The Miami Dolphins‘ woes continued on Sunday, when they blew a 17-point lead against the 1-3 Carolina Panthers to take their fourth loss of the year, making them 1-4 on the season and third in AFC East, ahead of only the New York Jets, whom the Dolphins beat a week ago in Miami.
Miami has multiple holes that need to be fixed around the roster, but one more prescient issue is to the performance of the team’s highly selected rookies from this past April’s draft: defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, and offensive guard, Jonah Savaiinaea.
For a roster as shallow as the Dolphins‘, immediate rookie contributions were looking to be a must if the franchise was to compete, or at least front a respectable team this season.
And contribute they have; Savaiinaea has played 100% of offensive snaps so far in his debut campaign, whilst Grant has accumulated the second-most amount of defensive snaps within the the defensive linemen group, with only Zach Sieler managing more.
But neither have performed to the level expected of them as top 15 and 40 draft picks. So, when Mike McDaniel was asked about his thoughts about the situation on Monday, his answer was always going to be a noteworthy one.
Mike McDaniel Defends Struggling Rookie Linemen
Per ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, McDaniel issued a statement of belief towards Grant and Savaiinaea, noting that it is the veterans’ jobs to lead the team and ensure that the bulk of responsibility does not fall upon the Dolphins‘ young talents.
“They’re made of the right stuff and with that, there is a belief with those guys that they’ll make it through to the other side,” McDaniel said on Monday, “… The biggest thing to me is that you understand those guys need to get better, but with rookies … we should have fewer things come up from veterans so that it doesn’t compound on top of things you’re working through (with rookies).”
“No one’s thinking that we’re not doing well because of our rookies … There’s a fine line and I think you reach that when you identify an inability for a player to do something you’re asking him to do, or you don’t see steadfast growth.”
Grant And Savaiinaea Off To Slow Starts In Miami
As McDaniel explained, the pair don’t exactly have their future careers on the line, just five games into their rookie seasons. But in the modern age of instant gratification and early breakout stars, there is an implied expectation from fans and media that good players will be so from the outset of their pro careers.
Something that can bring substantial pressure to even more off-the-radar positions like guard.
In fairness, Savaiinaea and Grant have not been good. And that could even be an understatement: the former Arizona OL is currently the worst graded guard in football (103rd out of 103), per Pro Football Focus, coming in at a 30.3 rating on the season.
Grant, meanwhile, is not doing a whole lot better, as he is currently graded as the 175th defensive tackle out 184 qualifying players at the position, also per PFF.
Both of them are playing like bottom tier backups, according to the well-respected analytics organization – and broadly speaking, it seems like the league consensus is similar.
It is not too late for either, but if their play remains at this poor level, it will be interesting to see if McDaniel – who could be fighting for his job this season – makes a change in the ensuing weeks.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Dolphins Mike McDaniel Speaks Out On Underperforming Rookie Linemen’s Future appeared first on Heavy Sports.