Dolphins Happy to Take Patrick Paul's Trash Talk

Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Patrick Paul has had a strong training camp so far in Year 2.

Perhaps no one knows this better than linebacker Jaelan Phillips, who told reporters this week that Paul is a big-time trash-talker.

The difference is that Paul "backs it up more" now.

"I think that Patrick has huge upside. He’s annoying as hell to go against, I’ll tell you that much, because he is a s--- talker," Phillips said. "During practice, I hate him, but afterwards, the only thing I can do it admire him and admire his physical presence, admire his skill set, admire his athleticism, admire his work ethic and his ability to make adjustments and corrections. I think he’s going to be a fabulous player, and he already has made a big step in this league. So yeah, Patrick is badass. He knows how I feel about him, so just like I tell y’all I hate going against him, he knows I hate going against him.”

Phillips said that Paul is extremely intelligent and a gentle giant, but on the field he's a "different animal."

Head coach Mike McDaniel, told reporters that Paul is out to "prove something." That being said, the coach made it clear that for Paul, it's not about chasing the result, but the work to get to the finished product.

"I think it's the ebbs and flows for Pat," he said. "It's much like a coach, a quarterback where I know he can block people. I talked to him and I use the same example that as I example as I've always used with Tua [Tagovailoa]. Much of my evaluation process is after a play that I know he doesn't like. And that's something he's very much focused on, because you start getting confidence and you feel as though you can block everyone on every play, that's great, but what happens when you don't? Because you won't. ... So he's really leaning into that.

"And I think that, for the whole offensive line, I think collectively, he fits within a culture that they're creating, which is all about everything that they do, their focus, their intentionality, and their strain. And I think the talk, much like Jaelan is describing it, is a thing that that they may or may not choose to do.
The focus has been on the work and his game. So his one-lining trash-talking probably hasn't evolved as much as his game, which is what I'd want."

How Paul Began Trash Talking

Paul made appearances in all 17 contests last season as a rookie, starting in three of them. Now, he's looking to anchor an offensive line that was 28th in pass blocking win rate and 26th in run blocking win rate.

Paul said that his trash talk was inspired by UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who was one of his favorite athletes growing up.

"He'd beat the people before he even went against them, just purely off of getting in their head," Paul said. "So, yeah, it's just depends on the person, depends on the day they're having also, their approach. But it's easy to get under someone's skin. It doesn't even have to be something crazy, just something minute. Like laughter when you're locking somebody up. That'll get them, I'm not gonna lie. So it really depends on the person. And you just have to have fun with it."

And Paul has been having his share of fun so far in training camp.

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