Dolphins who shined after the first preseason game.

First preseason game in the books. It’s time to take an optimistic view of these Miami Dolphins that shined against the Atlanta Falcons.

We start the preseason off with the man of the hour….

Damore’ea Stringfellow

Stringfellow shined in the first preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. Catching and adjusting to the ball in the air. Stringfellow used his size on the smaller cornerbacks and showed a decent second gear in the now folklore 99-yard touchdown catch. Stringfellow finished the game with 2 receptions and 116 yds. Don’t worry, I am fully aware that Stringfellow did this against backups. What you can take from this is that he did this against backups. If he struggled it’d be a red flag. Now it’s about showing consistency and continuing to dominate against backups giving himself an opportunity to make the roster.

Unfortunately for Stringfellow, he is buried in the depth charts behind Parker, Landry, Stills, Carroo, and Grant. The top 3 have those positions locked. Carroo (draft pick) also had a good first preseason game and Grant (draft pick, special teams, speed) showed a flash of his dynamic capabilities. At least for now Stringfellow is showing himself to be someone to look out for.

Let’s continue with a guy who came out of nowhere for me…

Torry McTyer

Who was this number 5 making plays out there? Now I’m not saying McTyer was this dominant player but he got a tackle and a forced fumble. This is made impressive because he’s a backup cornerback who primarily plays on special teams. The position McTyer is in is not conducive to making a lot of plays considering the small amount of opportunities. Give McTyer credit for making it happen.

All these good vibes, let’s go…

Davon Godchaux

Might we have something in the interior defensive tackle spot next to Suh? With 2 combined tackles, Godchaux showed something that’s worth a second look. Anchored the point of attack, showed strong, heavy hands.

Leonte Carroo

After dropping some lbs, working on his craft, and having a second year in the same offense, Carroo showed up. He took a simple go route, signaled to Doughty, adjusted to the ball,  and displayed his strong hands in his only reception of the night for a 33-yd touchdown catch.

Jakeem Grant

Grant showed why he is currently on the Dolphins roster. Although just a flash, that 12-yd catch where he jumped out of his shoes and high pointed the ball is an example of Grant’s progression. It also exhibits Gase’s adjustment to getting Grant on the field, moving him outside. This was a small sample size but it showed Grant’s potential and explosive abilities. Grant still has a long way to go to find a permanent spot in the wide receiver rotation but this is progress.

Apparently the Dolphins have an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver…

Francis Owusu

This Stanford import caught a toe-dragging, falling inbound touchdown catch over a defender to top off his 2 reception 45-yds night. Odds are Owusu won’t make the roster but at the very least he put something on tape for some receiver thirsty team out there to give him an opportunity.

Let’s end this already…

David Fales

How can I write about players that shined without mentioning the quarterback that threw the 99-yard touchdown, dropped on the outside shoulder of Stringfellow. 8 completions, 184-yds, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Have you a second half night Fales! It wan’t all good, with an avoidable, regrettable redzone interception thrown by Fales but all in all, he held his own against the Falcons backups.

This was just one preseason game with mostly backups playing and will probably be all for not once the actual season starts. Take what happened with a grain of salt, look for those possible gems that might make the roster or the practice squad. With the amount of adversity the Dolphins are facing early, again, look out for those players that might help. Next man up mentality.