What to watch entering Senior Bowl week
Here are five storylines to look out for as the Miami Dolphins prepare to coach the Senior Bowl this week in Mobile, Ala.:
1. Expect to hear more about the Deshaun Watson saga and potential trade front.
The Dolphins and New York Jets are two teams who have been linked to Watson, the disgruntled
Houston Texans star quarterback, since news broke earlier this month about his dissatisfaction with ownership.
Watson believed he would be consulted to some degree regarding the Texans’ general manager and coaching vacancies. Instead, Texans owner Cal McNair hired former longtime New England Patriots personnel member Nick Caserio as general manager.
And the Texans are reportedly down to Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier after several candidates interviewed for the job since Watson expressed his dismay.
ESPN reported Sunday that Watson may force his way out of Houston no matter who the coach is, although Bieniemy was considered a personal favorite by Watson before the Texans interviewed him.
In any event, expect to hear more about the Texans’ coaching search, Watson’s feelings about what transpires, and how the Dolphins could approach Houston with an enticing trade offer.
A trade wouldn’t be official until the new league starts in mid-March, but Watson’s trade saga will continue to be a major storyline this offseason.
2. The Dolphins may be closer
to filling their offensive coordinator position.
Former University of Miami great Ken Dorsey, the Bills quarterback coach, could be a viable candidate.
And it would make some sense, especially after the Dolphins hired his former teammate Charlie Frye to be Miami’s new quarterbacks coach.
Dorsey and Frye were quarterbacks together with the Cleveland Browns in 2006 and 2007.
And Dolphins coach Brian Flores could allow both coaches to reunite and lead a new offense catered around Tua Tagovailoa (or Watson if the Dolphins were to land the star quarterback).
The Bills lost to the Chiefs in the AFC title game Sunday night.
But Dorsey also reportedly will interview with the Seattle Seahawks for their vacant coordinator job.
And Dolphins running backs coach Eric Studesville, tight ends coach George Godsey and former Chargers quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton remain candidates
for the position.
3. The Dolphins’ offseason evaluation for draft prospects begins with a great opportunity to coach the National Team at the Senior Bowl.
Flores and his Dolphins assistants will get to work directly with prospects in a football setting in a major event that sets the tone for the 2021 NFL draft.
The Dolphins will look to gain a greater familiarity with the players they coach and those on the opposing American Team squad, especially with the NFL scouting combine in March altered from its typical format this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teams will only get to see players work out at their respective pro-day events at their colleges instead of at the combine in Indianapolis, making the Senior Bowl a prime chance to get a head-start of sorts on the draft evaluation process.
And this could be a huge benefit to the Dolphins because they own four picks (No. 3, 18, 36, 50) in the draft’s top-50 selections.
Among some of the players the Dolphins will get a close look at …
4. Alabama receiver Devonta Smith and running back Najee Harris, both former college teammates of Tagovailoa who could be in range of Miami’s two first-round picks.
Smith, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, has a hand injury that will keep him from participating in any on-field activity.
And that’s good for him, since he already has a firstround grade and could be a
top-10 pick if the Dolphins don’t select him with the third pick.
Harris, who was limping after an ankle injury he suffered during the national title game, will get his injury evaluated before determining if he will participate in on-field activities during the Senior Bowl.
More importantly, Smith and Harris will participate in team meetings with the Dolphins, giving them a chance to cultivate a more intimate connection with Flores and members of the Dolphins offensive staff this week.
5. As for some other prospects the Dolphins will see at the Senior Bowl
Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger, Oklahoma center Creed Humprey, North Carolina linebacker Chazz Surratt, Western Michigan receiver D’Wayne Eskridge, North Carolina running back Michael Carter, Ohio State linebacker Justin Hilliard and Washington defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike are among standouts on the National Team.
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask and receivers Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes are on the American Team with Alabama offensive linemen Alex Leatherwood and Deonte Brown, Miami edge rusher Quincy Roche, and Florida State defensive tackle Marvin Wilson and safety Hamsah