A deep wide receiver unit isn’t necessary when Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle headline the group.
Hill and Waddle have combined for over 2,800 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in each of the past two seasons, but the Miami Dolphins are entering 2024 with their deepest wide receiver corps under head coach Mike McDaniel.
Odell Beckham Jr. joined the Dolphins after recording 35 receptions for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games last season. The three-time Pro Bowl receiver is expected to play a significant role in Miami’s passing game, especially since no previous third option in McDaniel’s offense has surpassed 30 receptions.
In 2022, the Dolphins started with five wide receivers on the roster and six last season, indicating that only two or three spots are available behind the top three. Wide receivers River Cracraft and Braxton Berrios re-signed with the team in free agency. Braylon Sanders and Anthony Schwartz secured future/reserve contracts in January.
Cracraft, 30, followed McDaniel from the San Francisco 49ers to South Florida, catching nine passes for 121 yards and a touchdown in his second season with Miami. He has appeared in at least 10 games over the past two seasons and signed a one-year, $1.13 million contract for 2024.
Berrios, a 2018 sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots, caught 27 of 33 targets for 238 yards while returning 41 total kicks for the Dolphins. The 28-year-old receiver is the favorite to return kicks in 2024, but with new kickoff rules looming, Miami could make a change. Releasing Berrios would save the Dolphins $932,353 while incurring $1.2 million in dead money.
Sanders, who played in three games as an undrafted rookie in 2022, and Schwartz, a 2021 third-round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns, face tough competition for roster spots given the two receivers Miami drafted in April, Malik Washington and Tahj Washington. Both were Day 3 selections but possess the traits to develop and succeed in McDaniel’s system.
Malik Washington, the sixth-round pick out of Virginia, led college football with 110 receptions last year. He played four seasons at Northwestern, amassing 120 total catches before transferring and recording 1,426 receiving yards as a graduate student. At 5’8½”, Malik Washington is the shortest player on Miami’s 90-man roster.
Tahj Washington, at 174 pounds, is the lightest player on the Dolphins but deserves attention after averaging 18 yards per reception while catching passes from Caleb Williams. Miami must decide if it can afford to place a big-play slot receiver with special teams experience on the practice squad.
Undrafted rookie and Florida native Je’Quan Burton signed with Miami in April. He caught 24 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns at Florida Atlantic University in 2023.
Finally, Erik Ezukanma is expected to fully participate in training camp after recovering from a lingering neck injury. The former fourth-round pick has appeared in only three regular-season games but, at 6’2″, is at least three inches taller than Hill, Waddle, and Beckham, and his 206-pound frame is the largest among Dolphins receivers. Ezukanma, 24, has just one regular-season catch in his career but showed versatility with five carries for 22 yards across two games last season. He generated preseason excitement with eight receptions and two rushing attempts for 52 yards.
Health is the biggest concern for Ezukanma, but he has the skillset and traits to excel as a versatile threat in McDaniel’s dynamic offense.