Dolphins film study: What each new offensive player can bring to Miami

There hasn’t been much change this offseason to a Dolphins offense that was overhauled last offseason and made significant strides in the first year under head coach Mike McDaniel. But Miami has still added four outside free agents to try to tweak and improve an offense that ranked top-five in yards per play. This includes a new backup quarterback for Tua Tagovailoa, a potential new slot receiver, an experienced lineman and an under-the-radar tight end.

Here is one thing each new offensive player can bring to their new team.

QB Mike White: A (potentially) higher floor

White maybe wasn’t the top backup available in free agency. And on paper, he doesn’t project to be a significant improvement over Teddy Bridgewater or Skylar Thompson, especially after an uneven season that included him playing through a rib injury. But there is familiarity for White, who played in a similar scheme with the New York Jets.

In terms of aggressiveness, White is more cautious than gunslinger. His 7.6 air yards per attempt ranked 26th out of 40 quarterbacks with at least 135 attempts, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. But he’s not as risk-averse; his 2.3 percent interception rate would have ranked tied for 14th-highest among quarterbacks if he threw enough passes to qualify.

White isn’t much of a scrambler but athletic enough to execute schemed rollouts. But where White offers a potentially higher floor than Miami’s previous backups is pushing the ball in the intermediate part of the field. In 2022, Bridgewater and Thompson had a passer rating of 60.4 percent and 87.9 percent, respectively, on passes that traveled 10 to 19 yards. In four games in 2022, White had a passer rating of 76.6 on such passes. In 2021, which was a better and healthier season for White, he had a passer rating of 85.7.

With the deep speed of wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the intermediate part of the field is one that Miami took advantage of often when quarterback Tagovailoa was in the lineup. He had a 112.1 passer rating on passes between 10 to 19 yards. The Dolphins won’t get the exact level of production if Tagovailoa is sidelined but need someone who can still make the middle of the field a threat. With an improved supporting cast and play-calling, White could seemingly offer that.

“He’s more than capable of getting it done, both physically, but probably more so mentally,” former Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said November 2021. “He’s on top of his stuff, even when he wasn’t dressing, he’s always been on it, he’s always going to be within the gameplan and he’s going to get his opportunity on Sunday to lead this team.”

WR Braxton Berrios: More juice from the slot

Berrios could make his biggest impact with the Dolphins as a returner; he was an All-Pro selection in 2021. But on offense, he’s a prototypical slot receiver who could offer more upside than wide receiver Trent Sherfield, who signed with the Buffalo Bills.

70.2 percent of Berrios’ snaps have from the slot and he’s excelled in that role, though his targets decreased in half this past season. Berrios has the quickness to separate in short spaces and gain yards after the catch. Over four seasons, he’s averaged 6.2 yards after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus. For comparison, in a career-best year for Sherfield, he averaged 4.7 yards after the catch and has a career average of 3.6.

Berrios’ ability in space allows him to be interchangeable with Hill and Waddle in certain spots, such as orbit motion and lining up in the backfield. And while Hill and Waddle occupy attention as downfield threats, Berrios’ ability to work underneath could open up another part of the field for the Dolphins in 2023.

OL Dan Feeney: Interior versatility

Like White, there won’t be much of a learning curve having come from a similar offense in New York. It remains to be seen whether the Dolphins view Feeney as a starter. But Feeney could eventually push Liam Eichenberg for the starting spot at left guard and offers versatility along the offensive line for a unit that sustained myriad injuries this past season.

The majority of Feeney’s 64 starts have come at left guard but he also started the entirety of the 2020 season at center. In his starts across the interior of the offensive line, Feeney has shown the ability to do a lot of the things he’d be asked to in Miami, including executing combination blocks, climbing to the next level and pulling to get out into space. He’s also shown the awareness to pick up stunts in pass protection, which has often been a problem for Miami’s offensive line.

A good set of practices for Feeney in offseason workouts and training camp could give the Dolphins a number of possibilities along the offensive line, which includes moving Connor Williams back to left guard and inserting Feeney at center to get the best five-man lineup.

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TE Eric Saubert: In-line blocking with receiving upside

Tight end Mike Gesicki, as expected, left the Dolphins in free agency, signing a one-year deal with the New England Patriots. To this point, Miami’s sole addition at tight end has been a player whose skill set more resembles Durham Smythen than Gesicki. Saubert has been a secondary passing option in his career, with just 33 catches over six seasons. But he’s proven as a blocker and has spent more of his snaps in an inline position — 63.5 percent of snaps have from the inline position — compared to Gesicki, whose blocking struggles forced him to line up out wide or in the slot the majority of the time.

In his introductory news conference, Saubert jokingly noted that he came into the NFL with the reputation of not being a strong blocker but now that is all he’s known for. And though he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to make plays in the passing game, he’s shown the ability to find holes in zones, make contested catches and force multiple defenders to bring him down in the open field. The Dolphins didn’t use much 12 personnel [one running back, two tight ends, two wide receivers] in 2022. But the addition of Saubert gives the Dolphins two capable blockers at tight end who can also be reliable pass-catchers.