The Dolphins receiving trio will take some pressure off the O-line… among other tasty goodies!
The Miami Dolphins addition of speedster Chosen “Robbie” Anderson to go along with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle is like adding dipping C4 plastic explosives in nitro glycerine. But, beyond the obvious boost to Tua in the passing attack and deep game that will have opposing defenses ripping their hair out, Anderson brings plenty of help in other key areas as well. Anderson isn’t elite, but his elite ability to get deep with speed and his 6’3” height helps in three key areas: depth at speed wideout in case of injury to Hill or Waddle, adding size to the receiving group, and in boosting the Dolphins poor run game.
No, Anderson isn’t a great run blocker, but you can bet with the best pay per head that the cushion defenses give him due to his deep threat, along with the cushions given to Hill and Waddle, will help create space to help the run blockers in 2023.
Speed kills in the pass game & helps in the run game
Miami sees a ton of nickel defense to combat the speed of Hill and Waddle and they’ll see more with the addition of Anderson. Seeing a smaller defense on the field more often should be an advantage in the run game as there are 5 OLs and a TE vs. 4 DLs and 2 LBs.
Size advantage isn’t everything, but it can help in the run game.
The speed of Hill, Waddle, and Anderson will force defenses to give heavy cushion to prevent the big play with a deep pass. This will leave secondaries playing far off the line of scrimmage and more susceptible in the run game because 3-5 defenders will be on their heels. Smaller personnel groupings playing off is an advantage to an offense in the run game.
Below is the general range of cushion Hill, Waddle, and Anderson get in respect from defenses.
As you can see above, Hill, Waddle, and Robinson are given huge cushions (CUSH) to create a strong buffer to prevent the big play. All three together though magnifies the threat of the big play and will create even more space that the defense yields to the Miami offense.
That’s a ton of space given to all three receivers because defenses respect their deep threat ability.
Below is some video to see what I’m talking about. I go over it more depth in my podcast on this topic, but you’ll get the idea with this video.
Because all three can rip the top of the defense, opposing D’s will need to use more two-man coverage on the top of the defense more often than when it was just Waddle and Hill. All this speed will create more attention deep and middle and less underneath, freeing up the short passing game, slowing and reducing the blitz, and give the offensive blockers an easier job with less crowded boxes and the running backs more space to work with. So as odd as it sounds, the help these three receivers bring in increasing the consistency and effectiveness of the Dolphins run game that will be their greatest contribution to the success of the 2023 Dolphins!
Go Phins!!!