually a really
fun podcast idea, really cool content idea.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
And it was born out of Rider's block.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
And I actually text one of my closer friends and
was like, Hey, what do you want to hear?
Speaker 1 (14:22):
You're a Dolphins fan, what do you want to hear?
Speaker 2 (14:24):
And he gave me a bunch of good ideas and
I was like, a few of those I can't touch,
but I like where your head's app And then by
just talking to him, he kind of unlocked my brain
and got some of these ideas flowing. So let's go
ahead and do this concept, this idea, this segment. Ten
predictions for twenty twenty five in the Miami Dolphins. And
I didn't just want to say two was gonna throw
for forty five hundred yards, Wattle's gonna have fifteen hundred
(14:46):
receiving yards, CHOP's gonna have fifteen sacks. I wanted to
do something realistic, something that had ups and downs and
varying degrees of optimism to them. If that sounds good
to you guys, I will jump right in. In fact,
if it doesn't sound good you guys, I'm gonna jump
right in because you know what my friend Adam Sandler says, well, I.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Have a microphone and you don't, so you will less
a dak damn what I have to say.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
And I mean, you're here voluntarily. You clicked to play
on the episode. Those folks at the wedding were just
there to go see Robbie and Bobby get married. They
didn't know that Am Siam was gonna be singing the
Lonk the wedding.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Let's go ahead and jump into this year. We are
totally off the reels. So number one on my top
ten predictions here is that Jalen Wattle will finish top
ten in the NFL and receiving yards. You're going to
see a variety of predictions here that will kind of
point to this idea, and it's that I think a
lot of the offense will go through seventeen, and I
think it'll look a lot more like it did in
twenty twenty three compared to twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
I know they basically eschewed.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Running the football at various points last year, and when
that was the case, you kind of lost your vertical
passing game.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
And even that bread and butter.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
We saw that we grew so accustomed to in that
ten to nineteen yard range to Bothreak and Wattle where
they both ate costs in twenty twenty three, and then
that opened up more of the downfield passing game.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Jalen's in incredible shape. He always is.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
He knows the offense as well as he ever has,
because he's in his fourth year. Never been in his
fourth year in the offense before. I think we've graduated
past the point of appeasing his partner on the other
side on the perimeter if you catch my drift, and
I think that unlocks a whole different world for seventeen
I say it all the time. Just go ahead and
watch where Tua prefers to go on third down.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
With the football.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Go ahead and go to NFL Pro, NFL Game Pass,
whatever the hell it's called these days, and dial up
third down completions from Tua.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And who has more of them? Is it Waddle or
is it Tyreek?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
In fact, I already posted the third down stats, the
man coverage stats, the you know, the single coverage, double coverage,
all that stuff about how Waddle cleared Tyreek in those
categories last year, in those critical moments, and I think
that will bleed into every down this season. You know,
tenth place last year was Lad mcconkee at one thy
one hundred and forty nine yards. I think Waddle will
comfortably surpass that this season. He was thirteen fifty six
(17:00):
on one hundred and seventeen targets back in twenty twenty two.
I don't think he'll be at eighteen yards per catch
again like he was that year, but I think those
targets will go up and the yards will follow.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
So Jalen Waddle big stock up in my opinion.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Number two, Tua will have a career best year in sacks,
percentage taken, time to pressure rate, and he will start
all seventeen games. What this is threefold. I think the
offensive line was built to last for Tua, especially on
the interior, with pocket setters and good pass protection guys
that can help him really have just an interior pocket
(17:35):
to throw from him to play from. And we saw
something similar when Isaiah Win was cranking a Robert Hunt
was cranking alongside Connor Williams. I think we have just
as good, if not better, of an interior three this
year than we had that year. I think he has
another year of knowledge in the offense in terms of
his protection points. He's kind of the master of the
entire thing now, right. No Tron Armstead, Bruce in his
(17:56):
second year here, but it's year four for Tua. Both
the guards are going to be in their first year.
Austin's the only guy up front that has to a
you know, matched or bettered but better. He's only matched.
He's been here for as long as to a in
Austin Jackson at right tackle.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Plus.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I think there's a true emphasis and not that I
think because McDaniel told us this where in the past
it was like, we want to support Tua, and that's
a great thing to have, But it almost feels like
there's almost this added urgency this year and expectation to
become that next variation of himself that stepped forward to
be a guy that you know, hey, my left guard's
(18:30):
not aligned right or he doesn't have the protection call
figured Out'm gonna go get him right.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
I talked about it in the OTAs last.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Week, how the there was a drill where the defense
was short a man, and he stopped the drill and
went and said, hey, get your defense right. Let's go
we're trying to get a good look here for us
to practice against. I think all of that stuff will
kind of create some urgency for TWA to get things
corrected quicker at the lne of scrimmage and has happened
in the past, and I think he'll be in powered
to do all those things, plus an emphasis on increasing
(18:57):
the efficiency of the running game and the personnel they've
got to do that is all improved again. Josh Allen
League MVP for the first time after his attempts went
down by one hundred after they had gone down increasingly
each year over year. The more they reduced his pass numbers,
the more valuable he became, which I think tracks here
for TUA number three. I said I was going to
go back and forth on these, right. Liam Eikenberg will
(19:19):
start a number of games this season that is not zero.
He's tough, he's available, he knows the offense. He's a
backup at really four of the five positions. I guess
really five of the five, but three more likely. I
think he'll plug him at guard at some point this year,
whether you're moving Jonah outside for a tackle injury, whether
it's multiple injuries force him into a position. I think
(19:39):
we'd be naive to expect that we're going to start
the same five guys all seventeen games. That is not
how this league works. And I think that Liam is
going to be in the mix on the back end
of the depth chart, and I think he'll start at
least one game for you. And I'll say this, if
he can come in preferably midgame at either guard position
for spot duty, I think you'll just not notice him
(20:00):
and you'll the offense will keep on moving and we'll
keep plugging along. But if it's multiple games at and
if it's at center, or if it's a tackle, then
I think you will. But my predictions we see Liam
star at least one game of play snaps this season,
and if it's for a reduced number of time at guard,
you won't even notice it. Number four A Chan and
John Wu will see big reductions in their counting stats
(20:20):
this year. What I think Johno's stuff comes from his
the John Whu like, you know, extension talk and all that.
