Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores is enthusiastic about what the additions of wide receivers Will Fuller and Jaylen Waddle will do to energize the team’s offense.
Flores offered his comments during the Dolphins’ rookie minicamp and noted that the speed that Fuller and Waddle bring serve as a key reason for his excitement.
“If you’ve got guys who can run on the perimeter, if you load the box, there’s more opportunity for one-on-one matchups and opportunities downfield,” Flores said. “Defenses have to make that decision when you have those types of players on the field. If you don’t load the box and you play for those big plays, then there’s less people in the box and less people to block, and I think it really becomes kind of a numbers/math game.
“When you have guys on the perimeter and guys who demand some attention — that kind of attention — then there could be more space. … It’s a chess game and obviously the run game and how you attack the run game, that’s part of it.”
Fuller signed with the Dolphins as a free agent this past offseason after playing for the Houston Texans, while Waddle is set to begin his NFL career as the Dolphins’ top draft pick.
One indication of just how much speed Fuller and Waddle possess can be seen in the fact that Fuller ranks among the speediest receivers in the NFL, with Waddle maybe even faster.
The main beneficiary of this wealth of speed will be second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who threw for 1,814 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
Tagovailoa and Waddle already have some chemistry as a result of having played together at the University of Alabama. Given Tagovailoa’s tireless work ethic, he’ll no doubt also seek to establish a similar connection with Fuller in the buildup to training camp.
In recent years, the Dolphins’ passing game hasn’t always been in high gear, but that appears to be changing and will ramp up the excitement over the upcoming season.
