Twenty Dolphins Players to Watch in 2016 Preseason
Now that I've gone into detail regarding the 2016 opening Depth Chart, it's time to see what can change now that practice is going to be a factor along with preseason games. There's a flurry of things that can happen. Highly touted prospects can disappoint and find themselves dropping in the depth chart in favor of more proven veterans. An unproven player who was undrafted can just make the cut and give himself a year to show the Dolphins and the rest of the league what's he capable of. Injuries can pop up and give players you would never have dreamed of making an impact become starters over night. Because of all that, I'm going to be listing 20(mostly younger) players to watch for over the course of the preseason. 10 of them will be players on the inside looking out who are generally expected to make the team. The other 10 are players on the outside looking in. That doesn't mean they're expected to be cut, but the future will be deep down the depth chart, on the practice squad, or not making the team at all. They can change their fate with a bit of luck and a strong couple of weeks, let's get into the list!
On The Inside, Slightly Favored:
LG Laremy Tunsil (22, 81 OVR)
CB Xavien Howard (23, 72 OVR)
DT Jordan Phillips (23, 69 OVR)
WR Leonte Carroo (22, 68 OVR)
CB Bobby McCain (23, 68 OVR)
WR Jakeem Grant (23, 66 OVR)
FS Michael Thomas (27, 73 OVR)
LE Terrence Fede (24, 68 OVR)
CB Tony Lippett (24, 62 OVR)
RE Dion Jordan (26, 68 OVR)
Analysis of Group: So this is the group that is generally considered to consist of guys expected to make the team. There are a variety of reasons for this, but the biggest one has to be draft position. If you're a higher draft pick, there are simply better odds for you making the team. This is by far led by Laremy Tunsil whom by all accounts should make the team since he's a frigging 1st Round pick, the reason you want to keep an eye on him is because you want to see how he performs with the 1st unit. After that, you have a whole ton of question marks. Howard and Phillips are two 2nd Round picks who make many people feel queasy. Carroo, McCain, and Grant are all guys you hope to see blossom but you really have no idea what to expect from them. Carroo can hopefully be a 4th WR and solid guy to step up when others need rest, maybe McCain grows as the #2 CB, and perhaps Grant becomes a beast shorty return guy but those are just projections and hopes for guys without any of them actually proving.
Beyond that you have the oldest dude on any of these lists being Michael Thomas. He should be able to step up and become the back-up FS to Isa Abdul-Quddus but he's been hanging around for awhile and other than that one massive play vs Brady... you need more substance as a defensive player. Terrence Fede and Tony Lippett are two guys who fall into the same category at their position. They have some nice things about them, they've made the occasional nice play, but now you need consistent play out of them to make the team. Finally, you have Dion Jordan. I was seriously contemplating not even putting Dion Jordan on this list but considering he was a former #3 overall pick I felt I had too. Still, the distance between him and Chris McCain is essentially nothing. If he gets into any more off the field trouble or has any more suspensions, his *** will be cut before his BS could even be released.
On The Outside, Up-Hill Battle:
HB Damien Williams (24, 72 OVR)
RG Billy Turner (24, 72 OVR)
RE Chris McCain (24, 66 OVR)
WR Matt Hazel (24, 64 OVR)
TE Thomas Duarte (21, 64 OVR)
HB Kenyan Drake (22, 70 OVR)
CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (23, 64 OVR)
QB Brandon Doughty (24, 63 OVR)
MLB Zach Vigil (25, 59 OVR)
CB Jordan Lucas (23, 62 OVR)
Analysis of Group: This is the group that's going to have to impress to make the team, or at least impress enough to ease their mind about making the team. At the very top you have Damien Williams who's been a very capable running back for the past few years in Dolphins preseason games. He can easily break the Top 3 mix with Jay Ajayi and Arian Foster if he impresses once again. Later on you have Billy Turner who hasn't really impressed much but he is a backup RG, former 3rd rounder, and he just has to do better than a few veterans in order to get the job as a back-up guard. McCain as I mentioned is directly competing with Dion Jordan and making an impact as a pass rusher or causing chaos on special teams will be enough to almost assuredly guarantee himself a spot.
At this point you start to enter more murky waters surrounding these guys. Matt Hazel is a former 6th round pick and he's spent some time on the practice squad for Miami and has had little in the form of real gametime action. He will be fighting a serious up-hill battle against Landry, Parker, Stills, Carroo, and Grant... but can he be that 6th guy on the team? It's possible, but not likely. He'll need to get the right mix of getting open enough in practice while also building a bond with Matt Moore, Brandon Doughty, and even Zac Dysert in order to get enough targets to make an impact. That same logic applies to both Kenyan Drake and Thomas Duarte who once again will need the ball in their hands in the 2nd half of preseason games to show their talents. Ekpre-Olomu has had injury concerns and struggles with hip movement, Doughty is going against all odds of a 3rd QB making the roster, Vigil has to deal with Hull and other veterans who could be brought in, and finally Lucas is so raw he is basically built for the practice squad unless he does something remarkable like force a few turnovers or wreck utter havoc for the opposing offense.
That's my analysis regarding these 20 guys. It's already time! Let's dive into Game #1 of the 2016 NFL Preseason!