Jonnu Smith makes sense for the Miami Dolphins and eliminates the need to use a draft pick

The best years of Jonnu Smith's career is likely behind him but he could find a resurgence with the Miami Dolphins.

When Smith left the Tennessee Titans after four seasons, many believed that he was going to become and even better tight end with the Patriots. After two seasons in New England, Smith was released and joined the Falcons.

A former 3rd round draft pick, Smith developed into a well-rounded TE who could impact the passing game and run games of his team. Naturally, his best years were with the Titans where he posted a total of 1,302 yards on 114 receptions. He scored 16 times.

The Patriots added Smith after a big 2020 season that saw him get into the end zone 8 times on 41 receptions. With the Patriots, Smith only scored once in two seasons and his catch totals dropped from 41 to 28 and 27. In his lone season with the Falcons, Smith caught 50 passes and scored 3 times.

Still quite young, Smith will enter his 8th NFL season and you could make the argument that he will be in the best offensive system of his entire NFL career.

How Jonnu Smith will help the Miami Dolphins in 2024.

Smith, who will make nearly $10 million with reached incentives could blossom in the Dolphins offense. He will be a reliable check-down route for Tua Tagovailoa and more importantly, provide a big red zone target.

The Dolphins tried to get Julian Hill involved in the offense last year but he is still a bit inexperienced and having someone like Hill in front of him will provide opportunities to learn.

Miami needs a tight end that can also provide quality blocking off the edge. Durham Smythe has been good but Miami's lack of a dual-threat TE to play opposite of Smythe has hurt.

The biggest question surrounding Smith is whether or not he can continue the success he saw last season with the Falcons. He should be able to do that with the Dolphins.

With Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle pulling coverages and the linebackers having to respect the Dolphins' run game, Smith should see one-on-one coverage from a linebacker or a defensive end. It's a match-up that Smith should be able to win and one that Tua Tagovailoa has to take advantage of.

The addition of Smith isn't going to solve the Dolphins problems at the position but it frees up the need to spend a draft pick on a TE this year. Miami only has a handful of picks this year but will be back to a full cache of picks in 2025 and they can address the position again, then.