The Miami Dolphins have been deep in the bargain bins to start free agency, reluctant to go after the whales of years past.
This means that, more so than in other years, the team has targeted players with niche skill sets, hoping their specialization can raise the floor from the underwhelming 2024 season.
One of those niche players is former Tennessee Titans wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. This week, Miami signed Westbrook-Ikhine to a two-year deal worth 6.25 million dollars after he spent his first five seasons in Tennessee.
The 6’2″, 211 pound receiver adds some size to a room led by speed demons Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, and while that certainly excites many for his opportunities in jump ball scenarios, it’s another key skill that could spell one of Miami’s major problems from 2024.
The Crack Toss
With the struggles on the interior offensive line, Miami resorted to running a significant number of crack toss plays. The idea behind these plays is simple: seal off the edge player with a wide receiver and allow your linemen to get to the second level and create an explosive.
This is a great idea in theory, but when looking at Miami’s personnel last season, it makes sense why it didn’t work. The fact of the matter is that the Dolphins simply didn’t have the size or blocking technique in the receiver room to make these plays work on the perimeter.
Thus, 26.3% of Miami’s run plays were stuffed, which leads the NFL by a whopping 5.3%.
When filtered by outside runs, Miami stuffed run percentage goes up to 28.2%, which is also the highest mark in the NFL. This essentially means that over a quarter of Miami’s run plays resulted in disaster, and with a lack of consistent blocking on the perimeter, their ceiling was low too, finishing near the middle of the pack in explosive runs to the outside.
What does Nick Westbrook-Ikhine bring?
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine is a key cog in the potential revitalization of these crack tosses. The former Titan has been a rock in the run game since he entered the NFL, with Tennessee feeling comfortable using him in the slot, on the perimeter, or even in line like a tight end.
Furthermore, the tape tells a story of consistent success in a similar role to the one he will likely see in Miami. Tennessee ran crack toss plays throughout 2024 and the film shows a substantial upgrade from anything the Dolphins have had since at least 2022, when Trent Sherfield became a fan favorite for his ability to block and make tough catches.
In a world where Mike McDaniel attempts to blend run and pass personnel, having a wide receiver who brings out lighter boxes while also blocking at a better rate than a major majority of players at his position is key. With Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, that’s exactly what you’re getting.
It’s clear that, in an attempt to mitigate struggles along the interior, McDaniel had, to a fault, placed faith in players who couldn’t execute what became a key run scheme in the Dolphins’ offense, and while Miami still hasn’t completely solved their offensive line issues, this is a step in the right direction when it comes to getting things going outside.
