Dolphins Stock Report: McDaniel seeks more physical padded practices

Miami Herald

3 days ago

The Miami Dolphins are working to shed the soft, finesse label the team has been given during the Mike McDaniel era.
The bar has been set higher, which is why the first two padded practices of training camp haven't exactly met McDaniel's expectations for his 2025 team.
'It was solid. Kind of close to my expectations, but not where my team wants it to be,' McDaniel said, evaluating Miami's first padded practice on Tuesday. 'Our expectations and standards are going to be higher.'
McDaniel claims these padded practices are providing him and his staff good tape to teach technique and pad level from.
Here's a breakdown of what happened in Day 7 of Dolphins training camp.
Top Performers
▪ Offensive tackle Patrick Paul had another monster day in a padded practice. The Dolphins' 2024 second-round pick won every rep of 1-on-1 for two practice periods (20 minutes), and then went to the field and locked down the left side of Miami's offensive line. Once Paul has a player blocked the play is seemingly over because it's hard to get around him, and nobody is powering through his 6-foot-7, 326 pound frame to the quarterback.
▪ Pass rusher Grayson Murphy was one of the Dolphins' most impressive undrafted rookies last year, but a knee injury he suffered in the exhibition season kept him from contributing during the regular season. Murphy, who spent all of last season on injured reserve, appears to have picked up where he left off. He's consistently creating pressure and would-be sacks on Miami's backup quarterbacks, and has been outperforming Mohamed Kamara and Cameron Goode.
▪ Receiver Dee Eskridge caught a deep ball touchdown from Zach Wilson after getting behind newly added cornerback Jack Jones. Safety Jordan Colbert took a couple false steps to his right, creating the opening for Wilson to unleash the cannon of an arm he has. At this point Eskridge has established himself as one of Miami's top four receivers. It might be time he starts working with the starters.
STOCK UP
▪ Willie Gay Jr. has been one of training camp's top performers, making at least one impactful play per day. During Wednesday's practice he produced his usual sack. But he also dropped a possible interception from Quinn Ewers. That's his third interception drop of the first seven practices. Based on the way Gay has played the past seven practices it's pretty clear that defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver needs to find a role for Gay in Miami's third down defense.
STOCK DOWN
▪ Julian Hill dropped an easy pitch and catch pass from Tua Tagovailoa during the first 11-on-11 period, and has had a relatively quiet training camp. Considering Pharoah Brown seems to be working his way up the depth chart, and Darren Waller, who began camp on the PUP, will be cleared to practice in a week or two, this is Hill's opportunity to lock down a starting role, and he's falling short of expectations.
Injury updates
▪ Safety Ashtyn Davis will likely be sidelined an extended period, but not the season because of the left leg injury he suffered in Wednesday's practice.
​▪ Cornerback Kader Kohou, the Dolphins' most experienced cornerback, is headed to injury reserve because of the left knee injury he suffered last Saturday.
▪ Cornerback B.J. Adams, who suffered a concussion on Saturday, continues to be sidelined while he's in the NFL concussion program.
▪ Safety Dante Trader Jr. continues nursing a soft tissue issue and will be held out of practice for a week, giving him time to heal for Miami's joint practices against the Chicago Bears next week.
▪ Offensive tackle Bayron Matos, who was hospitalized after the first practice because of a head/shoulder injury, has been released from the hospital but hasn't returned to practice..
​▪ Tight end Jalin Conyers missed a four straight day of practice and has a boot on his left leg.
​▪ Linebacker Dejuan Jackson missed his second practice for unknown reasons.
Offensive tackle Obinna Eze missed Wednesday's practice with an undisclosed injury.
Corrnerback Kendall Sheffield missed Wednesday's practice with an undisclosed injury.
What they said
'That dude is not faking that energy. And energy is a huge piece of how football teams play the game,' McDaniel on Gay's impact as an emotional tonesetter for the Dolphins.