Rookie tight ends called on to perform

Gesicki, Smythe could be used in different roles

A starving man usually can’t stop himself from gorging when food is finally within arm’s reach, and that must have been how the Miami Dolphins’ decision makers felt during the process of drafting one specific position this spring.

There has been a long list of failed tightend experiments in the years that have followed the free-agent loss of Charles Clay, a former sixth-round pick who signed with the Buffalo Bills as a restricted free agent in 2015.

Cameron Jordan and Julius Thomas, two former Pro Bowl players, never lived up to those expectations with the Dolphins.

After being priced out in free agency, the position has become so troublesome that a player waived by the Denver Broncos last season (A.J. Derby), a former college quarterback in MarQueis Gray, and a veteran who spent all but one month unemployed last season (Gavin Escobar) are viewed as the accomplished tight ends on the roster.

“We kind of emphasize that position of a pass-catching-type tight end that can win one-on-one matchups versus safeties and linebackers,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said, explaining the early selection of former Penn State standout Mike Gesicki in last month’s draft.

Derby, who has 37 career receptions for 404 yards and two touchdowns, will likely compete with Gesicki for the seam-threat role, while Gray, Escobar and fourth-round pick Durham Smythe battle it out for the in-line role, where run blocking and pass protecting is a priority.

The Dolphins said Gesicki was the toprated tight end on the team’s draft board, and felt fortunate to select him at No. 42, making him the second tight end taken,