Week 2 of Miami Dolphins training camp is in the books, and the team’s final practice period on Saturday was a great way for their offense to go out.
Not only did Tua Tagovailoa lead the team on a 10-play, 65-yard touchdown drive in a simulation two-minute situation, but he did so almost exclusively using second-year running back De’Von Achane.
Can Miami Dolphins’ De’Von Achane Become a Complete Running Back?
Tagovailoa went 8-of-10 for 65 yards on that drive, with the last passing attempts going to Achane. The Dolphins’ RB2 caught five of those seven targets for 41 yards, including a five-yard touchdown reception in which he used his added strength to power across the goal line.
Achane did have one drop on the drive and also couldn’t pull in an end-zone fade on the play before his touchdown.
The scoring drive highlighted what the Dolphins believe should be a dangerous dynamic to their offense in 2024: Achane in the passing game.
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Achane isn’t the smoothest natural pass catcher. He fought a couple of balls thrown his way on Saturday.
And while he was fourth on the team with 27 catches (for 197 yards and three touchdowns) in 2023, he ranked just 32nd among running backs in catch rate (73%), a stat that suggests significant room for growth.
Achane told reporters Saturday that his pass-catching has “improved a lot.”
“That’s something I’ve always been doing, even when I was young. I like catching the football, even though I am a running back; I also like doing receiver-type of stuff. So it makes me very different and unique in my own way.”
Dolphins Injury Report
Mike McDaniel struck an optimistic tone earlier this week when asked about cornerback Cam Smith’s injury outlook. He wasn’t fibbing.
While Smith didn’t practice Saturday, he seems close to a return. He stretched with the team before breaking off for rehab.
Smith surely knows that he can’t afford a long absence if he wants to crack the team’s rotation at cornerback. Kader Kohou has emerged as the clear No. 3 behind Jalen Ramsey and Kendall Fuller, and it’s no sure bet that Smith would play ahead of even Ethan Bonner at this point.
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“Cam has done a great job so far in 2024 applying a clean slate and taking the new techniques, the new scheme, and really trying to attack it and be the best version of himself,” Dolphins secondary coach Ryan Slowik said Friday.
“So I think for him it’s just to give us that as much as he can, be consistent. Understand that last year was last year. This year is an independent rep of that. So now he can just take himself with a clean slate and just really — I don’t want to say start over — but really just reapply all his skills.”
Slowik added: “He’s going to need to be his best version every day, as we assume he will, because he’s done a great job just adjusting and adapting to the scheme.”
Smith was one of nine Dolphins players who did not participate in Dolphins practice Saturday. The others were tackle Terron Armstead; linebackers Anthony Walker Jr. and Jordyn Brooks; safety Jordan Poyer; wide receivers Tyreek Hill, Erik Ezukanma, and River Cracraft; and running back Salvon Ahmed.
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