A matter of Will
With suspension over, could Fuller make immediate impact for Dolphins offense?
Injuries have regularly slowed Dolphins wide receiver Will Fuller’s productivity in his first five seasons in the NFL, and sometimes even ended his seasons prematurely.
This time around a lingering injury, which has not been disclosed, could lead to another slow start for Fuller’s season.
Even though Fuller wrapped up his six-game suspension for PED use by missing last Sunday’s 17-16 win over the New England Patriots and is eligible to play the final 16 games of the 2021 season, there was some hesitation on coach Brian Flores part about how involved Fuller might be in
the offense this week.
Flores pointed out that Fuller has been sidelined from all but a handful of practices since training camp started in late July. And it doesn’t help that he worked out on his own instead of participating in the team’s organized training activities this spring, so there is concern it might take him some time to develop chemistry with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
“We’ll work him in and see how best to utilize him in the offense and see how things go during practice this week,” Flores said Monday when asked about Fuller’s role in Miami’s evolving offense.
“We have a lot of guys in that room,” Flores said implying that Fuller, who has caught 209 passes for 3,110 yards and scored 24
Chris Grier hits on. That will tell where this rebuild goes, since most of the heavy lifting is done.
There hasn’t been another rookie who came out of the gates from practice to preseason to the career opener like Waddle in the past three years.
Raekwon Davis, a secondround pick, began to emerge in the latter half of his first season, an impressively fast track for a defensive tackle.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s first start in Arizona last year remains his best start. We’re 10 starts in for Tagovailoa, too, including a lackluster day in New England where he was outplayed by his Alabama understudy, the Patriots’ rookie Mac Jones. There’s time. There are questions, too.
Christian Wilkins, Grier’s first move in this era, has become a decent NFL defensive tackle in his third season. Not great. Not a Davis-style handful. But the kind of productive player good teams need.
The offensive line? A 3.2-yard rushing average says it didn’t do much. It’s full of Rebuild Kids, too, draft picks from the past three years. It also missed left tackle Austin Jackson, who was put last week on the restricted COVID-19 list before being activated at the last minute.
An obvious distrust of back-up Greg Little meant rookie Liam Eichenberg started at left tackle despite working at right tackle and left guard all summer. He looked like he hadn’t played left tackle since Notre Dame. A sack. A couple holding penalties. But he did OK considering the difficult situation he was put.
Here’s the bottom-line: More Waddles, less who-are-they is needed. Waddle’s first game wasn’t some great surprise. It confirmed what he did this summer and why the Dolphins made him the No. 6 pick. The jolt of electricity seen on that first catch. The speed and playmaking in a 30-yard catch. The 3-yard touchdown catch and dive for the pylon.
He dropped a ball, too, which he also did on occasion in summer practices. So he’s not perfect. But he’s impactful. You saw the flash of fun he brought to what’s been a slow-footed offense in recent years.
Some perspective, too. Waddle’s four catches for 61 yard is notable. It probably doesn’t crack the pantheon of Dolphins great debuts. Dan Marino threw three second-half touchdowns in a midseason game in 1983 to announce his arrival in a 38-35 loss to Buffalo.
Zach Thomas had nine solo tackles and a sack in 1996. Jason Taylor had six tackles, three solo, and a sack in 1990. Richmond Webb and Keith Simms anchored the left side of the line for 177 rushing yards and no sacks against New England.
One game isn’t a conclusion. It’s a statement of what can be, though, as those names show. Waddle’s statement comes with that glowing word he kept using even in describing his touchdown.
“It was great,’’ he said. “it was a great play call.”
One kid starred Sunday. One kid was inactive. We’re coming out the other side of the rebuild. But for it to work as planned the idea is clear. They need more Waddles.