Mike Gesicki, Torry McTyer, Reshad Jones make impression in Dolphins training camp

The Miami Dolphins completed their fourth day of practices for their 2018 training camp, and the weekend featured some stand out performances, covering both sides of the ball. While this early in camp is too early to make any statement definitively, it is nice to see some of the younger players - and one Pro Bowl player - start to find the form they could carry into the regular season.

Pro Bowl safety Reshad Jones looked like, well, Reshad Jones on a Sunday. Early in the day, he forced a fumble from running back Frank Gore at the goal line, effectively ending that scoring opportunity. Then, later in the practice, he picked off quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the first interception the starting quarterback has thrown this summer, when he read the pass perfectly and stepped in front of wide receiver Danny Amendola, essentially baiting Tannehill into making the mistake.

Cornerback Torry McTyer also made an impression this weekend, taking repetitions opposite Xavien Howard with the first team. A lot has been made of the position battle for that spot, with Cordrea Tankersley believed to be in the lead, while Bobby McCain and Tony Lippett have been considered the main challengers. Having McTyer get some repetitions with the top portion of the depth chart could signal that he is also involved in the battle. McTyer has been having a great set of battles with wide receiver Jakeem Grant during the first days of training camp, and is apparently making an impression on the coaches.

He is also making an impression on the other cornerbacks. Asked about the position battle and splitting first-team reps among all those in contention, Tankersley said Sunday, “They’re all well-deserved reps. Everybody is just going in there and competing, trying to get better. As far as Torry getting first-team reps, it’s well-deserved.”

Finally, tight end Mike Gesicki, the team’s second-round draft choice, also has seen playing time with the starters, a positive sign that he is starting to catch up with veterans MarQueis Gray and A.J. Darby with understanding the playbook. Rookie tight ends do not typically have dominant seasons, but if Gesicki can continue to develop and see playing time with Tannehill, he could turn into a receiving threat - who admittedly still needs to work on his blocking - both in the seam and in the redzone.

“We were in the red zone today, so he had a couple of opportunities and he really showed up,” tight ends coach Shane Day said of Gesicki on Sunday. “He did a nice job. I think the whole training camp, he’s been doing the right things, getting in the right places, kind of learning how to run routes and all of the details with the quarterbacks. I think today it kind of all came together for him, so it was good. We’ll keep trying to stack those days on top of each other.”