I think when you think about what he means to
this football team, he's such a perfect fit for that
next faction of the offense. Beyond what happens with Reacan
waddle down the field because he's such a damn good
run after the catch ball carrier and a physical presence,
and I just love what he does. I think John
(20:41):
is an awesome player when it comes to in line
and blocking stuff. And if he's on the team, you know,
in a month from now, this is something they're going
to have to figure out. It's a liability. They ran
the ball away from him last year. It wasn't good
in pass protection. I think his production was the result
of us not being able to get to the stuff
we want to downfill because the lack of the running game,
because of lack of protection, because of of a number
of variables. But I think that it's like, you know,
(21:04):
we're taking what we can get, which is not the
best way to run your offense at all times. Like
I think you could probably throw a few less swing routes,
you know. I think your your flexibility on the interior
and off the edge allows you to get more of
your run game playbook and not be so dependent on
the stuff that Devon does do well, which is more
designed to hit home runs than grind out three and
four yard carries. Right, I think that's much more Jalen
(21:26):
Wright's game. I've explained how much I think that he
does offer you a flexibility in that way alongside Devon
h Chan. And last year here's why I get into
the deep numbers dive. We saw one hundred and eleven
targets for John who in eighty seven for Devon h Chan.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
The passing game, that's one ninety eight among the two.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
You add in two hundred and three carries from Devon,
that's four hundred and one plays out of what was it,
one thousand and fifty that went to.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Devon or John H.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Smith, like forty percent of your offense, and they totaled
two three hundred and eighty two yards from scrimmage. That's
five point nine yards per play. Pretty damn good for
being on it, but that was the calling card of
the offense right. Reek and Waddle, on the other hand,
had two hundred and six targets for seventeen hundred and
three yards at eight point three yards per play. Now
that's a little unfair because rushing attempts and pass targets
(22:12):
are not created equally. There's a reason four yards per
carry is good and eight yards per target as a
pass receiver is the number you're looking to best. But
all this does is show you why it's more valuable
to feature ten and seventeen above everybody else. Go back
to twenty twenty three and our top back in tight
end combined for this targets only no rushes. It was
Durham forty three compared to John who's one hundred and eleven,
(22:34):
and Devon was thirty seven, down from eighty seven last year.
Massive philosophical, philostrophical shift at Devon's one hundred and three attempts,
and he was actually running back two behind Raheem that year,
so I acknowledge it's not apples to apples, but that's
one hundred and eighty three reps from those two guys
down from four hundred and one, more than cut in half,
and they gained thirteen hundred and sixty three yards, good
(22:56):
for seven point four four yards per play. That's one
and a half yards more per play from the tight
end and running back from the tight end in eight
chan in twenty twenty three than what the tight end
and eight chan did last year. And again, greater volume
is always going to force a reduction in efficiency. But
that's the whole point that less is more here, because meanwhile,
(23:17):
Reek and Waddle canbined for two hundred and seventy five targets,
which was seventy more than last year. They had two
hundred and seventy five targets in twenty twenty three, and
they gained twenty eight hundred and thirteen yards. That was
thirteen point eight yards per play. Case closed a massive
jump in production there. That's why I think you go
back to ten seventeen with more seventeen, and because of that,
(23:39):
I think you'll see a dip in production from the
running back and the tight end in that regard, but
it's good for the team in general. Let's go ahead
and take a break right there, come back on the
other side and talk about predictions five through ten. That's
next to Draft Time Podcast brought to you by Automation
Predictions in six more to come. Let's go ahead and
get to the number five right here. It is that
(24:01):
a star emerges in the secondary. I'm not talking about
a hit, a guy that we come back and think like, oh,
he was pretty good last year, he could be pretty
good to good next year. I'm talking about a guy
that maybe you don't have crazy expectations for right now.
But becomes a household name by this time next year,
a guy that you talk about amongst your friends as
a key part of this defense. I'm not willing to
(24:23):
land on just one just yet, but in order my
picks would be this. If he's healthy, it's gonna be
ify melafan Wu. Cater Koho would be next, who's already
a good player, but I think he has a chance
to elevate to a really, really good player in this
next season. Patrick McMorris is the next one on that
list for me, and then my two dark horse candidates
are Isaiah Johnson and bj Adams, back to back years
(24:43):
undrafted rookies at cornerback. This team has a history of
finding these guys. I think we're gonna find another one
here at some part of the roster. And those guys'
ability to play pressman coverage with their length and strength,
I think makes them ideal candidates to be that Mela
fan Wu's movement skills, the way he fits in this defense,
a three level impact defender, I think that how he'll
be used will really make him a star player if
(25:06):
he just stays healthy. Cater has kind of been second
fiddle his whole career, right in that secondary, a guy
that was behind Ramsey and Kendall floor last year but
was so important to the team's success defensively.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
I just I don't think we'll.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Go into the season with him as your like clear
cut cornerback one, because I think there's gonna be an
addition at some point. But he is right now, and
I've watched the way this guy has grown and matured
for four years, and I think he's ready for an
additional step. So he improved so much in critical areas
that had me asking questions about his game last season
that I think we'll see him continue that evolution. And
then mc morris, I just think there's something there. The
(25:39):
way he moves, the way like the jitterbug nature to
his quickness, the anticipation, the way he sees things and
goes and gets them, and then the way he arrives
with physical contact and runs through tackles. There's a spatial
recognition there. There's a temperament, the way he hits. It's
all over his special team's tape in college as well
as his tape at safety at college.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
I think he's going to be a dude.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
And then the tall, aggressive, long, physical corners I mentioned
thing number six prediction number six, but it's still going
to be a bugaboo that damn secondary, right. I just
don't think we have all the parts right now. There's
lots of questions in that back end. I think the
front will help. I think the coaching will help. I
think they'll add another part or two. Emergence from different
parts will help. But I think about it this way.
(26:20):
If the Bills had a position group like this, and
they actually do, and it's actually their secondary for what
it's worth, then we would be talking about it as
Dolphins fans, as a huge weakness. So you have to acknowledge, like, hey, yeah,
you can see these certain guys possibly breaking out or hitting,
but like you have to understand how it's going to
be viewed from an outside perspective. And I get why
it is that way because it's a bunch of unproven
parts in that secondary. And I have my questions as well.
(26:43):
And I think teams that have super sharp, super sharp,
precishing quarterbacks and with elusiveness and good offensive lines will
be a challenge for us. I think it's funnier to
just leave the edits in and make a joke out
of it than take them all out. I don't know
how you guys feel about that, but I do think
(27:04):
that we could handle a team like the Bengals with
how I expect us to beat up the offensive line
even if you're mismatch badly on the perimeter against Chase
and Higgins, and believe you me, I recognize that mismatch
in a heartbeat. But also, like Joe, Burrow's pocket navigation
is tough to deal with. Even though I do think
our rush games can get the non premium athletes, Burrow
(27:24):
is a good athlete. He's not a premium athlete like Hurts,
like Lamar, like Josh Allen, but like Matthew Stafford or
Brock Purty who he gave fits to last year in
those two games, I think you can get that type
of success. And the guys I mentioned Lamar and Josh
Allen like they have what three bad games out of
seventeen every year like there, Sometimes you have to tip
your hat to certain guys in this league. But like
(27:45):
twoas not in that category. I wouldn't put him in there.
