Dolphins' Erik Ezukanma, inactive for 2022: It's all about how you come back from adversity
MIAMI GARDENS — Catching three passes was nice. Taking a couple of handoffs and busting them for long runs was even better. But all that stuff is secondary. It’s getting ahead of the story, really.
So let’s start here:
“Man, it was a great feeling just to get the ball in my hands,” Dolphins receiver Erik Ezukanma said Sunday.
You remember Ezukanma. Or maybe you don’t. If you do remember him, it’s from a year ago around this time, when he was leading the Dolphins in receiving and looking every bit like the Dolphins had a fourth-round steal on their hands.
Then preseason games ended and real games started. Ezukanma was inactive for the opener against New England. Then the next week and the next and every game after that until the finale, when he finally got in uniform, on the field, and made one catch for 3 yards. That was his season total.
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Determined to make sure 2023 looked nothing like 2022, Ezukanma went to work. He worked on mobility. He began taking supplements and vitamins daily. He took up yoga. He bought into the weight room to get stronger and into stretching so that the price of added strength wasn’t stiffness.
“I learned a lesson from last season and it’s behind me now,” he said.
Erik Ezukanma's 39-yard run highlights his night
The Atlanta Falcons’ defense also was behind him, at least a few times Friday night. Ezukanma ran the ball twice for 52 yards, including a 39-yard gain, in addition to catching three passes on three targets for 15 yards.
Coach Mike McDaniel said seeing young players such as Ezukanma make plays Friday night was “monumental” and “my favorite part of preseason.”
With Trent Sherfield off to Buffalo in free agency, the Dolphins are watching a battle play out for the No. 3 receiver role behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. It could be Ezukanma, Robbie Chosen, Cedrick Wilson, Braxton Berrios or River Cracraft. Ezukanma just knows his adrenaline started racing breaking the huddle.
“Knowing I was getting it, I was imagining myself with it and did everything I could to try to make some plays for the team,” he said.
McDaniel and receivers coach Wes Welker arrived from the San Francisco 49ers’ staff, where they had Deebo Samuel, the All-Pro receiver who could gash defenses when handed the ball. Nobody is comparing Ezukanma to Samuel. But at 6-feet-2 and 206 pounds, Ezukanma has the strength — and that one-game track record — that it seems worth exploring to find out where Ezukanma’s ceiling is. Ezukanma could be in a long line of Dolphins August wonders … or he could be showing signs of justifying the hopes he raised last summer.
“You go through adversity, and it’s all about how you come back from it,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Ezukanma has been seen as a player who can run with the ball. This is taking him back to growing up in the Fort Worth area and attending Timber Creek High.
“I did a little bit, maybe my sophomore year,” he said. “But I played running back all the way up until high school. Little league, I playing running back. Then I overgrew it and had to switch to receiver.”
Rushing, receiving: Ezukanma eager for either
Ask him what he prefers and his answer is predictable, especially given what happened last year: “Wherever Mike and Wes wants me to be in the offense, I’ll do whatever.”
This week represents a homecoming of sorts for him. The Dolphins are traveling to Houston on Monday and will hold joint practices with the Texans on Wednesday and Thursday leading into their preseason game Saturday. The Dolphins have figured out a way to leave South Florida for a spot in the United States even hotter.
“We’ve got a lot of Texas boys on the team, so it’ll feel good to be back,” Ezukanma said. “And just the weather, being able to be — well, Houston is a little humid compared to Fort Worth-Dallas, but just being in the area, it’s going to feel good.”
Dolphins receivers will bring their friendly competition with them. Hill and Waddle have chosen up sides, with the winning team enjoying dinner compliments of the losers, based on a point system for performance this preseason. Ezukanma is on Hill’s team for now, but both receivers’ team come next month.
“I’m really excited to get on the field with Tyreek and Jaylen,” Ezukanma said. “Knowing that most defenses are going to try to stop them and probably not worry about me too much, and being under the radar and being the underdog kind of gives me a little boost of confidence knowing that when my number is called, I’ll be able to showcase my ability one-on-one.”
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com and followed on Twitter @gunnerhal.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dolphins' Erik Ezukanma may have key to bouncing back from adversity
