Dolphins-Jags Joint Practice: Tyreek Hill’s potential return and Ollie Gordon II’s push for RB2 highlight the top storylines on offense
The Dolphins host the Jags for a joint practice session and there’s plenty to talk about regarding Miami’s offense.
The Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars are set to share the practice field together on Saturday in Miami Gardens — bringing the end of the preseason and training camp one step closer to reality. When these two teams take the field, there’s no shortage of storylines to watch for as the Dolphins look to bounce back from a frustrating 2024 campaign and the Jaguars look to explode under new leadership this season.
When Miami has the ball, the team will be looking to find more rhythm than what they have been able to sustain across joint practices in Chicago and Detroit thus far this month. And with a familiar face along with one of the league’s brightest young stars awaiting them, it is sure to offer plenty of fireworks.
What storylines stand out the most? Here are four to watch for when Miami is on offense.
The potential boost for Miami’s passing attack in the form of Tyreek Hill and/or Darren Waller
Kyle: The Dolphins are playing the waiting game on a number of prominent weapons in the passing game. The team needed to challenge both Chicago and Detroit without either Tyreek Hill (oblique) or Darren Waller, who is returning from retirement and has spent camp thus far on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. The tea leaves are suggesting one or both could be back soon, however. Mike McDaniel acknowledged on Monday that his initial vision for Waller would feature him back on the field and practicing at this stage but was non-committal to forcing something.
For Hill, the concern was more focused on the competitive nature of joint practices and and eliminating an issue that could linger for a long-term standpoint. Is the extra week of rest what the doctor ordered? If not, Waddle will likely be featured often in the joint setting.
Evan: The Jags poured solid investments into fixing one of 2024’s worst pass defenses by signing Jourdan Lewis and Eric Murray and then drafting Travis Hunter with the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. This one is easy: If Hill returns, this will easily be the new-look secondary’s biggest test of the preseason, as they didn’t face DK Metcalf in the first preseason game and faced an underrated, but nowhere-near-as-explosive duo in the Saints’ Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed.
Can Ollie Gordon II continue his push for RB2?
Kyle: Gordon II has been a productive runner for the Dolphins through the first two weeks of the preseason, lowering the boom on defenders while also showing the ability to produce steep cuts or twist out of contact. It’s been an impressive display while playing against the lower tiers of opposing 90-man rosters. But Gordon II appears to have momentum on his side and has undoubtedly earned the opportunity to get an elevated role.
He will get it, by some form, by default. De’Von Achane is dealing with a soft-tissue injury that the Dolphins are being especially careful about, meaning that either second-year running back Jaylen Wright and Gordon II will both get an elevation. Gordon II will have the chance to make a notable impression running behind the first-team offensive line against a physical Jaguars front.
Evan: As Kyle mentioned, the Jags have a physical front, but it’ll be without a key piece in Arik Armstead. The veteran DL is dealing with a back injury that will keep him out of the preseason. The team did recently activate Maason Smith off the PUP list, so it did get that piece back.
Armstead’s absence helps, but this will be a good test for Gordon. For the Jags, it will be a good test to see how well the front seven operates against a good running attack without one of its best players.
How does Travis Hunter matchup against all of Miami’s speed?
Kyle: Hunter’s cat-like quickness is an elite quality and one that will be tested by the likes of Waddle and, hopefully, Hill. The grand experiment that is Travis Hunter will be a fun subplot to watch the Dolphins try to attack, especially as they look to find the downfield explosive plays that this offense was known for in 2022 and 2023. How does Miami go about their business in this regard and how much ground are they going to put Hunter through with coverage downfield versus speed?
Evan: Welcome to the NFL, Travis Hunter. It will be very interesting to see how he’s deployed against the Dolphins, especially since he matches up best against the likes of a Waddle and/or Hill. The wild part is even if he loses a rep, he still wins, because he’ll have received an up-close look at how two of the best in the game work their craft.
A familiar face returns to Miami
Kyle: There’s potential for a really fun cat and mouse game for Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the Jaguars defense. The man running the defense for Liam Coen’s squad is none other than former Dolphins linebackers coach Anthony Campanile, who was with the team from 2020-2023 — overlapping with the first four years of Tagovailoa’s career.
There’s not a lot that Campanile will throw at Tua that the quarterback didn’t see while practicing against the Brian Flores/Josh Boyer defenses that Campanile first sampled as an NFL coach. So the question comes down to the execution of the disguises by the Jaguars’ defense and how well Tagovailoa, now in year six, processes it.