I would put him closer to the Stafford and pretty
category right, like a really good player, but not a
premium athlete. And you can have games where teams swarm
a quarterback like that, and I think we'll have that.
But if you go up against the Baltimore Ravens and
the Buffalo Bills like he will in back to back
weeks this year, or you face even a Falcons team
that has all kinds of no because Penax isn't a
(28:07):
great mover, i'd strike that from the record.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
The Commanders, Jayden Daniels.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
I think those kind of teams could give you some
pretty good issues with how your secondary's built and the
quarterbacks abilities navigate the rush himself Prediction number seven. But
the good news is is a third consecutive prediction that
goes off the previous one. The good news is the
three players will threaten with double digit sacks. I was
thinking about doing two out of three off the edge
with Chubb, Chop and Phillips.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Let's go ahead and add.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
One more variable, one more ingredient to the stew here
and include everybody, which is really just adding Zach Seeler
and Kenneth Grant. Pressures and hurrying up the quarterback was
good last year. They were disruptive even though the sack
numbers were not there, and over time that typically evens
out to higher sack totals.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
I think that'll happen this year. Now.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I think that added bodies off the edge could cannibalize
Zach Seeler's sack production a little bit. And getting ten
sacks a defensive tackle is tough. I mean, he did
it twice in a row and he's like the only
guy that did that, so tells you how tough it
is to do. So maybe it's a bit too far,
but I think we'll get at least two double digit
sack guys and a third that pushes Ford. So why
don't we go ahead and just you know what, I
think the prediction should just be among those five guys
(29:15):
forty sacks that.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Might be too high.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Let's call it thirty five sacks Like Chopp could have twelve,
Phillips could have eleven, Stealer could have seven, Chubb could
have seven, and Kg could have four.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Like is that crazy to think about? I don't.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
I think we'll get thirty five sacks from those top
five guys, if not more. Number eight special teams will
not be a disaster low bar right, But it's been
a disaster, abject disaster for the last couple of years
it's killed us, and I think the emphasis on depth
and having guys that are rookies and one year prove
it hungry players that haven't had millions of dollars put
in their bank accounts by NFL teams like the not
(29:49):
the like call a direct shot, but like a Duke
Riley for instance. Duke didn't have to feel urgency last year.
He's got he's got it made, he's good. But now
you've got guys trying to make their career playing in
that Duke Riley role. I think that can have a
big impact on how our special teams play out. Like
Patrick mc morris, Dante Trader, I think those guys will
sell out for special teams and be impact players that way.
(30:10):
Plus a new coach with a new impression to make
the previous operation was not working. A shock to the
system is no guarantee, but I think it will help.
This is just mostly born from the thought of us
being a deeper football team.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
On the back end. I think special teams will stop.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Being like a bottom five unit like it has been
really for a long time. Number nine, we will have
a new core of cornerstone players by this time next year.
After the season, really when everyone was concerned about all
the talent loss, and there has been a lot, don't
get me wrong, Kalais Tron, Christian rob Hunt geek, like,
that's a lot of talent to lose it, but that's
(30:43):
how the NFL works. Forty percent roster tronover on average.
Across the NFL, I think there will be a handful
of guys that introduced themselves as like unanimous corner piece,
cornerstone pieces chop. Robinson is the easiest one, and believe
it or not, there are some people that think that
he's not even like an upward, ascending player. Like I
had someone on the beat tell me that I was cheerleading.
My tweeted about him a couple of months ago saying
(31:04):
like I'm so pumped for his year two because of
how he looks, and they're like, you're being a cheerleader again, Okay, dude.
Kenneth Grant I think is very much in that category.
I believe it's going to happen right away for him. Actually,
I think Patrick Paul, Jalen Wright, and Jonah Smith will
also be guys that are talked about as like, hey,
the Dolphins are good at left tackle. The Dolphins are
good at right one of the two guard spots. The
(31:24):
Dolphins are good at running back alongside a Champ. I'll
close with one that's a kin to Chop Robinson. I
think Jordan Brooks, who some people are already there on him,
but I think the rest of the nation, the national
media has to catch up. I think by this time
next year, Jordan Brooks will be unanimously in everybody's top
ten interior linebackers, you know, going into the season, and
number ten, we're going to make the playoffs. I predicted
(31:48):
number two to be true, and that was the tow
of play seventeen games. If that happens, duh, right, Like,
that's kind of the name of the game. If your
quarterback plays all seventeen games and he's not like, you know,
Tommy DeVito or whatever, like, you probably make the playoffs.
And Tua does cure a lot of woes. And while
I agree that he hasn't proven to elevate your team
to championship calibers as yet, that's kind of the next
step for him. He does elevate this team to be
(32:09):
a playoff team. He's be very good in that regard.
We don't lose to bad teams. I see that take
all time on social media. It drives me freaking nuts.
We've lost one time and Tua's tenure to a team
that we should have wiped the floor with, and that
was the Titans, which was a critical loss for the
organization in this entire build that you've seen. But it
was like the one game. I did the stats last
(32:29):
year showing the stats where in games were favored with
Tua quarterback. We almost never lose those like that's that's
a real thing. So Tua does elevate you in that way,
but he only beats bad teams, Like if it's only then, yeah,
it's a bad thing. But at least we beat the
bad teams and then the next thing for him is
to kind of elevate his game. I think he has
played better than the general perception of his game in
(32:50):
those big games and the other parts of the roster
I have had meltdowns. But that's a different podcast for
a different day. But I do think that Tua being
healthy means your baseline a playoff team, hopefully when a
playoffs hell, we were in contention last year in Week
eighteen with a bad football team, like we were't a
good team last year, and we had Tyler Huntley and
Skyler Thompson start six of those games. Brother like come on.
(33:11):
So that's the ten predictions. Let's get out of here
and call it a podcast. I will be back next
week for three OTA practices and then your boys gonna
go on paternity to leave. My daughter should be here
the week of June twenty third, I believe it was
when we're scheduled to have that done, the whole baby
given baby burthen process. So we'll have more content for
you guys in the coming days and weeks. I'm gonna
(33:31):
I'm gonna do a content through the whole summer. It
does drop down the two episodes per week after next week,
so we'll cover all of that as we go along here.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
But that's my time for today.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
In the meantime, you all please be sure subscribe, rate,
review the podcast, follow me on social, Go ahead and
check out the fish Tank Podcast with Seth and Juice,
the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ, Drive Time content, and
so much more. Last but not least, Miami Dolphins dot Com.
