Miami Dolphins rookies class shine in their first NFL game

The Miami Dolphins rookies took the field on Thursday night for their first NFL action against a different team. And some of them shined.

Typically we don’t hear too many good things from a Miami Dolphins rookie class early but that was not the case during Thursday nights pre-season opener. Here is a look at the rookies and how they did.

Jerome Baker

Baker was all over the field during the teams first pre-season game. Where there was a ball carrier, there seemed to always be a number 55 there to meet them. Baker finished the night with a stat-line of two tackles and three assists. He got plenty of work on the field.

He looked comfortable and didn’t appear to be lost. His reads were good and he showed off some lateral speed making one tackle behind the line of scrimmage. Baker should see a lot of extended work through the entire pre-season and this is a good game to continue positive build from.

Minkah Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick looked like he also had no issues with being on the field. He wasn’t afraid to hit and took on receivers with no issues. He showed some of his speed early when the reached a receiver as the ball got to him helping to knock it away.

Fitzpatrick finished the night with two tackles and one assist but there is a lot of positives from his first night.

Kalen Ballage 

Ballage may have been the standout from last nights rookie class debut for the Dolphins. He ran hard, fast, and was impressive. Ballage caught three passes for 23 yards and rushed ten times for 37 yards on the night.

His night could have been perfect had it not been for a fumble on the Dolphins third offensive series. Ballage took a swing pass from Brock Osweiler and easily made the first down but when he reached the first down marker he attempted to jump over a defender. His knee hit the ball and he fumbled. Tampa recovered.

Ballage has some work to do and needs to cover the ball obviously but there is a lot of talent in this runner and he is going to be a big addition to the Dolphins offense. Miami will find a way to use him.

Mike Gesicki

Gesicki did not register a catch on Thursday night and he wasn’t really seen much on the field. He was targeted a couple of times but the passers were not good. Although he nearly came down with a one-handed catch in the end-zone but the ball was too high and out-of-bounds.

Durham Smythe

Smythe was targeted a couple of times but like Gesicki the passes were not good. He did catch one for six yards.

Quinton Poling

Poling registered two tackles and two assists but the Dolphins defense struggled in the 2nd half when the lineups got into the deeper portions of the depth chart. Poling will make his mark on special teams this year.

Cornell Armstrong

Armstrong led all Dolphins in tackles with five. It was a decent outing for the corner but again, when the Dolphins needed the defense to step up late in the game, was Armstrong part of that defense?

Jason Sanders

The 7th round kicker from Mexico State missed his first field goal attempt from 51 yards on the Dolphins opening drive. Then he kicked a kick-off out-of-bounds giving the Buc’s great field position. He finished the night 2 of 3 with one extra point. His longest field goal however was 29 yards.

Greg Joseph

Joseph wasn’t drafted but he is in a big battle with Sanders for the kicking job. He made his only attempt on Thursday, a 48 yard field goal in the second half.