Dolphins hoping to hold steady at tight end after losing starter in free agency

The Miami Dolphins didn’t use their tight ends much in the receiving game last season, opting for two-tight end sets a majority of the time. With half of that duo, Mike Gesicki, departing in free agency this offseason, many were curious how Miami would address the sudden hole on their roster.

The Dolphins return Durham Smythe, who was mainly used as a blocker in their scheme last year, recording only 15 receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown. Smythe has had more productive seasons in the prior two years, but he is still more feared as a blocker than a receiver. The team also added two veteran free agents in Tyler Kroft and Eric Saubert this spring.

None of the above three will threaten to provide Miami with a top receiving tight end, but with the team’s embarrassment of riches at wide receiver, one is hardly necessary. The veteran trio should do plenty to perform the duties asked of tight ends in the Dolphins’ offense, while Miami will look to two rookies to perhaps provide additional receiving ability to the position room.

The Dolphins used one of their few draft picks on Stanford wide receiver Elijah Higgins in the sixth round. Higgins, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, will be making the switch to tight end at the NFL level. Higgins told Jackson that 28 of 32 NFL teams saw him as a tight end at the next level, despite his never having played the position. At 6-foot-3, 238 pounds, Higgins has decent size – he needs to gain a few pounds – and a solid history of production, posting 1,204 receiving yards and six touchdowns for the Cardinal over the last two years.

Undrafted rookie Julian Hill out of Campbell had a strong final year of production, as well. He finished with 659 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his fifth year with the Camels. The Dolphins had considered looking into the tight end position in the early rounds of the draft, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, but they ultimately decided to utilize the free agent market while targeting lower-graded rookies.

The team also has the option to re-sign veteran Adam Shaheen, who spent his contract year on injured reserve last season. Coming off of knee surgery, Shaheen told Jackson that he “would love to remain with the Dolphins.” For now, though, it seems Miami is content moving forwards with Smythe, Kroft, Saubert, Higgins, Hill and developmental project Tanner Conner.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of South Beach:

• The Dolphins made a strong offseason addition in former Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions safety DeShon Elliott back in March. The former sixth-round pick developed into a starter in Baltimore, but has struggled with injuries. His health concerns continued in Detroit, where he missed two late-season games with a shoulder injury before toughing it out in the season finale to eliminate the Green Bay Packers from postseason contention. Elliott may not return for mandatory minicamp, but according to Jackson, he is expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.
• After allowing their one-year rental punter, Thomas Morstead, to walk in free agency, Miami signed former division rival Jake Bailey. Bailey missed some time last year due to injury and some team-enforced discipline and it’s not much of a surprise that the Dolphins brought in some competition for the young specialist. We speculated that undrafted Oklahoma rookie Michael Turk would provide some camp competition for Bailey, and Jackson confirmed as much in a recent report. The Dolphins were eager to bring Turk in, signing the former Sooner soon after the draft ended even despite Turk enticing six other NFL offers.