Until next time, fos up. Hold on Cameron, Daddy just
coming home,
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
What is up Dolphins and welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
I want to talk tackles. Jack talk tackles very well,
Austin Jackson and Patrick Paul and I want to discuss
how I think we the Royal we might be under
selling what we've got in that position a little bit.
(00:31):
And then for fun, I went through ten things I
think I think Peter King style ten predictions if you
will that I think we could see this season if
it all goes according to plan. So we'll have some
fun with that. From the Baptist Health Studios inside the
Baptist Health Training Complex. This is the Draft Time Podcast.
So Ben Stilly's back in the house. The Dolphins signed
(00:53):
the former undrafted rookie of the Miami Dolphins to a
contract to a one year deal after he was cut
by the Cardinals on May twenty seventh. He finds a
new landing spot which was an old landing spot for him,
and went back and watched a little bit of his
tape with both the Cardinals and the Bucks, the two
places that he got some playing time played for the
Browns as well back in twenty twenty two, and I
(01:14):
remember him being a really good leverage power player with
good vision, and that's what I saw on the tape
watching him for just a few reps here. Because he's
he's played sparingly throughout his career. He's got eighteen games played,
one start, let's see two sacks, seventeen tackles, one TfL,
three quarterback hits, so there's not a ton of production.
(01:35):
And when I look at his body composition, six foot four,
two ninety six is what he's listed on Pro Football Reference.
I watched a lot of his tape and it's basically
trying to stack up blocks and try to two gap
and kind of stack peak shed, which I know he
learned a lot of that from Coach Clark down here,
and that was pretty good on the tape that I saw.
But playing at that size at that position without a
(01:55):
ton of burst is difficult, and I think that's kind
of the challenge that he has run into. But he'll
get a chance to come in here and work under
Coach Clark and possibly carve out a role as a
rotational piece in this defensive line that all of a sudden,
like back before the draft, you're like, who's gonna play
reps in the defensive tackle position. Now you've kind of
got a logjam there to figure out. So he can
compete with with Zeke Biggers, probably more of a three
(02:17):
technique guy in terms of where he can play on
the defensive line. Some more competition for Jordan Phillips and
for Matt Dickerson, guys like that. So Ben Stilly been
in the league for three years, played just over three
hundred snaps. He is back with your Miami Dolphins. And
if you couldn't tell, that was an add in part
to the podcast there. So let's go ahead and continue
now with our regularly scheduled programming, the Patrick Paul Austin
(02:38):
Jackson Tackles Breakdown and our ten predictions.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Go ahead and jump into it right now.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So much of the focus this offseason has been on
the interior offensive line, and quite frankly for the last
four years, because well, this is a this is a
system I should say, I was gonna say regime, but
really it goes back to the entire Shanahan system that
free years has invested heavily in tackle and found parts
(03:03):
that fit their system in various avenues of player acquisition
to round out the interior offensive line. And because of
all of that, I think the fans have a perception
that tackle is always in a good position and the
interior is not. But this year there was a emphasis
on adding players to the interior, and the tackles are
still here too. One of those guys is a proven dog,
(03:24):
one I think is on his way, as you all
recall from the Patrick Paul film study Deep Dive podcast
we did a month or two ago, and just the
way I talk about him in general. But I've been
watching film from around the league to get ready for
my summer preview podcast series, and I watched the Bills
game against US in Buffalo, and I think people forgot
(03:44):
just how good Austin Jackson has become. And there's like
a stigma that comes with you his first couple of
years as a first round draft pick not playing at
a high level, and I feel like there's some hesitancy
to acknowledge how good he's become because of that. And
I think, rather than just pontificate this on my own,
the idea was really solidified by a couple of experts
(04:06):
who both have forgotten more football than i'll ever know
in Mike McDaniel and Brian Baldinger, and I also have
a quote and here from Lewis Riddick which he fits
that category as well. Let's go ahead and start with
this commentary from Coach McDaniel on Austin Jackson when Coach
was asked about Austin's recovery. And I think there's a
disconnect between the some of the beat and where Austin's
(04:27):
at because Austin was full go for OTAs, but the
question came up twice will he be ready for training camp?
I'm like, we watched him practice last week, what are
you talking about? So I don't think coach understood the
I guess where the question was coming from in that
same way, but it didn't stop him from giving us
gold on this answer. Let's go ahead and hear from
coach on Austin Jackson, where he's at and kind of
(04:48):
the expectation for what he's going to begin twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
As good as as he's ever looked, finding ways to
improve upon his real growth. I think he minimizes what
I see. You know, the National Football League is full
of opportunities, and the opportunities are disguised in various ways.
(05:12):
Sometimes you have the journey of a high draft pick
that you know is finds himself trying to define who
he is, you know, with everybody looking on on him
and judging him. And I don't think people quite understand
(05:33):
how rare of an occurrence it is for a guy
like Austin Jackson to hear the label, live it, and
play through it and come out the other side. It's
a testament to to his work ethic, who he is
as a person, and his working relationship, you know, with
our coaching staff with uh you know, as butcher Berry
(05:56):
leads that room is as good as any.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
And going back to that Falo game, like go watch it,
he was pushing their wig back, and really the entire
season before that. I think it was the Jacksonville game
we had a touchdown run maybe or it might have
been a different game, but he like took a edge
all the way to the pylon on the corner of
the end zone. And I mean the splits kind of
tell you the story there. With Austin Jackson. Last year,
(06:19):
two hundred and forty four attempts in the running game
one thy seventy one yards. That's four point four yards
per carry. They ran for six touchdowns, fifty percent conversion
on third downs, and they averaged one point five yards
before initial contact, so fifty percent. One point five and
four point four are kind of the numbers to remember
there without him, two hundred and four attempts, so forty
(06:40):
less attempts and that's one extra game. They had nine
without eight with seven hundred and twenty four yards. That's
three point five yards per carry, so a point eight
yard per carry. Decrease, the same number of touchdowns with six,
but a twenty five percent conversion rate on third down
that's half what you had with him, and point four
eight yards before contact, a full yard less before contact
(07:04):
without Austin. Jackson and Kyle Krabs wrote a deep dive
on this and had the similar numbers in there, and
I thought it encapsulated Austin's prowess well. This line from Kyle,
he's tailor made fit for McDaniel's wide zone running scheme
while also boasting displacement power in the vertical run game.
