Dolphins wide receivers shine against Falcons

The Miami Dolphins have massive question marks surrounding the team, especially as the injury bug continues to decimate the starting line on the depth chart. Last night, against the Atlanta Falcons, rookie Raekwon McMillan joined the group of first-teamers expected to miss significant amount of playing time when he left the game with an apparent knee injury. Some of those questions, however, are actually good problems for the team to have.

Like, how many wide receivers can the Dolphins afford to keep on the roster?

Against the Falcons, the receivers flashed some skills. The starting group was not on the field for long, with DeVante Parker the only one of the trio, including Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills, to record a reception, picking up five yards on one catch. Behind them, however, the depth receivers made some impressive plays.

Damore’ea Stringfellow, an undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss, led the game with 116 receiving yards on two receptions, with the top highlight from the game as he caught a pass from David Fales and took it 99 yards for the game winning touchdown. He made a great cut in the middle of the run to shake the last defender, then burned down the sideline to score.

Francis Owusu, another undrafted free agent this time from Stanford, had the second-most receiving yardage in the game, picking up 45 yards and a touchdown with two receptions.

Leonte Carroo, who is likely the fourth receiver on the depth chart, added a touchdown on his one reception, catching a 33-yard pass from Brandon Doughty.

It was not just touchdowns that made highlights. Might Mouse - second-year receiver Jakeem Grant - somehow out-jumped cornerback Deji Olatoye. That would be the 5-foot-7 Grant catching a high pass over the 6-foot-1 Olatoye. The Dolphins coaches have said they want to get Grant more involved in the offense this year, and if he can make plays like that, picking up 12 yards on the play, he could have a role during the regular season.

It also was not just the wide receivers who had an impact. Tight ends MrQueis Gray and Thomas Duarte both caught three passes, with Gray tallying 26 yards and Duarte picking up 19 yards. Both tight ends caught tough passes and looked like they could be worthy of a roster spot or a practice squad position this year.

The Dolphins have to figure out how to keep more receivers and tight ends this year if they want to keep all the talent they appear to have on the preseason roster. The players did their best on Thursday night to keep the decision from being an easy one.