Four Miami Dolphins whose stock is down after Week 4 loss to the Minnesota Vikings
Whose stock is down? A look at the players trending down after the Miami Dolphins’ Week 4 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Miami Dolphins keep on scrapping and clawing. They’re getting closer to a win. But almost only counts in horseshoes.
And so Miami will go into Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals still seeking their first win. And several players will be seeking their own individual rebounds after a tough showing in Minneapolis. Here are four Miami Dolphins players whose play missed the moment against the Vikings.
Four Miami Dolphins with sinking stock after the Miami Dolphins’ 15-1o defeat to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4
QB Malik Willis
There is plenty of context as to WHY Malik Willis didn’t have a good showing against the Minnesota Vikings. You can point to Minnesota holding five of their last nine opponents under 100 net yards passing if going back to last season. You can mention no Caleb Douglas and no De’Von Achane. And you can acknowledge Willis’ overall inexperience.
That’s all true. But none of it changes the fact that Miami didn’t get the plays they needed from Willis to win a game that was there for the taking. Willis’ best play didn’t count, either — thanks to rookie WR Chris Bell accidentally stepping out of bounds on what would have been a 68-yard touchdown pass before catching the ball. Speaking of Bell…
WR Chris Bell
The growing pains are plentiful. Bell owns the rights to the biggest offensive “what if” of each of the last two games: a late adjustment in formation led to an illegal shift that took a touchdown off the board against the Chiefs last week. This week? A toe out of bounds results in illegal touching on a brilliant play from Willis.
Bell didn’t log a catch this week, including on a pivotal jump ball target on Miami’s only fourth quarter possession. That, one week after a presumed breakout performance against the Chiefs. There are always ups and downs with young players but the downs have come in big moments for Bell as of late.
TE Greg Dulcich
The Dolphins’ coaching staff this week conceded that they needed to get Dulcich more involved in the offense. He didn’t get a target in Week 4. Some of this is a byproduct of Miami’s offense running less than 40 plays on the day — it’s gonna be hard to spread the ball around much in those circumstances.
But it was assumed that Dulcich would get some more opportunities after what the coaches said this past week. It didn’t come to life .
RB Jaylen Wright
Jaylen Wright and fellow running back Ollie Gordon may not see an opportunity this good again for the rest of their careers. Star running back De’Von Achane is down and out. Wright did not splash in his first chance to sell himself as the primary back. Wright ran five times for 7 rushing yards, with a long of 7 yards. He’s now averaging 2.1 yards per touch on eight touches across three games.
It’s surely not what he had in mind for Week 4. Especially when Gordon hit several chunk runs and hit 100 rushing yards on the day.
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