It reminds me of what Lewis Riddicks said on the
Drivetime back in twenty twenty three. He said, quote that
(07:24):
group can put a hurt in on you. They have
this label of a finesse offense, but that's from people
not watching Austin Jack take dudes from a lion of
scrimmage and run them off the point of attack the
way he finishes blocks. He's a great athlete, but there's
nothing finesse about his game.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
End quote.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
I mean, if you want to establish your toughness and
be a team that pushes people off the football, doesn't
that kind of sound like the exact right kind of guy,
especially when you factor in his scheme fit and how
he doesn't reduce your ability to run off the football
the way they want to do. And he's the best
version of himself according to the head coach, Like, sign
me the hell up for that. And Austin's media availabilities
(08:00):
are always great because he's very clearly an intellectual. You'll
see his like his brain process the question and how
measured he can be in his answers before he gives
you gold most of the time. And this quote stood
out to me on Tuesday when he was asked about
Patrick Paul. And if you've spent any time at all
around Patrick Paul, you know that that rhymes. But you
(08:21):
also know that he's the exact same way and the
way he is an intellectual and Austin recognizes that in
his Bookend Counterpart. Here's what he said about Patrick Paul
on Tuesday's media availability.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
And really consistent in his training, which is really good
for a young player, and especially for him last year
to this year. He lost a little bit of weight
and has still been able to maintain his strength. So
that's another big jump that tackles have to adjust to
when they come into the league.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
And we had the great Brian Baldinger out at practice
and he was pretty locked in on the offensive line,
and that prompted him to post a Baldy breakdown later
that night on X and he showed cutups of technique,
his power and his feel to recognize, you know, certain
rush lanes and rush moves and games that teams want
to run up front as strong points for a rookie.
And how in his second year when he is now
(09:11):
going from a guy that played three hundred and thirty
snaps and was kind of working on developmental developing his
game and just getting those extra practice reps to now
a guy that can be a thousand snap taker at tackle,
and how he can really, you know, make himself into
the best version of himself. And it got me thinking
about Paul's media and his confidence and his training, how
he's quote unquote built for this, and Austin's comment about
(09:33):
the way Pat approaches the game, or last week when
butcher Berry said the jumping off point was that he's
an absolute football junkie and because of that, we have
this shared passion that allows us to have the same
understanding and same groundwork to work from and effectively work
towards that improvement every single day. Like it just falls
into the category to me of this is a guy
that's too physically talented, who works too hard for it
(09:57):
to not work for him. And I've gone the podcast
in the past and said it's more than that. Sometimes
you have to just be good at football, like it's
an intangible But I think in Pat's case, I think
he's we'll find out about that side of things. I
think it's there, but I think the rest of the
stuff is so telling about what he is as a
player that I have a hard time seeing him not
be a certain baseline level of good that allows us
(10:19):
to really get this offense roll on the way we
want it. To and all of this ties back to
something to Ron Armstead said last year in training camp.
He said, quote, this is an offense that allows tackles
to be playmakers. It empowers us to feel like we
can really make a difference in the game.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
End quote.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And damn it if Pat and Austin don't both have
elite athleticism for the position, and they do it with
a real aggressive you know, you don't want to catch
these guys in a dark alley type of mentality, type
of mindset. I don't know, I'm excited about it. Last
year we missed Austin for nine games. T Ron missed
two games, but he played seventy two percent of the
total snaps, which, in addition to two miss games, he
(10:56):
played fewer than fifty percent of the snaps in three games.
Those are exits, and that's almost harder when he doesn't
when he misses the game entirely, because now you've got
guys that have to come and hold off the bench
who didn't practice all week or didn't get you know,
starting reps with the ones in the week of practice.
And then he also had three other games where he
had just over fifty percent of the snap so six
(11:17):
games that he played in of the fifteen he had
to exit early, and that's a tough thing to overcome.
So if Patrick Paul can just be a solidified left
tackle and you get Austin Jackson at twenty twenty three
when he played all seventeen games at his high level,
I think you're looking at possibly the best tackle ten
and we've had because of the availability, Like if that happens,
you know, Kendall Lamb missed some time last year as well.
(11:38):
That Houston game turned into a disaster at the tackle
position because we were so deep into the death chart
and all things told, we had four tackles that played
more than three hundred snaps and if you can, you know,
reduce that number with better availability. We had a fifth
tackle play seventy snaps. That was the Jackson Carmen Houston game.
So getting healthy tackles back and two guys that I
think are absolute difference makers should well should make it difference.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
That's the too long, didn't read version.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Let's go ahead and take a break right there, come
back and get to my ten predictions for this season.
That's next Draft Time podcast, brought to you by aut donation.
You can kind of tell I'm getting close to the
summer months because I'm sort of running thin on content,
ideas and for full transparency like we'd like to do
on this show here if I were in a different outlet.
(12:24):
And I'm sure you guys recognize that, right there are
certain things I can't cover until they become official.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
It's part of the deal.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
It's part of the you know, the I guess the
red tape that stands in the way between what I
did un lockdown Dolphins what I'm trying to do here.
But there's so many more advantages I get here and
benefits and access and things that I now have knowledge
of that I would not have in the past. Like
you always have to recall that when Travis says something,
it's coming from a place of experience and knowledge, and
Travis is wrong a lot plenty of times. In fact,
(12:50):
I was couldn't have been more wrong about Odell Beckham.
I'd heard things about Odell Beckham that gave me confidence
in that acquisition and his presence on the roster.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
None of that stuff came to fruitions.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
So I am aware that I'm not completely unfallible, but
I do have a pretty good source of things and
what's going on to help shape and formulate these ideas
and predictions and things of that nature. Right, So, just
want to be fully transparent because of certain parameters that
make me strapped at this time of year to pontificate
(13:20):
about what John new Smith trade return could look like
if that were to happen, or top cornerbacks of it,
like whatever it might be. There's just certain things I
cannot do right now, and so I am kind of
trying to claw for more content at this time of
year because a lot of the stuff I've done, like
there are different angles to take to look at certain things,
(13:40):
but I mean, I've kind of covered it all. Like
we're kind of the point where it's time to move
on to the next faction of the off season, which
will be you know, NFL content player interviews on Media
Day that I'm going to run out through the course
of the summer and get you guys going for August
and training camp and a different type of podcast that
comes out then. So just wanted to put that all
out there. But I did have this idea that at
(14:02):
first I was like, that sounds like a dumb podcast segment, Travis,
don't do it.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
But the more.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
I thought about it and kind of got some research
into it. I was like, this is actually a really
fun podcast idea, really cool content idea.
Speaker 1 (14:14):
And it was born out of Rider's block.
Speaker 2 (14:18):
And I actually text one of my closer friends and
was like, Hey, what do you want to hear?
Speaker 1 (14:22):
You're a Dolphins fan, what do you want to hear?
