McMillan re-arrives
Linebacker figures to provide under-the-radar boost.
It’s easy to forget
DAVIE — about Raekwon McMillan in a Dolphins offseason full of swirling story lines that range from the parting of ways with longtime stars and the return of a starting quarterback.
Maybe a second-round pick isn’t flashy enough to keep people’s attention after a year away, or perhaps the blur of nondescript linebackers that have come through Miami over the past decade makes it hard to remember that posi- tion matters. It could also be that he’s never played a snap in the NFL.
But, man, don’t miss this guy’s re-arrival.
McMillan is back on the field for organized team activities
and the medical staff hasn’t put any restrictions on him as he returns from the torn ACL
in his right knee that erased his rookie season last year.
In his first three months or so after being drafted at age 20, he was already good enough to secure the starting middle linebacker job. The expectations were enor- mous inside Dolphins headquarters, and the coaching staff was ready to trust him with all the responsibility that role entails.
“I was still a rookie last year and I was being thrown into the fire, but I was very confident in myself and what I could do on the field,” McMil
lan said after Thursday’s practice. “I felt like I could have done big things last year, but it just had to wait until the next year.”
The next year is here, and
McMillan’s as important as anyone other than Ryan Tannehill as the Dolphins try to stun a football world that has written them off for 2018. They’re making a string of little bets, counting on a rookie here and a new face there, but McMillan is the closest they have to a sure thing.
His healthy return is better than anything the Dolphins could have done at the position in free agency. Here’s the infusion they’re getting in the middle of their defense: the No. 7 linebacker in his draft class, a 6-foot-2, 248-pound bruiser who can run and a player who rolled up 221 tackles in his last two seasons at Ohio State.
Take that weapon and allow defensive coordinator Matt Burke a year to refine it. That’s what happened. Much like Tannehill, McMillan didn’t allow the injury to entirely wipe out his season. He was around the team all last year, listening and learning to ensure he wouldn’t fall behind.
“It was hard at first,” he said, “but then I sucked it up and told myself that I could either let this year be a waste or prepare myself for next year.”
It’s been a refreshingly mature approach for someone who will be 22 when he hits the upcoming season, and that way of thinking was influenced in part by doing practically every step of his rehabilitation alongside Tannehill. As grown up as McMillan seems, there’s no substitute for time, and a 29-year-old teammate keeping him steady throughout the process made a meaningful impression. If McMillan is as good as the Dolphins think he’ll be this year, credit Tannehill for a bigbrother-like assist at a time when he had plenty of his own problems.
But mostly, the comeback speaks volumes about McMillan’s makeup.
His return should thrill the fanbase, but it easily slips to the background amid everything that’s happened since he went down.
Tannehill rightfully dominates that timeline. The Dolphins have had 17 different national anthem policies since then. Chris Foerster happened. And Lawrence Timmons.
Jay Cutler came and went fast enough that he might not have ever learned McMillan’s name. Rey Maualuga’s stay was even shorter. Franchise mainstays Mike Pouncey, Ndamukong Suh and Jarvis Landry were shipped out.
Adam Gase ripped apart his coaching staff with a flurry of moves in January, and a whole new crop of rookies was imported via the draft less than a month ago.
A million things have understandably distracted from the luster of what McMillan can bring to this team.
But now’s the time to start watching him closely.