Pass game skills likely contributing to Dolphins trust of Myles Gaskin
When the Miami Dolphins exited the early portions of the 2021 NFL draft without a new starting running back on the roster, many fans of the team were stunned to see the team forsake the position early on; particularly in favor of a tight end. But this Dolphins team, under the direction of Chris Grier and Brian Flores, doesn’t do things by accident. If the Dolphins felt as though the need was pressing for a running back, they’d have likely moved for one — just as they moved for tackle Liam Eichenberg in the second-round to help the team transition successfully away from Ereck Flowers. Flowers was traded earlier this offseason in a salary dump effort to make more room for young players up front.
The fan base certainly seems more worried about the running back position than the team. And one of the reasons why is perhaps what we’ve seen from running back Myles Gaskin without the football in his hands in 2020. Gaskin, who played in 10 games and missed time with both a knee ligament sprain and COVID-19 protocols, was one of the NFL’s most productive running backs in the passing game despite missing those 6 games.
Let’s start with pass protection. Despite playing in just 10 games on the season, there were only seven running backs in all of football who were asked to take more snaps in pass protection than Gaskin (71 reps). Interestingly enough, another one of the players just behind Gaskin in the top-10 in pass blocking snaps counts last season is Malcolm Brown, who the team signed in free agency this spring from the Los Angeles Rams.
And of all the running backs in the NFL to take 60+ snaps in pass protection (there were 16 of them), none posted a better pass block efficiency rate than Gaskin — who is credited with just 2 hurries in those 71 snaps by Pro Football Focus. Gaskin wasn’t just good ‘for the Dolphins’ in this area, he was one of the best pass protecting backs in all of football last year.
And for a team that invested as heavily into the passing game as the Dolphins did this offseason, it would seem the identity of this team is going to be rooted in a pass-first attack. Could Gaskin be more effective as a runner? Certainly. But you can also impact the run game effectiveness by playing better up front and by creating better spacing of the defense with your threat to go over the top. Miami invested in both of those areas.
And then there’s the receiving game.
Gaskin carried Pro Football Focus’ 12-best receiving grade among all running backs in football — but it is the production that really stands out in this capacity. Remember; Gaskin played in 10 games last season. And yet he finished:
9th in the NFL in yards after catch among running backs (402 yards)
4th in the NFL in yards per route run among running backs (1.87 yards/route run)
4th in the NFL in catch rate (87.2%) of all backs to receive 40+ targets on the season
So if you’re looking for motivations for why the Dolphins ultimately opted to bring in Malcolm Brown and Gerrid Doaks at the running back position this offseason and not offer any other reinforcements to the group, this is a great place to start:
When the Dolphins’ offense was on the field, Gaskin was one of the NFL’s most productive running backs in the passing game despite missing nearly half the season.
That’s a pretty critical dynamic of the position and tells you quite a bit about both the Dolphins’ mentality in not addressing the position further and their future plans for the offense. Paired with where the team spent money, it stands within reason to suggest Miami is going to try to pass to set up the run in many instances. And if that is indeed the case, there weren’t many options that Miami would have found this offseason for a reasonable price that they could trust more. Now the pressure falls to Gaskin to stay healthy for a full 17-game season and prove the team right in their clear faith in his as the top option.
