In Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the Dolphins have the league’s fastest pair of wide receivers. Now can they get them downfield for some big plays?
Both receivers were used mostly on short routes last year. Waddle averaged only 9.8 yards per catch, generally catching short passes around the line of scrimmage and not doing much with them.
Hill had a handful of huge games but otherwise was similar. Most opponents opted to play off Hill, letting him catch shorter passes but not letting him get deep for long touchdowns. Hill had four monster games, catching 41 passes for 614 yards and 7 TDs against the Eagles, Raiders, Chargers and Browns (in general, teams that tried to leave him in single coverage). But in his other 11 full, healthy games, he was very similar to Waddle – 67 catches for 604 yards and 2 TDs in those 11 games.
So what, I wonder, is Mike McDaniel going to do with these fast receivers? He’s got a short quarterback with limited mobility and arm strength. Tua Tagovailoa isn’t going to scramble around and launch deep strikes. He’s at his best when he’s getting the ball out of his hands quickly on short throws. And if that’s the case, is there anything McDaniel can do to ensure that more of those completions turn into big plays?
McDaniel coached in San Francisco last year, contributing to an offense that also had a quarterback with limited downfield passing ability. But I notice that the 49ers last year averaged 15.3 yards per catch when passing to wide receivers (almost 5 yards more than the Dolphins, who ranked last).
As I understand it, McDaniel’s duties with the 49ers centered more around the running game. But hopefully some of the concepts San Francisco was using will carry over until Miami’s offense.
| WIDE RECEIVERS (yards per catch) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| San Francisco | 181 | 2,777 | 15.3 | 17 |
| Cincinnati | 236 | 3,551 | 15.0 | 25 |
| LA Rams | 286 | 3,964 | 13.9 | 32 |
| New Orleans | 155 | 2,141 | 13.8 | 16 |
| Seattle | 191 | 2,611 | 13.7 | 25 |
| Philadelphia | 149 | 1,993 | 13.4 | 11 |
| Cleveland | 141 | 1,873 | 13.3 | 7 |
| Minnesota | 240 | 3,181 | 13.3 | 29 |
| Denver | 171 | 2,257 | 13.2 | 8 |
| Dallas | 255 | 3,347 | 13.1 | 25 |
| Chicago | 185 | 2,408 | 13.0 | 11 |
| Las Vegas | 223 | 2,889 | 13.0 | 16 |
| Green Bay | 240 | 3,086 | 12.9 | 27 |
| LA Chargers | 252 | 3,171 | 12.6 | 22 |
| Tennessee | 194 | 2,435 | 12.6 | 13 |
| Tampa Bay | 282 | 3,503 | 12.4 | 26 |
| New England | 193 | 2,396 | 12.4 | 12 |
| Indianapolis | 177 | 2,184 | 12.3 | 16 |
| Arizona | 250 | 3,073 | 12.3 | 20 |
| Houston | 203 | 2,463 | 12.1 | 15 |
| Washington | 184 | 2,218 | 12.1 | 10 |
| NY Giants | 180 | 2,163 | 12.0 | 5 |
| NY Jets | 222 | 2,649 | 11.9 | 14 |
| Buffalo | 284 | 3,299 | 11.6 | 22 |
| Kansas City | 244 | 2,820 | 11.6 | 20 |
| Carolina | 196 | 2,257 | 11.5 | 10 |
| Detroit | 203 | 2,326 | 11.5 | 13 |
| Baltimore | 216 | 2,420 | 11.2 | 10 |
| Jacksonville | 228 | 2,507 | 11.0 | 9 |
| Pittsburgh | 250 | 2,747 | 11.0 | 12 |
| Atlanta | 159 | 1,736 | 10.9 | 9 |
| Miami | 207 | 2,244 | 10.8 | 14 |
—Ian Allan