Kelly: As Dolphins get ready to trim roster who stood out - for better or worse | Opinion

The Miami Dolphins wrapped up training camp Wednesday, and the exhibition season on Friday, which means games that count are around the corner.

After the preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dolphins’ coaches, front office executives and scouting department will spend three days debating the 90-player training camp roster to produce its best 53-man roster by the NFL’s Tuesday afternoon deadline.

That process will force plenty of tough decisions to be made, but until then let’s assess what we have witnessed in 18 practices, and three preseason games.

▪ Top performer, Zach Sieler: Sieler receives my top performer honors for a second straight training camp because he’s diligent about his work, and consistently brings it every day, with no days off. There isn’t a doubt that he’s going to anchor Miami’s defensive line if he’s healthy for 17 games. Sieler’s the type of lunch-pail player every franchise needs to serve as the glue.

▪ Biggest addition, Jonnu Smith: Odell Beckham Jr. hasn’t been healthy enough to practice, SO Smith has showcased himself as the only new toy in Mike McDaniel’s offense. The Dolphins haven’t even scratched the surface of that they can do with this H-back, tight end, slot receiver, tailback, who is a run-after-catch specialist. Smith has the talent to add a third scary element in Miami’s balanced offense.

▪ Most improved player, Ethan Bonner: Bonner, who spent most of last season developing on the practice squad as an undrafted rookie from Stanford, is notorious for being one of Miami’s fastest players, possessing the speed to stick with Tyreek Hill stride-for-stride. He has become a technically sound defensive back and reliable special teams contributor. Both attributes will likely help him secure a spot on the 53-man roster.

▪ Most impressive rookie, Patrick Paul: There are only a handful of humans walking the earth with Paul’s size, arm length, athleticism and strength. Once he cleans up some minor aspects of his game he will likely become a left tackle who can anchor an NFL offensive line. As impressive as Paul has been this camp, he will probably spend most of 2024 watching and learning from Terron Armstead, and that should be perceived as a positive.

▪ Area of concern, age and durability of this roster: The Dolphins were one of the NFL’s oldest teams heading into training camp, and between all the rest days given to the 30-year-olds and the days off taken because of injuries veterans have been nursing, there’s concern Miami ran a easy-peasy training camp. But McDaniel is a major believer in sports science, and this is clearly what those experts believe will help Miami perform better late when the season is in the balance. However, could it also lead up to a slow start?

▪ Area of strength, tailbacks: Raheem Mostert delivered his best rushing season in 2024 and set a franchise record for touchdowns in a season. De’Von Achane owns the NFL record for yards per carry in a season based on what he did last season. Jaylen Wright showcased the power and speed that is what motivated the Dolphins to trade away a 2025 third-round pick to select the former University of Tennessee standout in the fourth round. All three of Miami’s top backs can carry the Dolphins’ rushing attack if needed.

▪ Biggest surprise, Odell Beckham Jr.: Beckham has battled injuries for the majority of the past six seasons. It seems as if he joined the Dolphins with a lingering medical issue, which has prevented him from running a single route with Tua Tagovailoa all offseason. At this point it’s safe to assume that Beckham, who has accounted for 8,102 all-purpose yards and scored 60 touchdowns in his nine seasons, will begin the 2024 season on the physically unable to perrom list, which gives him a month to get his health in order. Until then the Dolphins need one of their second-tier receivers — Braxton Berrios, Erik Ezukanma or Malik Washington — to step up and be productive.

▪ Pushing for playing time, Jack Driscoll: I find it hard to justify why Driscoll is playing behind Lester Cotton as the Dolphins’ second-team right guard. Driscoll, who is also being cross-trained to play center, is seemingly a better run game contributor than Cotton, who started eight games for the Dolphins last season. The former Philadelphia Eagles fourth-round pick was added this offseason with the expectation that he would be allowed to compete for the starting right guard spot, but that hasn’t seemingly happened.

▪ Needs the most work, Liam Eichenberg: Last year Christian Wilkins was the grinch who stole Eichenberg’s confidence, consistently abusing him during training camp. This year Eichenberg was making progress as Miami’s projected right guard starter, then he had the role taken away from him because he was needed to fill in at center because of Aaron Brewer’s hand injury. The hope is that his stint at center will make Eichenberg a better guard in the long run. But Eichenberg needs to learn how to stay on his feet on a snap-by-snap basis. If Eichenberg doesn’t get his act together this season he will become a career backup and NFL journeyman.

▪ Biggest mystery, No. 2 QB: It’s possible we won’t know who Tua Tagovailoa’s true backup is until he’s pressed into action, because the camp competition between Mike White and Skylar Thompson provided little clues. While Thompson seemingly leapfrogged White on the depth chart, it’s pretty evident Miami might have an ulterior motive making White the third-teamer, like forcing him to reduce his salary. We might not know where this battle stands until Tuesday, which is when teams must reduce their 90 player training camp roster to 53.

▪ Toughest injury, Isaiah Wynn: When Miami re-signed Wynn the hope was that his quadriceps injury that cut his 2023 season short would be healed by training camp, and he would resume his role as Miami’s starting left guard. But the Dolphins will likely begin the season with Wynn on the PUP, and Robert Jones as the starting left guard. The Dolphins need Jones to be solid for the offensive line to not derail this season.

▪ Best undrafted rookie, Storm Duck: If the Dolphins are going to extend a long standing tradition of having one undrafted rookie make the 53-man roster, it will likely be Duck, an undrafted rookie from Louisville, who spent Wednesday’s joint practice with the Buccaneers working with the starters. But all three of Miami’s undrafted rookie cornerbacks — Duck, Isaiah Johnson and Jason Maitre — have performed well, and would all be worthy of a practice squad spot. This decision probably comes down to special teams contributions.

▪ 2024 Will Be A Success If, Tua Tagovailoa becomes an assassin: We already know Tagovailoa, who led the NFL in passer rating in 2022 and passing yards in 2023, has never had a losing season, and is one of the most accurate passers in the NFL. What we don’t know is if he’s capable of putting away a team with clutch fourth-quarter performances when the game is on the line. There were too many instances last year where Tagovailoa and his offense punked out and couldn’t pull the trigger when the game was in the balance. If he learns to become an assassin the Dolphins might be Super Bowl-bound.