Pleasant surprises emerging from Dolphins camp. And Dolphins work out veteran edge player

Every training camp delivers neat stories and pleasant surprises, players who morph from afterthoughts to something more.

Through 15 practices, the Dolphins have a handful who fit that category — from quarterback Skylar Thompson, who has wildly exceeded expectations and seems likely to make the 53-man roster; to undrafted rookies Braylon Sanders and Tanner Conner (who’s now injured), to linebackers Darius Hodge and Porter Gustin, who have made a case for backup edge jobs.

And two others who belong on that list: receiver Trent Sherfield and now-injured cornerback Keion Crossen.

Sherfield has emerged as a very heavy favorite for a job in a crowded receivers room, and Crossen has seemingly seized the No. 4 cornerback job, displaying an ability to be more than a special teams player.

With Byron Jones still sidelined after spring lower-leg surgery, Crossen has been the Dolphins’ third-best cornerback in camp, behind Xavien Howard and Nik Needham, before a minor injury sidelined him this week. The Dolphins gave him a three-year, $10.5 million contract primarily because of his special teams skills.

But his work at cornerback has impressed, particularly since training camp began.

“What I’m great at is special teams,” he said last week. But.. “I have some good cornerback attributes.”

Crossen, a former seventh-round pick of the Patriots out of Western Carolina, has played nearly twice as many special teams snaps (938) as defensive snaps (501) in his career.

Last season with the Giants, the disparity was particularly stark – 309 snaps on special teams, 23 on defense. But his pass coverage metrics have been good in limited opportunities, particularly with Houston in 2020, when he logged 28 percent of the Texans’ defensive snaps.

At times this summer, Crossen has timed out as the Dolphins’ fastest player. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds at his college pro day workout and has reached speeds of 24 mph in his career.

Sherfield, meanwhile, caught only nine passes for 87 yards for the 49ers last season, playing 24 percent of the team’s offensive snaps for a coaching staff that included Mike McDaniel and Wes Welker, who are now with the Dolphins.

His strong camp (including four TD receptions last Tuesday), familiarity with the system, size (6-1), good hands, reliability, diligence in his preparation and special teams skills have given him a clear leg up in the battle for the fifth and sixth jobs.

Dolphins receiver Mohamed Sanu, who also played for the 49ers last season, nicknamed Sherfield “textbook” last year.

“At first, I didn’t really like it,” Sherfield said of the nickname. “But as I sat and thought about it, it really does speak to who I am. I always make sure I’m prepared and know my assignment, being reliable for the quarterback, being in the right spot. In this league, to stay around for a long time, you’ve got to be trusted.

“That’s my biggest asset — being trustworthy and being in the right spot at all times. I came in this league as an undrafted player. If I’m supposed to be on this team, I will. If not, it will work out somewhere else.”

Sherfield, who went undrafted out of Vanderbilt, spent his first three seasons with Arizona, catching 28 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown while logging a heavy workload on special teams. He signed with the 49ers in March 2021 and made the team after catching five passes for 156 yards in preseason.

During his one season with San Francisco, he routinely came to work at 5:30 a.m., something he hasn’t done as a Dolphin because he believes that was counter-productive.

“I was showing up first and beating everyone to the facility,” he said of his Bay Area experience last season. “I had to take that out of my routine to make sure I was getting proper sleep so I could be well rested and be locked in for meetings. Why was I doing that? It was for the wrong reasons. Now I’m focused on getting proper sleep and nutrition.”

THIS AND THAT

With Andrew Van Ginkel’s status in question, the Dolphins scheduled a Wednesday workout with veteran defensive end/outside linebacker Trey Flowers, as NFL Network reported.

Flowers had 24 tackles and 1.5 sacks in seven games for the Lions last season. He had two sacks in seven games and five starts for Detroit in 2020, after producing seven sacks in 15 games for Detroit in 2019.

Flowers, 29, was a former fourth-round pick of the Patriots who spent four seasons with New England and the past three with Detroit. He has remained unsigned since the Lions released him March 16.

Van Ginkel hasn’t been seen at Dolphins practices Tuesday and Wednesday, and the team and his representation haven’t said if he has a short-term or long-term injury.

▪ Don’t be deceived by the ineffective running game in preseason, fullback Alex Ingold suggests.

“We’re going to have a smashmouth, physical run game, and those guys are going to bring the speed and we’re going to mesh well,” Ingold assured this week. “Hopefully I can open some things up for them. That’s why I’m here. I’m here to serve everybody else on this offense. Hopefully I can do that for the passing game as well.”

Ingold, off a Week 10 ACL injury for Las Vegas, makes his Dolphins preseason debut on Saturday against Philadelphia.