Miami Dolphins Camp Notes Day 3 (Defensive Day, Brissett, Grant, more)

A muggy friday, moved slowly, as the team was heavy into Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams install. Then some fireworks, and a dominant performance from one side of the ball.

Tua Tagovailoa. This was a decent encore to what was a great day on Thursday. Tua Tagovailoa continues to show great command of the offense, and is still showing an aggressiveness that has only grown the past few days. His best throws of the day came early in some 6v8 where he hit Jaylen Waddle on a deep crosser for a nice gain, and then followed that up with a go route that Jakeem Grant pulled down for a big gainer. His Red Zone work was pretty strong to start, till the defense came on late in practice. Later on in 11v11, Tua began to feel some pressure and the offense sputtered inside the 20 yard line.

Jacoby Brissett. This was not a good day for the backup QB and his unit. At one point, he had gone 6 consecutive pass plays without a completion, gave up several sacks, had some throwaways, and then sailed a couple more into harms way. Jacoby Brissett was by no means “good” on this day, but I believe the defense also deserves credit. It has been a strong camp to start for Brissett, this was just a bad patch. I look forward to seeing how he adjusts.

Brissett not having a sharp practice. Struggling to find guys, and not much separation.

— Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) July 30, 2021

Nik Needham. Always on the spot. Playing every cornerback position, Nik Needham got his hands on several footballs. While he did not post a turnover, he was noticeable in coverage, and the versatility he showed, displays the depth this secondary has. This team (even with Xavien Howard out) has a strength in this secondary. By a crude count, I had Nik Needham targeted 5 times, allowing one reception of less than 10 yards.

Brandon Jones. Seems to have an expanded role. While he has racked up snaps on defense, Brandon Jones also shows up on several special teams units, and really logged the mileage in this practice. While the Miami Dolphins/NFL don’t want the media to reveal specifics on how players are being used, I can assure you, he is seeing expanded action since last year.

Jakeem Grant. This was a big day for Jakeem. Grant hauled in a go route early in practice, then showed up once again on a toe tapping TD in the back of the end zone. After a couple of days, where he was essentially invisible, Jakeem Grant took full advantage of the reps afforded to him today. The most impressive route run, was a rep where he got good depth on a skinny post, on what was a RPO, and managed to make the grab in traffic for a nice gain. Jakeem showed great concentration on this day, logging no drops, and several big plays.

Tua completed a deep pass down the field to Jakeem Grant then ran down the field and jumped up to chest bump him in celebration #MiamiDolphins

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) July 30, 2021

Practice MVP: Jakeem Grant/Defensive Secondary
Struggled: Jacoby Brissett

Alfredo Arteaga (@Alf_Arteaga) is one-third of the trio that does the Three Yards Per Carry (@3YardsPerCarry) podcast.