Dolphins Jordan Cameron 2016 preview
By Josh Pickett
Coming off a down season with the Dolphins in 2015, Jordan Cameron agreed to a slightly reduced salary in 2016 to get a chance to prove himself in Adam Gase’s offense. What can we expect from Cameron?
TIGHT END: Jordan Cameron
Jordan Cameron has flashed all the potential a team could want from a receiving TE in the NFL. Cameron will only be 28 years old this season yet because of his 8 million dollar cap hit it will be his last chance to prove he can be a consistent threatening playmaker in a Miami Dolphins uniform.
Jordan Cameron has 5 NFL seasons under his belt and had one awesome season with the Cleveland Browns in 2013 when he accumulated 14 starts in 15 appearances, 80 receptions, 917 yards and 7 touchdowns. That is an excellent stat line for an NFL TE.
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The counter point to those amazing numbers is that his 2013 season accounts for nearly HALF of his entire careers production. In the other 4 seasons combined Cameron has 85 receptions, 1,069 yards and 6 touchdowns. No doubt Injuries have played an enormous role, undermining Cameron’s career as he has unfortunately suffered multiple concussions but in order to be an effective football player he has to be on the field.
Another reason why Cameron may have had such an monstrous year in 2013 is because it is the one season he played for TE guru and former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator, Norv Turner. So the question must be asked if Jordan Cameron is a legitimate league wide threat or was just a glimmer in Norv Turners, historically tight end friendly gold mine.
2015 review
Last year Jordan Cameron was healthy enough to start and play all 16 games for the first time in his career and he managed a paltry 35 receptions for 386 yards and 3 touchdowns. He struggled to get separation from his defender while running patterns and did not win enough at the point of reception. Also Jordan Cameron has never been regarded as a good blocking TE and Miami did not rely heavily on him to do so last season.
It cannot be understated that it was his first season as a Miami Dolphin and a season where he experienced 2 head coaches and 2 offensive coordinators who had very contradicting ideas on how to play offense.
2015 stats
16 starts – 35 receptions, 386 yards, 3 touchdowns.
2016 preview
Based on Jordan Cameron’s salary and of course assuming he makes the final 53 man roster, Jordan Cameron is Miami’s starting tight end in 2016. There are 3 factors that will primarily decide how productive Jordan Cameron can be. They are can Jordan Cameron stay healthy? How good is Jordan Cameron at this point in his career? And how will Adam Gase use Cameron and the tight ends in his offense?
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Last year with the Chicago Bears Adam Gase conducted an offense that saw Martellus Bennett finish second on the team in receptions with 53, 439 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. Bennett was able to achieve that despite only playing in 11 games. After Bennett was lost, Gase still relied heavily on the TE’s and Bennett’s backup Zach Miller’s production was actually better than Bennett’s (if looked at based on opportunity) and managed to finish the season 5th in receptions for the Bears with 34 receptions for 439 yards and 5 touchdowns.
What we can gather from Gase’s offense is Jordan Cameron will absolutely get plenty of opportunities to prove himself worthy of his position in Miami. (I omitted Gase’s time as the Bronco’s O.C. because it is impossible to determine how much influence Peyton Manning had on that offense) So the two other questions: Can Cameron remain healthy? And how talented is he now being 3 years removed from his lone pro-bowl season, seem to be the biggest mysteries.
I am certainly not willing to make any predictions on Cameron’s statistical output for the 2016 season because of his injury history, his 3rd offensive scheme in only 2 years and his wildly inconsistent track record. But I am 100 percent positive he will get opportunities by the boat load this season.
Previous teams
Cleveland Browns 4th round pick in 2011. Played in Cleveland from 2011-2014.