Dolphins camp preview: Mike McCray

Undrafted rookie Mike McCray will look to make a major impact in training camp in an attempt to make the Dolphins final 53-man roster.

This coming Wednesday, July 18th, the Miami Dolphins rookies, including all 12 undrafted free agent signings, will report to training camp. By rule, NFL rookies report to camp one week ahead of the veterans. The Dolphins have done well in recent years with undrafted free agents. Guys like Damien Williams, Mike Hull, and Chase Allen to name a few, have all made Miami’s final 53-man roster as rookies. In fact, Allen became the first undrafted Dolphins rookie in 47 years to start a season-opener last season.

In less than two weeks, 12 more undrafted rookies will have their shot to prove that they belong too. One player seemingly with a great opportunity at making the final roster is LB Mike McCray from the University of Michigan. Many predicted that McCray would have been drafted on Day 3 of the 2018 NFL Draft, but after not hearing his name called throughout the process McCray decided to sign with the Dolphins.

McCray dealt with injuries in college, including missing the entire 2015 season because of a shoulder. Mixed with the fact that he doesn’t have great speed could be reasoning as to why McCray wasn’t drafted. In 2016, however, McCray bounced back with 73 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and two interceptions to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten honors. He put up fairly similar numbers in 2017.

Linebacker is one of the Dolphins thinnest positions, opening the possibility for McCray to fill in as a backup in 2018. He’s currently listed as an outside linebacker behind third-round pick, Jerome Baker, but Miami could elect to move him inside if they choose. Currently, Hull and Allen sit behind starter Raekwon McMillan in the middle on the depth chart entering training camp.

McMillan has been highly praised since the Dolphins drafted him in the second round of 2017, but he too will be entering the season having never played a down professionally after missing last season with a torn ACL. It’s a very thin spot for Miami, but in the end, I don’t see both Hull and Allen as a part of the final roster.

In my opinion, at least one of those two will be on the outside looking in, and my bet is on Hull. Hull has had every chance since entering the league in 2015 to impress, and although he’s appeared in every game for the past two seasons, has done little in that regard. Allen didn’t exactly blow the coaching staff away, but I think they like him enough to keep him around for at least one more year.

With seventh-round pick, Quentin Poling, also in the fold on the opposite side, Miami has a corps group of very young linebackers behind Kiko Alonso. McCray was a natural leader on a very established program in Michigan, which leads me to believe he’ll find a way to stand out among this group.

No matter what, the linebacker position will be one of the most intriguing to look at once training camp opens up. McCray is assuredly a bubble candidate for the final 53, but my initial guess is that he’ll be suiting up in aqua and white for Week 1.

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