One of the Dolphins’ developmental projects finally got his big shot in Week 1 — and it captured everything wrong with Miami’s offense
One of Miami’s long-term developmental projects got his biggest chance in Week 1. We’ve probably seen enough.
There’s going to be plenty of focus on the Miami Dolphins and what portions of this team need to be “discontinued” in the weeks ahead if the team drops more performances like the one we saw in Week 1. The scrutiny is only going to amplify from here. But as the Dolphins try their best to sort themselves out and figure out how to best move forward in the here and now, there’s one piece of this Miami team that should get jumpstarted with a discontinuation.
One of Miami’s 53-man roster spots is currently occupied by a long-time pet project of this regime. Tight end Tanner Conner, who is one of just two tight ends who was active for the Dolphins on Sunday in their 33-8 loss to the Colts, is in his fourth year in the program and logged more snaps against the Colts than he had in any of his prior three NFL seasons.
He, in a lot of ways, embodies why the Dolphins find themselves in hot water.
Dolphins’ tight end room, led by Tanner Conner, faltered in Week 1
The Dolphins’ offense is often defined by the “F” designations in their formations and personnel packages. Mike McDaniel told me during training camp in 2024 that you can assess the versatility of your tight end room and subsequently have the answer for how diverse your offense is. It’s a critical position — one that requires a lot of versatility to offer appeal in both the run game and the passing attack.
Conner, as a former wide receiver out of Idaho State, is considered an “F”. So, too, is fullback Alec Ingold. A third wide receiver or a receiving tight end, like 2024 breakout Jonnu Smith — now in Pittsburgh, would qualify too. With just one other healthy tight end on Sunday against the Colts, Conner got a lot of run. 28 snaps on offense to be exact.
That’s more snaps in Week 1 than he played in all of 2022 (26 snaps), 2023 (20), or 2024 (25). It was a major opportunity and it was afforded to him because he’s lived in McDaniel’s system for four seasons now. Four years of learning the shifts, the motions, the routes, and so on. Given McDaniel’s preference for layers upon layers of pre-snap shift and motions, Conner presumably was retained because of his explosive athletic profile and a familiarity with the terminology and extensive assignments.
Conner, however, still unfortunately looks like a bulked up wide receiver masquarading around as tight end. He was charged with pass protecting against DeForest Buckner on one rep from a two-point stance, which according to player charting was the first time in his career he’s been charged with a live rep in pass protection. The play ended in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa running for his life in the backfield and ultimately being sacked.
Conner was charged with execution motions on the fly and trying to stretch the front side of outside runs — only to get stonewalled by defensive backs such as Kenny Moore, Conner outweighs him over 40 pounds per the team rosters.
Even Conner’s bread and butter from college, pass catching, faltered against the Colts. Conner was targeted late in the game by Tagovailoa in the end zone but got outmatched at the catch point by Moore to force a fourth down. One of his earlier targets, a 14-yard completion on third down, was bobbled and nearly dropped.
Conner took nearly as many snaps as Tyreek Hill (30) and Jaylen Waddle (29) in Week 1. He out-snapped the team’s most notable add at wide receiver (Nick Westbrook-Ikhine) and his fellow tight end Julian Hill, in part because the game script required Miami to chase points and pass the football. But the successful reps in all phases simply weren’t there. And this comes after three prior seasons and four offseasons of investment.
Conner is a long-term pet project as an undrafted free agent in 2022 who has stuck around because of his speed profile. But his effectiveness from snap to whistle leaves plenty to be desired, while his perceived value to the coaching staff appears to be rooted in familiarity with the width of Miami’s playbook. While Conner takes the reps, an intriguing and talented newcomer in Greg Dulcich waits on the practice squad. This isn’t to suggest Dulcich is a solution for what ails the Dolphins. But he’s a natural tight end by trade and blurs the lines between a physical player and a pass catcher more than Conner — he just can’t be charged with shifts and motions because he’s new in town.
While they’ve certainly buried a lot of sweat equity in Conner over the years, this road to a viable tight end is looking more and more like a dead end. Perhaps it’s time to give the new guy a try, even if it means you can’t move him around pre-snap like a chess piece.
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