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Dolphins position review: Miami’s tight end room likely headed for shakeup

Al Diaz/adiaz@miamiherald.com

The Dolphins never found the right answer at the tight end position in 2022 and now the group’s top playmaker is expected to depart in free agency.

In the fifth of a series of position reviews, the Miami Herald will examine the team’s tight end situation. Next up is defensive line.

2022 in review

In 2021, the Dolphins had the highest rate of two-tight-end groupings in the NFL. But under head coach Mike McDaniel, the usage rate dropped precipitously. Mike Gesicki, who is one of the NFL’s top pass-catching tight ends but struggles as a blocker, was often phased out of the game plan, ceding snaps to Durham Smythe. Neither second-year player Hunter Long nor undrafted rookie Tanner Conner worked his way into a consistent role.

Depth chart

Mike Gesicki

Skinny: From the moment McDaniel was hired as head coach, Gesicki’s fit in an offense that frequently asks its tight ends to block was questioned. While coaches expressed confidence he would find a role, Gesicki, playing on the $10.9 million franchise tag, finished with his fewest snaps, receptions and yards since his rookie season.

Contract: Gesicki, who turns 28 in October, is headed for unrestricted free agency.

Durham Smythe

Skinny: Smythe played the most snaps of any Dolphins tight end but saw a decline in catches (15) and receiving yards (129) after a career-high year in 2021.

Contract: Smythe, who turns 28 in August, is entering the final year of a two-year contract. He has a cap hit of $4,235,294 but none of his $3.25 million base salary is guaranteed.

Hunter Long

Skinny: After a rookie season that saw him targeted just three times, Long wasn’t targeted once in nine games and played less than 10 percent of the offensive snaps.

Contract: Long, who turns 25 in August, is entering the third year of a four-year rookie contract. He has a cap hit of $1,355,099.

Tanner Conner

Skinny: A converted wide receiver from Idaho State, Conner impressed coaches in training camp and made the 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie. He appeared in 13 games and was targeted three times but did not record a catch.

Contract: Conner, who turns 25 in March, is entering the second year of a three-year contract he signed as an undrafted free agent. He has a cap hit of $871,666.

Cethan Carter

Skinny: Carter, a core special teams player, sustained a concussion in Week 1 that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.

Contract: Carter, who turns 28 in September, is entering the final year of a three-year contract. He has a cap hit of $2,320,000 but none of his $2.28 million base salary is guaranteed.

Adam Shaheen

Skinny: Shaheen was traded to the Chicago Bears last August but returned to Miami as the trade was voided because of a failed physical. He was placed on injured reserve because of a knee injury and did not play in 2022.

Contract: Shaheen, who turns 29 in October, is headed for unrestricted free agency.

Offseason questions

1. How do the Dolphins replace Gesicki?

Gesicki played the 2022 season on the franchise tag but general manager Chris Grier said in his end-of-season news conference that Gesicki “earned the right to be a free agent.” All signs point to Gesicki leaving Miami in free agency in March. While his struggles as a blocker limited his playing time, Gesicki still had moments when he showed why he is one of the league’s best pass-catching tight ends and the Dolphins will have to find a replacement for his production to take pressure off wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

2. Can Long or Conner step up?

A week before the Dolphins’ season ended, tight ends coach Jon Embree was asked if Long or Conner will be able to step into a prominent role in 2023.

“They’ll have to be. Unless you know anyone coming through the door,” Embree bluntly answered.

Long entered the league billed as an NFL-ready tight end but has dealt with injuries and hasn’t climbed up the depth chart. Embree has praised Conner’s run blocking and spoke fondly of his development in a new position.

But if the Dolphins don’t find a bona fide tight end in free agency or the draft, one of the two will have to step up in 2023.

3. Will tight ends play a bigger role in the offense in 2023?

No team used two-tight-end sets more than the Dolphins in 2021 but Miami’s usage of 12 personnel [one running back, two tight ends, two wide receivers] dropped to the fifth-lowest rate this season.

Fullback Alec Ingold often acted as a de facto tight end and the low usage tracks with the line of Shanahan-tree offenses in the NFL. But a greater usage of tight ends with the ability to block and catch proficiently could add a new wrinkle to an offense that lived in three-wide-receiver groupings.

Potential additions

Aside from Gesicki, the Dallas CowboysDalton Schultz and Jacksonville JaguarsEvan Engram are the best of the bunch in free agency but will likely be out of the Dolphins’ price range.

The Cincinnati BengalsHayden Hurst, Las Vegas RaidersFoster Moreau and Baltimore RavensJosh Oliver are lower-priced options who could provide a good combination of blocking and pass-catching.

In the draft, Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave, Georgia’s Darnell Washington and Iowa’s Sam LaPorta are possible Day 2-3 options.

DOLPHINS POSITION REVIEWS

OL: Does Miami need to target another starting offensive lineman?

WR: The Hill-Waddle pairing was an explosive tandem in 2022

RB: Will Miami be in search of another upgrade at running back?

QB: Will Miami invest significant resources into Tagovailoa’s backup?