Speaker 2 (14:24):
And he gave me a bunch of good ideas and
I was like, a few of those I can't touch,
but I like where your head's app And then by
just talking to him, he kind of unlocked my brain
and got some of these ideas flowing. So let's go
ahead and do this concept, this idea, this segment. Ten
predictions for twenty twenty five in the Miami Dolphins. And
I didn't just want to say two was gonna throw
for forty five hundred yards, Wattle's gonna have fifteen hundred
(14:46):
receiving yards, CHOP's gonna have fifteen sacks. I wanted to
do something realistic, something that had ups and downs and
varying degrees of optimism to them. If that sounds good
to you guys, I will jump right in. In fact,
if it doesn't sound good you guys, I'm gonna jump
right in because you know what my friend Adam Sandler says, well, I.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Have a microphone and you don't, so you will less
a dak damn what I have to say.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
And I mean, you're here voluntarily. You clicked to play
on the episode. Those folks at the wedding were just
there to go see Robbie and Bobby get married. They
didn't know that Am Siam was gonna be singing the
Lonk the wedding.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Let's go ahead and jump into this year. We are
totally off the reels. So number one on my top
ten predictions here is that Jalen Wattle will finish top
ten in the NFL and receiving yards. You're going to
see a variety of predictions here that will kind of
point to this idea, and it's that I think a
lot of the offense will go through seventeen, and I
think it'll look a lot more like it did in
twenty twenty three compared to twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
I know they basically eschewed.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Running the football at various points last year, and when
that was the case, you kind of lost your vertical
passing game.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
And even that bread and butter.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
We saw that we grew so accustomed to in that
ten to nineteen yard range to Bothreak and Wattle where
they both ate costs in twenty twenty three, and then
that opened up more of the downfield passing game.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Jalen's in incredible shape. He always is.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
He knows the offense as well as he ever has,
because he's in his fourth year. Never been in his
fourth year in the offense before. I think we've graduated
past the point of appeasing his partner on the other
side on the perimeter if you catch my drift, and
I think that unlocks a whole different world for seventeen
I say it all the time. Just go ahead and
watch where Tua prefers to go on third down.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
With the football.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Go ahead and go to NFL Pro, NFL Game Pass,
whatever the hell it's called these days, and dial up
third down completions from Tua.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And who has more of them? Is it Waddle or
is it Tyreek?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
In fact, I already posted the third down stats, the
man coverage stats, the you know, the single coverage, double coverage,
all that stuff about how Waddle cleared Tyreek in those
categories last year, in those critical moments, and I think
that will bleed into every down this season. You know,
tenth place last year was Lad mcconkee at one thy
one hundred and forty nine yards. I think Waddle will
comfortably surpass that this season. He was thirteen fifty six
(17:00):
on one hundred and seventeen targets back in twenty twenty two.
I don't think he'll be at eighteen yards per catch
again like he was that year, but I think those
targets will go up and the yards will follow.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
So Jalen Waddle big stock up in my opinion.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Number two, Tua will have a career best year in sacks,
percentage taken, time to pressure rate, and he will start
all seventeen games. What this is threefold. I think the
offensive line was built to last for Tua, especially on
the interior, with pocket setters and good pass protection guys
that can help him really have just an interior pocket
(17:35):
to throw from him to play from. And we saw
something similar when Isaiah Win was cranking a Robert Hunt
was cranking alongside Connor Williams. I think we have just
as good, if not better, of an interior three this
year than we had that year. I think he has
another year of knowledge in the offense in terms of
his protection points. He's kind of the master of the
entire thing now, right. No Tron Armstead, Bruce in his
(17:56):
second year here, but it's year four for Tua. Both
the guards are going to be in their first year.
Austin's the only guy up front that has to a
you know, matched or bettered but better. He's only matched.
He's been here for as long as to a in
Austin Jackson at right tackle.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Plus.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
I think there's a true emphasis and not that I
think because McDaniel told us this where in the past
it was like, we want to support Tua, and that's
a great thing to have, But it almost feels like
there's almost this added urgency this year and expectation to
become that next variation of himself that stepped forward to
be a guy that you know, hey, my left guard's
(18:30):
not aligned right or he doesn't have the protection call
figured Out'm gonna go get him right.
Speaker 1 (18:33):
I talked about it in the OTAs last.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Week, how the there was a drill where the defense
was short a man, and he stopped the drill and
went and said, hey, get your defense right. Let's go
we're trying to get a good look here for us
to practice against. I think all of that stuff will
kind of create some urgency for TWA to get things
corrected quicker at the lne of scrimmage and has happened
in the past, and I think he'll be in powered
to do all those things, plus an emphasis on increasing
(18:57):
the efficiency of the running game and the personnel they've
got to do that is all improved again. Josh Allen
League MVP for the first time after his attempts went
down by one hundred after they had gone down increasingly
each year over year. The more they reduced his pass numbers,
the more valuable he became, which I think tracks here
for TUA number three. I said I was going to
go back and forth on these, right. Liam Eikenberg will
(19:19):
start a number of games this season that is not zero.
He's tough, he's available, he knows the offense. He's a
backup at really four of the five positions. I guess
really five of the five, but three more likely. I
think he'll plug him at guard at some point this year,
whether you're moving Jonah outside for a tackle injury, whether
it's multiple injuries force him into a position. I think
(19:39):
we'd be naive to expect that we're going to start
the same five guys all seventeen games. That is not
how this league works. And I think that Liam is
going to be in the mix on the back end
of the depth chart, and I think he'll start at
least one game for you. And I'll say this, if
he can come in preferably midgame at either guard position
for spot duty, I think you'll just not notice him
(20:00):
and you'll the offense will keep on moving and we'll
keep plugging along. But if it's multiple games at and
if it's at center, or if it's a tackle, then
I think you will. But my predictions we see Liam
star at least one game of play snaps this season,
and if it's for a reduced number of time at guard,
you won't even notice it. Number four A Chan and
John Wu will see big reductions in their counting stats
(20:20):
this year. What I think Johno's stuff comes from his
the John Whu like, you know, extension talk and all that.
