In the Mike McDaniel era, speed has defined the Miami Dolphins offense. Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are two of the fastest wide receivers in the league. At running back, they’ve paired De’Von Achane, who ran a 4.32 40-yard dash, with Jaylen Wright, who had a time of 4.38.
In 2023, Hill, Achane, and former Dolphin Raheem Mostert combined for 6 of the top ten fastest ball carrier speeds, according to Next Gen Stats. This speedy offense works wonders under the Miami sun or in domes, but as the season progresses and the weather worsens, their offense begins to lag.
I’ve addressed the need for the Dolphins to find balance and physicality in the running game in a previous blog, but the need for a more hard-nosed approach can extend to the passing game. It has been years since the Dolphins had a player on offense that presented physical mismatches due to their size in Mike Gesicki.
While McDaniel never really figured out how to consistently use his 6-foot-6-inch frame in their lone season together, when he did see action often near the goal line, he delivered. His 2022 stat line was 32 receptions for 362 yards, but 5 of those receptions ended up being touchdowns, good for the second most in a season in his career.
The Dolphins would try to fill the sizable hole left by Mike Gesicki with Chase Claypool. Claypool stands at 6 foot 4 inches tall and weighs 238 pounds, he once held the nickname of Mapletron a play on Calvin Johnson’s Megatron nickname.
His production fell off a cliff after a rookie season in 2020, where he showed flashes of greatness with 62 receptions, 873 yards, and nine touchdowns. So he was unceremoniously shipped off to Chicago, where he struggled to even see the field. Still, McDaniel believed it was possible to salvage his career and add something to the offense that it was desperately missing. At the trade deadline in 2023 the Dolphins sent a seventh-round pick to the Bears and only received four receptions and 26 yards in return.
Last season, the Dolphins seemed to give up on finding a big-bodied receiver and focused their efforts on reviving Odell Beckham Jr.’s career as their third option. He was better than Chase Claypool, but not by much, posting 9 receptions for 55 yards and no touchdowns. The team and Beckham parted ways in December after he only appeared in 9 games for Miami.
While the Dolphins tried to wring the last bit of production out of Beckham, the Tennessee Titans would watch their third receiver have a career year. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was undrafted in 2020 and has shown consistent growth in his four seasons in Tennessee.
In 2024, he broke out with 32 receptions, 497 yards, and 9 touchdowns. These were career highs in yards and touchdowns for the 27-year-old receiver. His touchdowns were more than Hill and Waddle had last season combined. He’s also 6 foot 2 inches tall and weighs 211 pounds. While he lacks the blazing speed of the other players on the Dolphins he should fill the gap the Dolphins have been missing the past few seasons.
This move shows that Mike McDaniel and General Manager Chris Grier have possibly moved on from the need to make splashy high-profile moves to win the offseason. The Westbrook-Ikhine signing is unlikely to blow anyone away, but for $6.5 million over 2 years, it is a low-risk high-reward signing. The type of move that good teams make, teams that fill their rosters with players hungry for a chance to prove something. Perhaps the duo have turned a corner in what should be a make-or-break season.
For more sports opinions, you can follow me on Youtube @WickedGoodSports and X @TheFakeBMarr
