Miami Dolphins Rookie Report for Week Five

Proving the old adage correct that a “win's a win no matter what”, the Miami Dolphins won an extremely ugly contest this past Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Taking the victory by a score of 16-10, the Dolphins have returned to .500 overall. That said, things do not look promising going forward for the team.

Like I said though, a win’s a win. Taking a look back at this result, let’s take a look and see just how well the Dolphins rookies played in their first true home game at Hard Rock Stadium.

Cordrea Tankersley — Cornerback

Week 5 Stats: 59 defensive snaps (100%), Two tackles, One Pass Deflection

Playing every single defensive snap for the Dolphins on Sunday, Cordrea Tankersley is quickly proving to be a gem of a cornerback for the team. Selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Tankersley has already surpassed Byron Maxwell on the depth chart and could soon be considered the number one cornerback in Miami.

Recording two tackles and a single pass deflection against the Titans, Tankersley played extremely well. While he did have a block-in-the-back penalty called on him during a punt return, Tankersley has already proven himself to be one of the Dolphins best draft picks in recent memory.

Charles Harris — Defensive End

Week 5 Stats: 36 defensive snaps (61.0%), One tackle, One sack, One Pass Deflection, Two QB hits

Having his best game in a Dolphins uniform this past Sunday, Charles Harris finally showed the flashes of brilliance that fans saw from him during his time in college. Coming off the edge against the Titans right tackle, Harris showed his quickness to get around the edge and spear the quarterback right into the ground.

Adding to this, Harris also had a tremendous pass deflection as he once again came off the edge and got in Matt Cassel’s face. Showing his potential more than a few times, this could eventually be the game that signalled the arrival of Charles Harris in the NFL.

Davon Godchaux — Defensive Tackle

Week 5 Stats: 33 defensive snaps (55.9%), Two tackles

Once again, Davon Godchaux put in a solid effort opposite Ndamukong Suh. Recording two tackles and a forced fumble, Godchaux looks to be settling into his starting role for the Dolphins. That said, Godchaux still has some improving to do.

Getting out leveraged and out muscled a few times during this contest, Godchaux needs to show that he can continue to improve in the coming weeks. However, for a mid-round draft pick, Godchaux has definitely begun to impress.

Chase Allen — Linebacker

Week 5 Stats: 27 special team snaps

With Rey Maualuga making his Dolphins debut this past Sunday against the Titans, rookie Chase Allen has found himself relegated to a special teams role going forward. However, look for Allen to be elevated back to a standard defensive role should any of the Dolphins linebackers go down this season. For now though, he will be limited to a special teams workload.

Matt Haack — Punter

Week 5 Stats: Nine punts, 459 total yards, 51.0 average

Well, last week in this column, I questioned Matt Haack’s spot on this team. Mr. Haack, memo received. Punting the ball nine times this week against Tennessee, Haack recorded a 51 yard average with five of his punts being downed inside the Titans 20-yard line. Also recording a long punt of 62 yards, Haack has proven that he has the talent and leg strength to be an NFL punter. The only question remaining is how long can he keep this up?

Vincent Taylor — Defensive Tackle

Week 5 Stats: 24 defensive snaps (40.7%), Two tackles

Locked in as a second string defensive tackle at this point, Vincent Taylor continues to put in solid performances for Miami. With Jordan Phillips still on the sidelines due to injury issues, Taylor will continue to get a decent workload in the coming weeks. Using this time, Taylor needs to continue putting in good performances in order to maintain his role once Phillips returns.

Week 5 Rookie Scratches: Isaac Asiata (G), Torry McTyer (CB), Maurice Smith (S), Eric Smith (OT) — Injured Reserve