Dolphins Rookie Report Card: Week 13 (Game 12)

DE Dion Jordan (1st Round Pick, 3rd overall). Grade: B

Though he was only in on about one third of the defensive plays, Jordan seemed to be all over the field on Sunday. He created pressure a couple of times, once in the second quarter to force a throw-away by Geno Smith on 3rd-and-long and again later against Matt Simms. He recorded three tackles as well, two coming in the running game at the line of scrimmage.

One of those plays really stood out to me, however. On a 3rd-and-3, the Jets call an off-tackle run to the opposite side, away from Jordan. Right after the snap, Jordan comes screaming around the backside edge and makes the tackle, forcing a fourth down and a punt.

Here's a GIF of the play:

This much is clear: Jordan is a stellar athlete. What's next is to find out how he handles a bigger workload.

Season GPA: 2.54 Team Rank: 3rd

CB Jamar Taylor (2nd Round Pick, 54th overall). Grade: I (Incomplete)

Taylor was deactivated due to a hamstring issue.

Season GPA: 1.67 Team Rank: 9th

OL Dallas Thomas (3rd Round Pick, 77th overall). Grade: C

Thomas was active and even played a snap (according to Pro Football Focus anyway, I didn't bother to try to find it). That brings his grand total of snaps played to TWO in 12 games. Not too shabby for a guy who looked like a high school player in the preseason.

Season GPA: 2.00 Team Rank: 4th

CB Will Davis (3rd Round Pick, 93rd overall). Grade: C-

Finally! A healthy scratch for the first 11 games, Davis finally broke the 46-man roster and even got some action throughout the game. He looked just like you'd expect someone to in their first real game as a professional football player, appearing especially lost on a third down 18-yard reception allowed to David Nelson. The play put the Jets in the red zone and led to their first and only points.

Much more needs to be seen from Davis before any kind of judgment can be passed.

Season GPA: 1.70 Team Rank: 8th

LB Jelani Jenkins (4th Round Pick, 104th overall). Grade: C

Jenkins scored some snaps in garbage time, and managed to make a tackle. But that's it.

Season GPA: 1.75 Team Rank: 7th

Dion Sims (4th Round Pick, 106th overall). Grade: C-

Sims had by far the busiest game of his rookie year against the Jets' stout defensive front. He logged 45 snaps, 11 more than his previous season-high. Miami used him, as usual, as an inline blocker, and his increased playing time was clearly due to a focus on generating a running game against New York's top-ranked run defense. Mission accomplished, but not exactly thanks to Sims. His blocking work was below average most of the day.

He caught a pass for eight yards, too, bringing his career reception total to four.

Season GPA: 1.82 Team Rank: 6th

RB Mike Gillislee (5th Round Pick, 164th overall). Grade: B

Another rookie season saved from the depths of the inactive list! And, unlike all of his other fellow rookies who haven't been able break the gameday 46, Gillislee actually got a decent workload!

The former Florida Gator's call-up was inevitable after Daniel Thomas' injury, and he split backup tailback duties with Marcus Thigpen. He proved to be the perfect replacement for Thomas by stepping right in and averaging 3.5 yards per rush (it's just one game, that's perhaps a cruel joke).

In just six carries, Gillislee appeared to run well against a great defensive line that for the most part, knew that the run was coming. He was also, in my opinion, robbed of a touchdown in the first half. His knee was off the ground, even if by millimeters, as he reached the ball over the goalline. Miami did not challenge, and ended up failing to score on the drive.

That's too bad. But a nice debut for Gillislee.

Season GPA: 3.00 Team Rank: 2nd

K Caleb Sturgis (5th Round Pick, 166th overall). Grade: D

Seeing Sturgis miss a routine kick each game has gotten old, fast. He made three other kicks, but the alarming rate at which he's missing them has Dolphins fans looking longingly to Buffalo, where Dan Carpenter has converted 23-of-25 field goal attempts.

Sturgis also saw just one of his six kickoffs go for touchbacks, another troubling aspect of his game.

Season GPA: 3.03 Team Rank: 1st

DB Don Jones (7th Round Pick, 250th overall). Grade: C

Kicked off the punt team again.

Season GPA: 1.98 Team Rank: 5th

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All player data is courtesy of Pro Football Focus and all contract info is courtesy of OverTheCap.com.

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