Critical camp for him and us. If his ability to field punts has improved where he can be THE return man, I think that'll be huge to this team. Few in the NFL are as explosive as this kid. But, if were having to sub him at critical times, then we might want to look else where. Dependability is the first trait for return men...explosiveness is a (huge) bonus.
I have confidence in him. I think our STs are going to be excellent this year.
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I in wait and see mode with Grant. His speed and agility are terrific, but he doesn't seem to have great awareness or hands. Honestly, I'm much higher on Drake as our return man, and would like to see the team give him a shot at both KR and PR. If Grant can become a great return guy, then awesome, but I wouldn't say that I expect it to happen. You're right that this camp is critical for him. I think that he has a wider range of outcomes than almost any other player on the roster.
tirty8, ripper1961, Dolphin North and 3 others like this. -
I guess it should be possible to coach a guy to be concentrated and have the awarness to field a punt, even in critical situations. With his Speed he absolutely has to be our return guy.
Redwine4all likes this. -
Well, its not as if Drake is slow. And he averaged 30.5 yards on 13 KRs last season, including the TD. Grant averaged 23.1 yards on 19 returns. Drake consistantly gave the team solid field position though (which I consider to be the returner's primary job), while Grant was wildly unpredictable.
Grant averaged 8.3 yards per return on 20 PRs, but take away his one TD, and that average drops all the way down to 4.8 yards on the other 19. Thats just not acceptable. But as I said, hopefully he's learned a lot and looks a lot better in camp. -
I love this kid! He's so exciting to watch but he's only going to be a returner. The kid's 5'6" and 160 lbs. He'll never be able to play WR because he's too short and won't be able to convert to RB as he's too light so kick return he is, but this is where the entire special teams needs to step up its game.
Grant has INCREDIBLE acceleration...it's not so much his speed, it's how quickly he gets up to speed but this is where Grant and the entire special teams needs to pick up it game in the return portion of their play. If the team can set up and establish blocking lanes, allowing for Grant's acceleration, he's going to have some game changing kick returns, but if special teams are depending on his speed alone, his returns are going to be good, but nothing that's going to affect field position.
Additionally, I noticed so many times last year that Grant...not Landry or Drake for that matter had many opportunities for kick off returns as many of the kickers were kicking touchbacks. Not much we can do about that.
But like I said, I REALLY love this kid and I hope he's with the team a long time.the 23rd and Tin Indian like this. -
Nowadays you have to do more than just play ST
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I think Grier drafted Isaiah Ford to push Grant. If he doesn't step up, Ford will take his spot.
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Grant and Drake are the returners currently on the roster. As Knight said, its unlikely that Grant will ever have much of a role at WR, aside from perhaps some plays where they try to scheme him open in space and get him the ball where he has room. -
I disagree that Grant can't play WR. I think he could stand to put on a few pounds, but it's not like WR's of his size haven't been playing in the NFL. Steve Smith and Wes Welker are only about 2 inches taller and maybe 10 lbs heavier than Grant, for example.
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If I was Grant I would have spent the entire off season fielding punts from someone, somehow. His issue last year wasn't the actual act of returning the punt, it was simply catching it :lol: I'd like to see him be a bit more disciplined as well when it comes to touchbacks on kickoffs. I thought there were too many instances last year where he cost us valuable yards on kick returns. Take the free yardage on the touchback. I get it, he's got explosive speed and moves, but I'd rather be starting at the 25, than the 15 or worse on some of those kick returns he should have taken the touchback on.
As for him as a WR... I'd love if we could find a way on offense to get him involved. Sounds like they tried to a lot last year, but the incompetence of our offense at times just didn't lend to the ideal situations to try and get him involved. I'd love to see us be able to use him the way KC uses Hill.
Hopefully he's put in lots of work this offseason to improve.Redwine4all, Puka-head, Finster and 2 others like this. -
I am nuts over watching Grant play...how can you not root for the little guy that runs like a missile? But with that said, Landry was a far superior return man in every possible aspect. I can see why they'd want to rest Landry for breaking tackles as receiver, but I'm thinking that they move on from Grant this season unless he can work his way into the offense. Those muffed punts/kicks will not be forgotten in 2017.
I do hate saying that though because I'm a huge fan- there's not another "bubble player" I want to see succeed more.danmarino likes this. -
I am pulling for Grant to take the next step. IMO, he needs to play within himself and understand his limitations. He seems to be trying too hard to make something happen and is slipping and falling all over the place. Hopefully this year, things will slow down a little more for him.
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In his defense, I don't think he really returned punts before being asked to last year. Catching a punt is quite a bit different from catching a kick off.
I do agree that he has to step up his game on punt returns and have better situational awareness on kick offs. Cant have 15 yard returns when we get 25 yards for free. I would like to see him on the field more in the passing game, but that is a tough group to crack.
Honestly I am more concerned about the return on investment we had with Carroo than Grant though. Pretty much none.djphinfan likes this. -
With that said, I'm more worried about Parker than Carroo or Grant. It's a good problem to have all these talented receivers that aren't quite living up to their potential though....so many darn weapons and so many ways to make teams pay.Redwine4all likes this. -
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Then again, if he plays at 80% of his potential, then he's still a dominant NFL player. So I don't think he will ever be a bust. -
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Regardless of what Grant has shown as a returner, which I think is a good bit so far, Tyreek Hill is the reason you keep him on the team.
Redwine4all likes this. -
He's not making the team if he doesn't prove himself reliable fielding kicks/punts. He has to focus on that first and foremost... if he wants to keep the dream alive.
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But it would be exciting, seeing defenses confused initially, trying to figure out who to focus coverage on....Landry or GrantRedwine4all likes this. -
It starts with measures. He is small. Even a small guy like Welker is 3 inches and 20 pounds bigger than him. More than that (he is well built and can take a beating, given the fact he is very hard to beat because of his crazy athleticism) he drops the ball, on punts and catches, because he has small hands and that has always been a problem for him. He is electric, I hope he finds a way to be reliable with the ball in his hands, but he faces an uphill climb.
Redwine4all likes this. -
Its not his size thats the biggest issue to me. Its his hands, indecisiveness, and poor choices when trying to make a big play when the average one is there to be had. For me, a returner's primary job is to get the ball past the point where the touchback would be. If a guy ends up inside the 20, its a huge fail.
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In the offense I would only expect him to be a guy you run reverses with, or fake reverses more often. He is short so it might be hard to pick him up and see when he has or does not have the ball. I would actually run fake reverses more often than actually giving him the ball, as the main reason to do this would be to keep defenders wide so Ajayi has more room to run in the middle.
Redwine4all likes this. -
Good article on plans for Grant this year and some insights into the work he's been doing in the off-season to improve - including not dropping punts!
ARTICLE by Barry Jackson (Miami Herald)
Some snippets below - but read the full article for quotes from Rizzi and Christensen.
"Let’s discuss the receiver plan first. He played only 19 snaps on offense last season - dropping the only pass thrown to him - and offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen said the plan is to give him a bigger role.
To that end, the Dolphins have asked him to learn the outside receiver positions this offseason."
"Meanwhile, Grant has been working on fielding punts after fumbling four times in games last season. Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi commended him for flying punter Matt Darr out to Texas so Grant could work on fielding punts." -
I don't seem on the field, not with the talent we have. They can attempt it, but talking him up doesn't change my mind
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