Dolphins players to watch in camp: Raekwon McMillan

While some Miami Dolphins players may be watchable to see if they are making progress or a high draft pick, Raekwon McMillan could be a player to watch for a different reason.

Last season Raekwon McMillan was a fresh 2nd round draft pick who seemed to get what was being put in front of him. His practice sessions were going well enough that he was named the starting middle linebacker and it appeared that Miami had hit on the former Ohio State product.

Then, McMillan missed the entire season when on the opening kick-off of the first pre-season game he injured his knee. Now he is ready to pick back up and start his career again.

McMillan has been impressive this off-season during OTA’s and mini-camp. The linebacker can’t hit anyone, can’t have physical contact, but there was a leader coming out of its shell and the players around him were responding.

Lined up again in the middle, McMillan was calling out assignments and putting even some veterans in the right position. Why is McMillan who has never played a single down in the NFL taking this role? Simply because he has it in him and he isn’t wrong.

McMillan used his time injured wisely. He studied film and sat in on meetings. He broke down film and watched as others made mistakes and listened to why and how they should fix it. He was absorbing it all quietly. Asking questions when he needed to. Now he is ready to use what he learned to make the defense better. To make the linebackers better.

It’s hard to say how exactly the 2018 season will go for McMillan but training camp should be fun to watch as his knowledge of the system and his leadership qualities continue to show. McMillan has a lot of confidence and little ego it appears and that is one of the reasons why he is someone to watch in this years training camp.

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