Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘Flex weapon’ thriving
Dolphins have finally figured out how and when to use Gesicki
MIAMI GARDENS — Maybe it is time we stop focusing on what Mike Gesicki can’t do, and emphasize the things he’s good at. That’s right, it’s time we strip the tight end position from his label and use the term “flex weapon” because that is a more fitting description for this unique NFL player.
A year ago I would have used the term “limited,” to describe Gesicki, because that’s what he was as a tight end due to his shortcomings as an in-line blocker.
But that was before the Dolphins found the team’s 2018 second-round pick a role that he could shine in.
These days Gesicki’s job is to serve as a pseudo slot receiver, a makeshift H-back put in motion on most plays he’s on the field while Durham Smythe handles the in-line work as Miami’s firstteam tight end.
That frees Gesicki up to move all over the field, finding favorable mismatches that allow him to use his combination of speed, athleticism, and length to attack the middle of the field, and the red zone.
Gesicki did just that on Sunday in Miami’s 31-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills, catching a career-high eight passes and turning them into 130 yards and one touchdown.
“He was getting open. When you get open we get you the ball, whether it’s the tight ends, the backs or receivers,” coach Brian Flores said when asked about Gesicki maximizing his teamhigh 11 targets. “He did a good job throughout the game giving us some good plays when we needed them. We just needed a few more today.”
With the Bills missing two of their starting linebackers because of injuries, the Dolphins were committed to attacking the middle of the field and Gesicki was one of the main beneficiaries of that game plan.
The fact Miami was able to use him in this fashion shows the growth he’s made the past two seasons.
I had major issues with Gesicki going back to when he was drafted because the Dolphins selected a tight end they knew struggled as a blocker so early in the draft.
That selection was hard to digest because a tight end I perceived to be a better fit — Dallas Goedert, who the Philadelphia Eagles selected seven picks later — was still sitting on the board.
And making matters worse was the fact the Dolphins used a fourth-round pick to compensate for Gesicki’s shortcomings to select Smythe in the same draft. That’s means Miami, a team starving for talent, used two early draft picks on one position because of Gesicki’s limitations.
It didn’t make sense to me then, and I was convinced I was right after seeing Gesicki get manhandled when asked to block in the first 25 NFL games he played in.
Then Miami apparently threw in the towel on trying to make Gesicki a respectable blocker, and starting using him as a makeshift slot receiver in the second half of the 2019 season — and shift has paid off.
Gesicki began developing some chemistry with Ryan Fitzpatrick, and the veteran quarterback started to lean on Gesicki late in the 2019 season.
Based on what the pair achieved Sunday against the Bills, it seems they’re picking up where they left off in 2019.
“[After] the first game I thought I needed to get him some more targets,” Fitzpatrick said. “Every week is different, every matchup. Is it man [coverage]? Is it zone [coverage]? He does a good job of finding the spots and is working hard in practice to figure those things out.
“His confidence continues to rise, and we’ll just continue to see him get better.”
Gesicki is a hard worker, usually the last offensive player to leave the practice field each day. And his position coach George Godsey pointed out his rise up the depth chart began when he started taking practice squad reps against the first-team defense along with his regular snaps with the offense.
“The coaches put guys on this team in position to be successful, and I’m just trying to play my role,” said Gesicki, who caught 51 passes for 570 yards and scored five touchdowns last season.
All but 153 of those yards and 15 of those receptions from Gesicki’s 2019 production came after Week 8, which is apparently when Miami’s new coaching staff figured out how to use him properly.
Now it is on Miami’s new offensive coaches to continue turning up the volume on Gesicki’s play.
“Chan [Gailey] does a great job with the scheme, and Fitz putting the ball exactly where it needs to be,” Gesicki said, praising the Dolphins new offensive coordinator and the quarterback who has mentored him going back to last season.
Gesicki’s merely giving credit to the man who is helping him become the weapon he has the potential to be.
“Anyone who has caught a football from him know he does a great job throwing the ball away from the defender and giving people a chance to be successful,” Gesicki said of Fitzpatrick, who completed 31-of-47 passes, throwing for 328 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. “He deserves a ton of credit for everybody’s success on the field because he makes all his teammates better. That’s what makes him special.”
It’s also what has helped Gesicki thrive in his new role.