I think when you think about what he means to
this football team, he's such a perfect fit for that
next faction of the offense. Beyond what happens with Reacan
waddle down the field because he's such a damn good
run after the catch ball carrier and a physical presence,
and I just love what he does. I think John
(20:41):
is an awesome player when it comes to in line
and blocking stuff. And if he's on the team, you know,
in a month from now, this is something they're going
to have to figure out. It's a liability. They ran
the ball away from him last year. It wasn't good
in pass protection. I think his production was the result
of us not being able to get to the stuff
we want to downfill because the lack of the running game,
because of lack of protection, because of of a number
of variables. But I think that it's like, you know,
(21:04):
we're taking what we can get, which is not the
best way to run your offense at all times. Like
I think you could probably throw a few less swing routes,
you know. I think your your flexibility on the interior
and off the edge allows you to get more of
your run game playbook and not be so dependent on
the stuff that Devon does do well, which is more
designed to hit home runs than grind out three and
four yard carries. Right, I think that's much more Jalen
(21:26):
Wright's game. I've explained how much I think that he
does offer you a flexibility in that way alongside Devon
h Chan. And last year here's why I get into
the deep numbers dive. We saw one hundred and eleven
targets for John who in eighty seven for Devon h Chan.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
The passing game, that's one ninety eight among the two.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
You add in two hundred and three carries from Devon,
that's four hundred and one plays out of what was it,
one thousand and fifty that went to.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Devon or John H.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Smith, like forty percent of your offense, and they totaled
two three hundred and eighty two yards from scrimmage. That's
five point nine yards per play. Pretty damn good for
being on it, but that was the calling card of
the offense right. Reek and Waddle, on the other hand,
had two hundred and six targets for seventeen hundred and
three yards at eight point three yards per play. Now
that's a little unfair because rushing attempts and pass targets
(22:12):
are not created equally. There's a reason four yards per
carry is good and eight yards per target as a
pass receiver is the number you're looking to best. But
all this does is show you why it's more valuable
to feature ten and seventeen above everybody else. Go back
to twenty twenty three and our top back in tight
end combined for this targets only no rushes. It was
Durham forty three compared to John who's one hundred and eleven,
(22:34):
and Devon was thirty seven, down from eighty seven last year.
Massive philosophical, philostrophical shift at Devon's one hundred and three attempts,
and he was actually running back two behind Raheem that year,
so I acknowledge it's not apples to apples, but that's
one hundred and eighty three reps from those two guys
down from four hundred and one, more than cut in half,
and they gained thirteen hundred and sixty three yards, good
(22:56):
for seven point four four yards per play. That's one
and a half yards more per play from the tight
end and running back from the tight end in eight
chan in twenty twenty three than what the tight end
and eight chan did last year. And again, greater volume
is always going to force a reduction in efficiency. But
that's the whole point that less is more here, because meanwhile,
(23:17):
Reek and Waddle canbined for two hundred and seventy five targets,
which was seventy more than last year. They had two
hundred and seventy five targets in twenty twenty three, and
they gained twenty eight hundred and thirteen yards. That was
thirteen point eight yards per play. Case closed a massive
jump in production there. That's why I think you go
back to ten seventeen with more seventeen, and because of that,
(23:39):
I think you'll see a dip in production from the
running back and the tight end in that regard, but
it's good for the team in general. Let's go ahead
and take a break right there, come back on the
other side and talk about predictions five through ten. That's
next to Draft Time Podcast brought to you by Automation
Predictions in six more to come. Let's go ahead and
get to the number five right here. It is that
(24:01):
a star emerges in the secondary. I'm not talking about
a hit, a guy that we come back and think like, oh,
he was pretty good last year, he could be pretty
good to good next year. I'm talking about a guy
that maybe you don't have crazy expectations for right now.
But becomes a household name by this time next year,
a guy that you talk about amongst your friends as
a key part of this defense. I'm not willing to
(24:23):
land on just one just yet, but in order my
picks would be this. If he's healthy, it's gonna be
ify melafan Wu. Cater Koho would be next, who's already
a good player, but I think he has a chance
to elevate to a really, really good player in this
next season. Patrick McMorris is the next one on that
list for me, and then my two dark horse candidates
are Isaiah Johnson and bj Adams, back to back years
(24:43):
undrafted rookies at cornerback. This team has a history of
finding these guys. I think we're gonna find another one
here at some part of the roster. And those guys'
ability to play pressman coverage with their length and strength,
I think makes them ideal candidates to be that Mela
fan Wu's movement skills, the way he fits in this defense,
a three level impact defender, I think that how he'll
be used will really make him a star player if
(25:06):
he just stays healthy. Cater has kind of been second
fiddle his whole career, right in that secondary, a guy
that was behind Ramsey and Kendall floor last year but
was so important to the team's success defensively.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
I just I don't think we'll.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Go into the season with him as your like clear
cut cornerback one, because I think there's gonna be an
addition at some point. But he is right now, and
I've watched the way this guy has grown and matured
for four years, and I think he's ready for an
additional step. So he improved so much in critical areas
that had me asking questions about his game last season
that I think we'll see him continue that evolution. And
then mc morris, I just think there's something there. The
(25:39):
way he moves, the way like the jitterbug nature to
his quickness, the anticipation, the way he sees things and
goes and gets them, and then the way he arrives
with physical contact and runs through tackles. There's a spatial
recognition there. There's a temperament, the way he hits. It's
all over his special team's tape in college as well
as his tape at safety at college.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
I think he's going to be a dude.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
And then the tall, aggressive, long, physical corners I mentioned
thing number six prediction number six, but it's still going
to be a bugaboo that damn secondary, right. I just
don't think we have all the parts right now. There's
lots of questions in that back end. I think the
front will help. I think the coaching will help. I
think they'll add another part or two. Emergence from different
parts will help. But I think about it this way.
(26:20):
If the Bills had a position group like this, and
they actually do, and it's actually their secondary for what
it's worth, then we would be talking about it as
Dolphins fans, as a huge weakness. So you have to acknowledge, like, hey, yeah,
you can see these certain guys possibly breaking out or hitting,
but like you have to understand how it's going to
be viewed from an outside perspective. And I get why
it is that way because it's a bunch of unproven
parts in that secondary. And I have my questions as well.
(26:43):
And I think teams that have super sharp, super sharp,
precishing quarterbacks and with elusiveness and good offensive lines will
be a challenge for us. I think it's funnier to
just leave the edits in and make a joke out
of it than take them all out. I don't know
how you guys feel about that, but I do think
(27:04):
that we could handle a team like the Bengals with
how I expect us to beat up the offensive line
even if you're mismatch badly on the perimeter against Chase
and Higgins, and believe you me, I recognize that mismatch
in a heartbeat. But also, like Joe, Burrow's pocket navigation
is tough to deal with. Even though I do think
our rush games can get the non premium athletes, Burrow
(27:24):
is a good athlete. He's not a premium athlete like Hurts,
like Lamar, like Josh Allen, but like Matthew Stafford or
Brock Purty who he gave fits to last year in
those two games, I think you can get that type
of success. And the guys I mentioned Lamar and Josh
Allen like they have what three bad games out of
seventeen every year like there, Sometimes you have to tip
your hat to certain guys in this league. But like
(27:45):
twoas not in that category. I wouldn't put him in there.
