The Miami Dolphins last season saw eight different wide receivers hit the field. In an air-out, yards-after-the-catch offense, the receiving core is one of the most important pieces at Miami’s core. That core shrunk as receivers Cedrick Wilson Jr., Chase Claypool, and Robbie Chosen are not returning to the Dolphins in 2024.
Miami’s 2024 Training Camp will be proving grounds for an expected 11 wide receivers looking to solidify themselves onto the roster. However, new rookies emerge and free agents that come with high — even Olympian — accolades challenge the position. Oh, there’s also Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. If you like speed, you’ve come to the right place.
Miami Dolphins 2024 Training Camp Preview: Wide Receivers
Contract Renegotiations With WR1
Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill comes into training camp off his best season yet in the NFL. Despite ending the year short of a playoff win, the former Super Bowl champion tallied a career-high 1,799 receiving yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns. Hill did this while dealing with an ankle injury late in the season. He played in 16 of the Dolphins’ 19 games, which includes their Wild Card round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hill originally signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension in 2022 once he was traded to Miami from Kansas City. The extension connects Hill with the Dolphins until 2027 when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The Pro Bowl receiver will be paid a base salary of $30 million next year, but only $19.665 million of that will be guaranteed.
Hill and his agent actively are in conversations with the organization to renegotiate the fourth highest-paid deal for an active receiver in the NFL heading into training camp. The Cheetah isn’t too worried about if the renegotiated contract can be done, but is very ‘content’ with where he is at right now, he said.
“I’m just glad that I’m at the position that I am at now,” Hill said. “I know when it’s time for me to get a deal, the Miami Dolphins will do what’s right…my mindset and my focus right now is making sure that I’m able to help this team win it all — which is the Super Bowl — and I’m real content on that.”
Berrios Returns for Another Season in Miami
Wide receiver Braxton Berrios has been a fan favorite in South Florida since his collegiate career. The former Miami Hurricane was a tough route runner and was a vital offensive piece in the Hurricanes’ 2017 season. Now Berrios, 28, will be playing in his sixth season as a football player in Miami and second as a member of the Miami Dolphins. The 5-foot-9-inch receiver returned on a one-year, $2.15 million contract.
Berrios wasn’t a huge deciding factor last season but brought in 27 receptions on 33 targets and posted 238 receiving yards. His reliability in the short passing game was undeniable as he averaged 8.81 yards per catch. This type of stability is key for the Dolphins heading into training camp with a new receiver room toward training camp. However, that doesn’t guarantee a spot on the 53-man roster.
Make-Or-Break Training Camp for Cracraft
Veteran wide receiver River Cracraft is heading into his seventh NFL training camp in his career. This one might be the most important one yet for Washington State alum as an overcrowded wide receiver room could push him onto the brink of the practice squad despite a decent 2023 season. Cracraft caught nine receptions last year but made the most of it with 121 receiving yards and averaged 13.44 yards per catch.
Hill and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle are the undisputed first and second wideouts on the depth chart going into this season. Cracraft’s main opponents at a roster spot are Beckham Jr., and rookies Malik Washington and Tahj Washington. His experience heading into year two with Miami is his best advantage as his skillset is evenly matched with almost every receiver in camp.
Meet the Washington’s
Malik and Tahj are the Dolphins draft choices from the 2024 NFL Draft. Malik, a sixth-round selection, became one of the best route runners in college football through four years at Northwestern and an impressive campaign in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the Virginia Cavaliers. The 5-foot-9-inch receiver led the ACC with 1,426 receiving yards, broke the single-season program record for receptions with 110, and averaged a conference-best 9.17 receptions per game in 2023.
Malik has the frame of a running back but can take on one-on-one assignments in space and create YAC off of slant routes. Overall, what head coach Mike McDaniels could use to an already YAC-focused offense in the slot.
Tahj, a seventh-round selection, was a part of a heavy-pass offense at the University of Southern California. The 23-year-old receiver took advantage of this and produced 1,062 receiving yards off of a team-high 59 receptions. Tahj’s success at USC earned him an honorable mention on the All-Pac-12 team.
The Marshall, Texas native may not be an immediate success in training camp, but his ability as a dual-threat offensive player with experience in special teams will give him a lot of reps in the preseason. Tahj’s route tree capabilities are deeper than most on the roster.
The Hometown Dark Horse
South Florida is a hotbed for some of the best talent in football. Wide receiver Anthony Schwartz is no understatement of that. The Pembroke Pines, Florida native returns home looking for a job with Miami.
Schwartz was a standout talent from American Heritage High School — nationally known for its dominant football program. The receiver was coached by professionals of the game such as Patrick Surtain II, Tyson Campbell, and Marco Wilson. However, Schwartz’s most notable was a track star. The speedster was named 2018 Gatorade track and field athlete of the year and won a Florida Class 2A State title.
When at Auburn, he played both as a receiver for football and as a sprint for track and field with the Tigers. Schwartz went on to be a leading receiver at Auburn and won silver in the 100m dash and gold in the 4x100m at the IAAF World Championships in Finland.
Despite his success entering the NFL as a 2021 third-round selection to the Cleveland Browns, Schwartz has not found a lot of time on the field. He appeared in 25 games through two seasons at Cleveland and never had a season with more than 200 receiving yards. The Browns waived Schwartz in August 2023. The Dolphins picked him up that same year in November for the practice squad.
The world-class sprinter has an all-time type of speed. Schwartz’s 40-yard dash clocked in at 4.26 at the 2021 NFL Combine and he still is considered to be one of the fastest players heading into training camp. The South Florida native can be a special teams look. The worst-case scenario for him would be to be placed once again on the practice squad. His ceiling could be the fifth-string position.
Expectations for Beckham Jr. In Training Camp
Beckham Jr., 31, has become a journeyman through 10 years in the NFL. The Dolphins mark his fourth different team in four seasons. He recently played with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023. Beckham throughout last season played through 14 games, caught 35 receptions, produced 565 receiving yards and took three passes to the house. Even though he may not be the first option in this offense, it’s hard to deny he isn’t going to impact this offense.
Expectations for Beckham Jr. in training camp will be to adapt quickly to McDaniels’ offense. The best way for the veteran receiver to do that is to find chemistry with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. The third-string slot at his position is his for the taking. Many wide receivers working alongside him will need to fight to take him on once training camp starts July 28 at the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Main Photo: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
