It’s no secret the Miami Dolphins are going to have to revamp the offensive line and add some receiving targets for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa between free agency this month and the late April draft.
At the NFL scouting combine this week in Indianapolis, that notion has easily been confirmed by the number of receiving and offensive line draft prospects that have said they have been in contact with the Dolphins.
Alabama has highly regarded receivers coming out in Jameson Williams and Jon Metchie. Either one of them could add to the Crimson Tide connection on the Dolphins, already established from first-round picks in the last two drafts in Tagovailoa and receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Metchie started considering what it would it be like to reunite with the two, especially Waddle after Metchie’s role for Alabama in 2020 first grew when Waddle went down with his midseason ankle injury.
“I think it will be a little unfair if Waddle and I played together,” Metchie said confidently. “I think if him and I played together, it would also be special just like playing with any of my former Alabama offensive teammates.”
Metchie totaled 916 yards and six touchdowns on 55 catches that 2020 season that was quarterbacked by Mac Jones. He topped that in 2021 with 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and eight touchdowns.
He and Williams formed a dangerous duo in Tuscaloosa after Williams transferred in from Ohio State. Williams also said it would be meaningful to unite with other Crimson Tide alumni in Miami, although he didn’t play with either Tagovailoa or Waddle because he was with the Buckeyes then.
But both also had their seasons cut short following knee injuries that proved to be ACL tears — Metchie in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia and Williams in the national championship against the same Bulldogs about a month later. The two said their recoveries are going well, and they hope to be able to participate in training camp ahead of their rookie seasons.
Beyond the two Alabama receivers, Arkansas’ Treylon Burks listed the Dolphins among teams he has met with.
With new Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel coming from the San Francisco 49ers, it’s interesting that Burks mentioned Pro Bowl 49ers wideout Deebo Samuel is someone he likes to mimic his game after. McDaniel found creative ways to get Samuel involved, even in the running game, last year in San Francisco, and Burks measures comparably as a 6-foot-3, 225-pound athletic freak.
Of different stature at 5-11, 183, Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson has been linked to the Dolphins in mock drafts and has spoken with the team.
“I had a good conversation with the Dolphins’ staff, talking to almost the entire staff,” Dotson said. “It was a great conversation, just going over board work, chalk talk, teaching me a couple of plays, just kind of getting to know each other.”
Not as highly ranked as the others, Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Charleston Rambo noted he has met with the Dolphins and that, after playing in Miami for his final college season at UM after transferring from Oklahoma, he said he would enjoy staying in the city. Rambo’s one season at UM was a record-breaking one, going for 79 receptions and 1,172 yards, both Miami season records.
Among offensive linemen that have said they met with the Dolphins are tackles Darian Kinnard (Kentucky), Daniel Faalele (Minnesota), Bernhard Raimann (Central Michigan) and Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum.
Kinnard gave some of the best insight of what it’s like to meet with the Dolphins’ new coaching staff.
“Meeting with the Dolphins definitely was a heart-to-heart,” Kinnard said. “Those coaches definitely seemed like guys who are experienced. They played in the league, and now they’re coaching. They definitely understand what it’s like in the player’s head, and it’s going to be a better connection than a coach yelling at you or ripping your [expletive] for something stupid.”
Boston College interior lineman Zion Johnson and center Alec Lindstrom said they haven’t spoken with the Dolphins yet at the combine as of Thursday morning, but they indicated they feel they feel they are likely in the mix given how their college offensive line coach, Matt Applebaum, is now Dolphins offensive line coach and already familiar with them.
()