I would put him closer to the Stafford and pretty
category right, like a really good player, but not a
premium athlete. And you can have games where teams swarm
a quarterback like that, and I think we'll have that.
But if you go up against the Baltimore Ravens and
the Buffalo Bills like he will in back to back
weeks this year, or you face even a Falcons team
that has all kinds of no because Penax isn't a
(28:07):
great mover, i'd strike that from the record.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
The Commanders, Jayden Daniels.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
I think those kind of teams could give you some
pretty good issues with how your secondary's built and the
quarterbacks abilities navigate the rush himself Prediction number seven. But
the good news is is a third consecutive prediction that
goes off the previous one. The good news is the
three players will threaten with double digit sacks. I was
thinking about doing two out of three off the edge
with Chubb, Chop and Phillips.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Let's go ahead and add.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
One more variable, one more ingredient to the stew here
and include everybody, which is really just adding Zach Seeler
and Kenneth Grant. Pressures and hurrying up the quarterback was
good last year. They were disruptive even though the sack
numbers were not there, and over time that typically evens
out to higher sack totals.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
I think that'll happen this year. Now.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I think that added bodies off the edge could cannibalize
Zach Seeler's sack production a little bit. And getting ten
sacks a defensive tackle is tough. I mean, he did
it twice in a row and he's like the only
guy that did that, so tells you how tough it
is to do. So maybe it's a bit too far,
but I think we'll get at least two double digit
sack guys and a third that pushes Ford. So why
don't we go ahead and just you know what, I
think the prediction should just be among those five guys
(29:15):
forty sacks that.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Might be too high.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Let's call it thirty five sacks Like Chopp could have twelve,
Phillips could have eleven, Stealer could have seven, Chubb could
have seven, and Kg could have four.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Like is that crazy to think about? I don't.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
I think we'll get thirty five sacks from those top
five guys, if not more. Number eight special teams will
not be a disaster low bar right, But it's been
a disaster, abject disaster for the last couple of years
it's killed us, and I think the emphasis on depth
and having guys that are rookies and one year prove
it hungry players that haven't had millions of dollars put
in their bank accounts by NFL teams like the not
(29:49):
the like call a direct shot, but like a Duke
Riley for instance. Duke didn't have to feel urgency last year.
He's got he's got it made, he's good. But now
you've got guys trying to make their career playing in
that Duke Riley role. I think that can have a
big impact on how our special teams play out. Like
Patrick mc morris, Dante Trader, I think those guys will
sell out for special teams and be impact players that way.
(30:10):
Plus a new coach with a new impression to make
the previous operation was not working. A shock to the
system is no guarantee, but I think it will help.
This is just mostly born from the thought of us
being a deeper football team.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
On the back end. I think special teams will stop.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Being like a bottom five unit like it has been
really for a long time. Number nine, we will have
a new core of cornerstone players by this time next year.
After the season, really when everyone was concerned about all
the talent loss, and there has been a lot, don't
get me wrong, Kalais Tron, Christian rob Hunt geek, like,
that's a lot of talent to lose it, but that's
(30:43):
how the NFL works. Forty percent roster tronover on average.
Across the NFL, I think there will be a handful
of guys that introduced themselves as like unanimous corner piece,
cornerstone pieces chop. Robinson is the easiest one, and believe
it or not, there are some people that think that
he's not even like an upward, ascending player. Like I
had someone on the beat tell me that I was cheerleading.
My tweeted about him a couple of months ago saying
(31:04):
like I'm so pumped for his year two because of
how he looks, and they're like, you're being a cheerleader again, Okay, dude.
Kenneth Grant I think is very much in that category.
I believe it's going to happen right away for him. Actually,
I think Patrick Paul, Jalen Wright, and Jonah Smith will
also be guys that are talked about as like, hey,
the Dolphins are good at left tackle. The Dolphins are
good at right one of the two guard spots. The
(31:24):
Dolphins are good at running back alongside a Champ. I'll
close with one that's a kin to Chop Robinson. I
think Jordan Brooks, who some people are already there on him,
but I think the rest of the nation, the national
media has to catch up. I think by this time
next year, Jordan Brooks will be unanimously in everybody's top
ten interior linebackers, you know, going into the season, and
number ten, we're going to make the playoffs. I predicted
(31:48):
number two to be true, and that was the tow
of play seventeen games. If that happens, duh, right, Like,
that's kind of the name of the game. If your
quarterback plays all seventeen games and he's not like, you know,
Tommy DeVito or whatever, like, you probably make the playoffs.
And Tua does cure a lot of woes. And while
I agree that he hasn't proven to elevate your team
to championship calibers as yet, that's kind of the next
step for him. He does elevate this team to be
(32:09):
a playoff team. He's be very good in that regard.
We don't lose to bad teams. I see that take
all time on social media. It drives me freaking nuts.
We've lost one time and Tua's tenure to a team
that we should have wiped the floor with, and that
was the Titans, which was a critical loss for the
organization in this entire build that you've seen. But it
was like the one game. I did the stats last
(32:29):
year showing the stats where in games were favored with
Tua quarterback. We almost never lose those like that's that's
a real thing. So Tua does elevate you in that way,
but he only beats bad teams, Like if it's only then, yeah,
it's a bad thing. But at least we beat the
bad teams and then the next thing for him is
to kind of elevate his game. I think he has
played better than the general perception of his game in
(32:50):
those big games and the other parts of the roster
I have had meltdowns. But that's a different podcast for
a different day. But I do think that Tua being
healthy means your baseline a playoff team, hopefully when a
playoffs hell, we were in contention last year in Week
eighteen with a bad football team, like we were't a
good team last year, and we had Tyler Huntley and
Skyler Thompson start six of those games. Brother like come on.
(33:11):
So that's the ten predictions. Let's get out of here
and call it a podcast. I will be back next
week for three OTA practices and then your boys gonna
go on paternity to leave. My daughter should be here
the week of June twenty third, I believe it was
when we're scheduled to have that done, the whole baby
given baby burthen process. So we'll have more content for
you guys in the coming days and weeks. I'm gonna
(33:31):
I'm gonna do a content through the whole summer. It
does drop down the two episodes per week after next week,
so we'll cover all of that as we go along here.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
But that's my time for today.
Speaker 2 (33:39):
In the meantime, you all please be sure subscribe, rate,
review the podcast, follow me on social, Go ahead and
check out the fish Tank Podcast with Seth and Juice,
the YouTube channel for Dolphins HQ, Drive Time content, and
so much more. Last but not least, Miami Dolphins dot Com.
Until next time, fos up. Hold on Cameron, Daddy just
coming home,
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