Five Miami Dolphins who made the most of preseason

1. Mack Hollins / WR

Mack Hollins has clearly been a favorite of coaches in Miami, but he was far from a lock to make the team. Up until now he’s been an average receiver and while Hollins is a valuable special teams contributor, why do you think they signed Robert Foster (another special teams standout) so early into free agency?

One of the Miami Dolphins’ key missions this offseason was to improve the receiving corps. Adding Will Fuller and Jaylen Waddle while getting Preston Williams and Albert Wilson back have made a huge difference, but don’t overlook the growth of Mack Hollins.

In their second preseason game against Atlanta, the Dolphins played without the services of Albert Wilson, Will Fuller V, Lynn Bowden Jr., DeVante Parker, and Preston Williams…you know, their top three (arguably four) targets.

We all remember what happened when that receiving corps was depleted last year. The receivers couldn’t get open, the offensive line struggled to hold up, and Tua was under duress-a lot. Some fans may have expected a similar showing against Atlanta, but that wasn’t the case.

Tua moved the offense down the field. Players were open, and he was decisive. We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Atlanta had many of their backups on the field, but they still looked good. Hollins was Tua’s favorite target on the day and the Dolphins’ leading receiver. He had such a good performance that he got the day off in Cincinnati the following week.

Like many of the other players on this list, Mack Hollins isn’t likely to get a huge portion of the target share in Miami, but he provides valuable depth. Lets face it, Miami’s receivers aren’t known for staying healthy and an improved Mack Hollins could end up being very valuable later on in the season when bumps and bruises start to pile up.

Final Thoughts

Like I’ve said before, the preseason is all about seizing opportunities. Every year there are spots on an NFL roster that are up for grabs. Someone has to go get them and these were five players that stepped up to the plate. Now, lets see if they can parlay these hot starts into regular season success.