On Saturday evening, the Miami Dolphins played their second preseason game. It wasn't pretty, but the Dolphins' head coach got his rookies much-needed work.
There is only one more preseason left before it all becomes real, before it counts. Miami is relying on its draft class to mature quickly so that they can be on the field. Not all of the rookies played a considerable amount of time as the Dolphins tried to balance the number of reps in the joint practice with their game reps.
Overall, all but Chris Bell took at least a series of snaps on Saturday, but how did they perform individually, and what did they provide the team?
Miami Dolphins Day 3 rookies get much-needed work in preseason loss
Kadyn Proctor - Proctor played the first series of the game. He got pushed off the snap and didn't work backward unintentionally. His footwork was polished, and his physicality stood out. Proctor continues to trend upwards.
Chris Johnson - Johnson played early in the game and was good enough. There is a high ceiling for Johnson, and his work through camp has been solid.
Jacob Rodriguez - The second-round pick showed off his speed trying to get to the Giants' QB Jameis Winston on his touchdown run, but came up short. Rodriguez is still learning, and it's difficult when Miami isn't specifically game-planning for their opponent.
Caleb Douglas - Douglas was only on the field for a short series of plays and wasn't targeted.
Will Kacmarek - The Dolphins' best blocking tight end saw work in the first quarter before taking most of the game off. He was strong at the point of attack and looked good in his limited reps.
Trey Moore - Moore looked disruptive early, but left the game with an undisclosed lower leg injury. He was helped off the field and then taken to the locker room on a cart. Jeff Hafley did not have an update after the game.
Kyle Louis - Made some good plays and helped prevent a score. Louis didn't play a lot, but he swarmed to the ball.
Michael Taaffe - Turned in a much better game on Saturday than he did a week ago. There is still a lot of work to do, and he needs more development, but it was a promising game.
Kevin Coleman Jr. - Coleman made his first appearance in a preseason game and was targeted five times in the first quarter, catching two passes. He looked comfortable and made a nice one-handed grab in tight coverage. Very positive debut for the Dolphins' fifth-round WR.
Seydou Traore - The rookie tight end didn't make much of an impact in the Dolphins' passing game. The Dolphins had to keep protection on the line. Traore is still working to carve out a bigger role.
D.J. Campbell - Campbell wasn't horrible, but the entire offensive line struggled in this game. Campbell isn't ready to provide consistent play, but he got a lot of work in, and that is what he needs more than anything right now.
Max Llewellyn - For a 7th-round pick, Llewellyn is showing some really nice traits. He has to get better off blocks and develop more than a couple of moves, but his motor is excellent, and he hits with power.
It's hard to fully get a clear picture of the entire rookie class because they all played in different sets with different personnel. For the most part, there are good signs from all of them as individuals, but it's a team game, so until we see them playing real snaps, it will be tough to see their progression with any certainty.
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