Irv Smith, Jr. is the TE the Miami Dolphins don’t realize they need
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins, whether they believe it or not, need a tight end and Irv Smith, Jr. needs a new home. It’s a perfect match, almost.
Irv Smith hasn’t drawn a lot of interest around the NFL just yet but in most cases, tight ends in general haven’t been as sought after as many thought. Mike Gesicki and Dalton Shultz both signed one-year deals worth up to $9 million.
The biggest TE news came when the Raiders traded Darren Waller. The Dolphins found a potentially good TE by turning over some of the pages and finding Eric Saurbert to pair with Durham Smythe.
Miami fans want to know if this is the extent of their TE interest. Many believe that the Dolphins will draft a TE next month. Perhaps even in the 2nd round. If the Dolphins are going this route they need to realize that TE is one of the hardest positions to learn at this level and what they have now, may not be enough.
Yes, the Dolphins do still have Tanner Conner but Irv Smith is the player they should probably be going after, now instead of later.
Smith is only 25 years old and is still developing. He has three seasons under his belt and this is the year that everything should start to click. Smith has 15 starts in 37 games which means, he won’t be or shouldn’t be expensive.
In his career, Smith has 91 receptions for 858 yards and 9 touchdowns. Oh, and he can block too, at least better than Gesicki.
The Dolphins need to bring in another TE. They ran with four last season and if they plan to draft a TE, they can’t risk one they want being taken before they select. They also can’t afford to trade up in the draft to get one, nor should they.
Getting Smith in Miami would be a smart play given his age, experience, and likely cost. He is an insurance policy should Miami fail to draft a TE, and he can immediately compete with Smythe and Saurbert for playing time.
So far, there haven’t been any solid rumors coming from the mainstream media but there is some speculation. If the Dolphins plan to bring Smith in, they surely don’t seem to be in a rush, they may want to get on it before another team jumps in.