Long hoping for expanded role; here’s the oddity about his season. And Phillips, Campbell

Hunter Long arrived at Dolphins headquarters as one of most skilled and polished receiving tight ends in the 2021 NFL Draft.

So an examination of the Dolphins’ 2022 season statistics might trigger something of a double-take: Long played 93 snaps and he wasn’t thrown a pass on a single one of them.

He was used almost entirely as a blocker and allowed two pressures and no sacks on 21 pass blocking snaps. As a run-blocker, PFF rated him 63rd of 138 tight ends. So there was growth in both areas.

The question is whether he has done enough to earn a significantly more expanded role if Mike Gesicki departs, as expected in free agency.

“I hope I have,” Long said. “I took my shots when I got them this year. Regardless of the outcome, I am going to come into next year and attack it and make it the best year of the three I’ve had.

“I’m ready for this offseason. This will be a great offseason and I’ll come back really ready to attack next year.”

After catching 89 passes for 1267 yards at Boston College, was it frustrating to have absolutely no role in the passing game, beyond those 21 snaps in pass protection?

“I’m a team guy first so I’m going to do whatever they tell me to do and do it to best of my ability,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that. Whatever they give me to do, I’ll give 100 percent. Hopefully next year some stuff opens up.”

Long was targeted on three passes as a rookie in 2021 and caught one for eight yards.

Does he believe he can get open against NFL defenders, much as he did in the Atlantic Coast Conference?

“One hundred percent,” he said.

And does he still feel confident in his receiving ability? “One hundred percent,” he said.

He said his blocking has “come a long way. It’s been good.”

Former NFL executive of the year Scott Pioli, now a commentator for NFL Network, predicted Long would become a Pro Bowl tight end when he was drafted. The Dolphins’ level of faith in Long will become transparent by how they handle free agency at the position.

If they sign an established starter to replace Gesicki and pair him with Durham Smythe (who’s under contract in 2023), that’s not a good sign for Long. If they sign a relatively cheap player to replace Gesicki, that would suggest faith in giving Long much more playing time.

Tight ends coach John Embree was surprisingly candid in a late-season assessment of Long.

“It’s been quite a journey with Hunter; we’ve had interesting times,” Embree said. “Football is important to him; there were times I wondered about that.”

Why did Embree wonder about that? “Sometimes I wondered about preparation, how hard he prepared. He can be a pass catcher as well as run blocker. That’s important if you want to be a contributor.

“With him, it’s about staying healthy. He had an ankle sprain and concussion. It’s not something I’m down on him for. I’m looking forward to working with him this offseason to see if Hunter can become a complete player.”

Here’s a look at the Dolphins’ veteran tight end options to replace Gesicki.

CAMPBELL POSSIBILITIES

The Dolphins are intrigued by Elijah Campbell’s skill set and his late season role reflected that. He started at safety in the regular season finale against the Jets and was used as a spy on Buffalo’s Josh Allen for several snaps of the playoff game.

Campbell also can play cornerback, but “toward the end of the season, they did want to narrow me to an inside the box role, either safety, free safety or nickel kind of role,” Campbell said. “Keep me away from the outside to keep my mind on one position so I’m not scrambling around, so I can get the playbook.”

Early in the season, “it was more of getting a grasp of the playbook and there were a lot of moving pieces so it was hard to get one position down. By the end of the season, I remember [defensive coordinator [Josh Boyer] saying, ‘We’re keeping you at safety for the rest of the season. So I could conceptually understand the playbook pretty much and play a little more free and use my abilities to succeed.”

His best position? “I’ll always try to be as versatile as I can be, but I do like safety more. My explosion can be more useful at safety.”

Campbell, who ended up playing 80 defensive snaps and 290 special teams snaps, said he believes he proved this past season that he’s more than a special teams player.

“I would love to be get a little more defensive reps for sure,” he said.

He will be a restricted free agent and the Dolphins are expected to tender him, thus maintaining his rights.

PHILLIPS’ RISE

The improvement of Jaelan Phillips - particularly against the run - was one of the neat stories of 2022. It’s somewhat surprising that outside linebackers coach Tyrone McKenzie was fired, because he did a good job with Phillips.

“I feel like Jaelan Phillips has become a complete outside linebacker,” McKenzie said late in the season before his dismissal. “And that’s something that we kind of talked about there in offseason. I mean Jaelan Phillips, he’s setting the edge and he’s earning the right to rush the passer.

“You’re sitting there actually having a plan, and then sometimes you go out there and it may not work on the first one. Now you have to adjust on the sideline and know what you’re going to get with those tackles or a guard or a center that’s inside. So that’s something that we’ve been doing a great job with Jaelan.”