Blockbuster Dolphins-Steelers trade puts spotlight on Miami player who is overdue to prove he's more than just a locker room star
The Miami Dolphins made a seismic splash in the NFL world on Monday morning. The team agreed to trade CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Jonnu Smith plus a seventh-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for S Minkah Fitzpatrick and a fifth-round pick. The move served to help the Dolphins in a number of areas. They […]
The Miami Dolphins made a seismic splash in the NFL world on Monday morning. The team agreed to trade CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Jonnu Smith plus a seventh-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for S Minkah Fitzpatrick and a fifth-round pick.
The move served to help the Dolphins in a number of areas. They finally jettisoned the disgruntled Ramsey and got someone to take on a sizeable chunk of his salary. They also get some salary relief with Smith and don't have to pay him an extension. And obviously Fitzpatrick is one of the best safeties in the league and gives Miami's very iffy secondary a giant shot in the arm that it badly needed.
But looking at the roster now, the Dolphins have what looks on paper to be a very underwhelming group at tight end with Smith off to Pittsburgh. Their tight end room now consists of Julian Hill, Pharaoh Brown, Tanner Conner, Hayden Rucci, and rookie Jalin Conyers. Woof.
And I say that for how things stand now. Conyers, an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech, could fit a similar mold eventually to what Smith did in 2024 in Mike McDaniel's offense. He has that skillset.
But for 2025, Hill is the player who finally needs to prove that he's more than just a workout warrior, someone who looks like a beast in the weight room and in the locker room. The Dolphins very much need Hill to take a big step forward in the passing game this season.
Hill, who was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Campbell in 2023, has shown flashes during offseason workouts and training camp, but his impact on Sundays has been minimal. Well, unless you consider penalties impactful. Hill was flagged for 7 penalties, all accepted, in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus.
There's also no denying that Smith's massive 2024 season was a product of a Dolphins offense that couldn't run the ball worth a lick and therefore couldn't "earn" – as Mike McDaniel puts it – those deep passing shots down the field that they hit on in 2023. They've addressed that by adding some pieces to their line this year in free agent James Daniels and second round draft pick Jonah Savaiinaea.
If Miami's run game gets better, more things should come from their passing game that we saw in 2023, and perhaps getting creative with the tight end position in the short passing game won't be as necessary.
But that still shouldn't mean they don't get their tight end position involved in the offense, because as we saw, McDaniel can draw up a heck of game plan for the position when he has a capable player.
The Dolphins are looking a trade options for a tight end, but even if the land someone, it's time for Hill to make more of an impact on the offense rather than being someone who's just making the roster and doing little more.
Mike McDaniel lands on a list head of the 2025 season that Dolphins fans hope he’s not on next year — for one reason or another
What should be a make-or-break season is coming up for Miami’s top brass
