Dolphins’ goal for rookie offensive tackle: Turn Paul’s big potential into production
Patrick Paul’s stature is so inescapable the offensive lineman creates moving shade.
The Dolphins’ rookie is a towering 6-foot-7, 331pounder whose arms measure 361⁄4 inches, rivaling most NBA players.
To put his size into perspective, Paul’s arm length ranks in the 97th percentile among NFL offensive tackles since 1999, and his weight lands in the 87th percentile.
To understand where the 2024 second-round pick checks in from a strength standpoint, know that only five players at this year’s NFL Combine did more bench-press reps than Paul, who lifted 225 pounds 30 times.
Only two Dolphins players on the current team — defensive lineman Zach Sieler and offensive tackle Terron Armstead — began their NFL careers stronger from a benchpress standpoint.
All this means Paul should be a load for any defensive lineman to handle when the former four-year starter for the Houston Cougars gets his technique polished and perfected.
“Everyone talks about length, athletic ability and size, and those things you can’t teach,” general manager Chris Grier said, explaining Paul’s selection. “He has that in abundance.”
And in time, the hope is that Paul will show it for the Dolphins.
Armstead flirted with retirement the past couple of seasons, and with his injury history in the NFL — having never been healthy enough to play a full season, and missing 11 of 34 possible regularseason games the past two seasons in Miami — the organization has its sights
set on the future.
Because Armstead and Paul have worked with the same offensive-line guru, Duke Manyweather, they have crossed paths before. While they haven’t trained together yet, Armstead has passed on a few pointers to the 22-year-old through the years.
Since Armstead, who turns 33 in July, doesn’t participate in the field work during the offseason program and sits out most of training camp and the exhibition season, Paul will inherit a smorgasbord of snaps that should help speed up his development.
Kendall Lamm’s presence allows the Dolphins to have Paul work only on the left side, giving him an opportunity to settle in on the side where they hope he will eventually grow into a starter.
“The negatives they have on me. A lot of those come from people just not knowing me as a player or knowing my work ethic,” Paul said, referring to how he was critiqued in the draft process, where he saw his first-round early evaluation slide a bit. “[The goal is] just coming every day and proving everybody wrong — anyone who doubts me — by working hard and trusting the coaching.”
Along with the eyeopening frame and great strength, Paul’s footwork is impressive. It’s typewriter-esque, which explains why he excelled as a pass protector on the collegiate level, allowing just one sack in his final two seasons.
But his movement is heavy, lumbering at times, which clarifies why he hasn’t been consistent in the run game.
He plays with high pads, and it prevents him from generating power from his lower base, which is needed to move defenders in the run game.
But in time that will come, if it’s fixed.
“They need to make sure they have a guy like this, which has the tools to work with, and then [the coaches] will take care of the rest of it.” ESPN football analyst