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Dave Hyde: No-risk move for Odell Beckham Jr. gives Dolphins some good Plan B options

Dave Hyde, South Florida Sun-Sentinel on

Published in Football

Say this for Odell Beckham Jr.: He makes everything more interesting. He gives this Miami Dolphins offense added options.

He doesn’t have the electricity of his New York Giants youth. Nor does he come with the burdened payday he had last year in Baltimore. But his no-risk signing Friday with the Dolphins provides some interesting thoughts toward solving their primary problems last season:

1. Having a Plan B against good defenses.

2. Managing Tyreek Hill’s workload so he’s healthy in December and January.

There’s Beckham Jr.’s role. There’s how he succeeds as a third receiver. There’s what he can do for no-risk rate of a $3 million contract ($8.5 million with incentives) that’s a success simply by reproducing the modest 35 catches, 565 yards and three touchdowns he did last year in Baltimore for the staggering price of $15 million.

Everyone knows Plan A for the Dolphins offense. It’s the speed of Hill and Jaylen Waddle. It’s quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s quick throws as designed by coach Mike McDaniel. No offense produced more yards last year. Only Dallas scored more points.

 

It was fun, even titillating, and also a bit overstated on its good days, as everyone came to realize. The Dolphins bullied non-playoff teams in scoring 35.4 points and having a 10-1 record. They averaged 16.1 points in going 1-6 against playoff teams.

When teams took away the Dolphins’ Plan A, they had no Plan B. That’s where Beckham Jr. can help. So can free-agent signee Jonnu Smith, considering no Dolphins tight end had a touchdown last year. So might the lower-round picks in the draft, from running back Jaylen Wright to receiver Malik Washington and Tahj Washington.

The point is the Dolphins need some role-playing options to help this offense have some new wrinkles and added firepower. Take Beckham’s role as a third receiver. It’s been more an idea than an actual option the past two years in McDaniel’s offense.

They had three receivers on the field 47% of the time last year, third-least in the league, according to analyst Warren Sharp. Tight end Durham Smythe’s 35 catches were the most in either of the past two seasons after Hill and Waddle.

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