Mike Gesicki is leaving a major hole in the Miami Dolphins roster

Mike Gesicki is now not only one of the, if not the, worst griddiers in the NFL. He is now also a trader, and he leaves a major hole in the Dolphins roster.

Of all the places where Gesicki could have signed he just had to go play for the Patriots.

It was clearly a possibility when the Patriots traded tight end Jonnu Smith to the Atlanta Falcons. Bill Bellichick loves his two tight end sets, and Mike Gesicki is a player who should excel in that system.

Something that makes it sting more is knowing that Gesicki could have thrived in Mike McDaniel’s system.

With a receiving core full of small, speedy type players it was nice having the threat of a big tight end who could stretch the field and make catches over the middle.

We saw that in 2021 when he had the best season of his career. He was emerging as a player who Tua Tagovailoa trusted.

He was targeted over 100 times and had 73 receptions on the season. He did a lot of work over the middle, but showed his abilities to catch the ball on the outside.

Then he came back this year and had his worst year since his rookie season.

He had his worst year statistically in every category since his rookie year, except for touchdown receptions. He had five on the year.

That is the one thing that never made sense with Gesicki.

Why was he not a dominant redzone threat?

He is 6’6 with a 41.5 inch vertical. That screams red zone threat!

Look at this touchdown reception against the Baltimore Ravens from this last year.

There is a large part of me that is terrified that the Miami Dolphins missed out on unlocking a valuable asset.

It is nice having big receivers in the red zone. Players like Gesicki who can go up and make contested catches in the end zone.

Looking at the Dolphins’ roster now, their biggest receiver is Durham Smythe who is more of a blocking tight end. He only had 15 receptions last year.

This is a major hole on the Dolphins’ roster now. I trust McDaniel’s ability to scheme receivers open in the red zone, but it is so much easier when you have big athletic receiving threats.

The Dolphins could go sign someone in free agency. Dalton Schultz and Austin Hooper are both still available. We could see the Dolphins pursue one of those players.

They could also address it in the draft. Darnell Washington out of Georgia and Sam Laporta could both be available when the Dolphins pick this year.

Either way, this is a need that should be addressed by the Dolphin’s front office at some point in the near future.

I love Tyreek and Jaylen Waddle, but they are not red zone threats.