Over the last few months, the Miami Dolphins have essentially overturned their entire tight end room.
Miami allowed Mike Gesicki, the team’s top tight end in recent years, to hit free agency and sign with the New England Patriots. They traded 2021 third-round pick Hunter Long to the Los Angeles Rams as part of the package to acquire cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Special teams contributor Cethan Carter was cut before the league year officially opened and has remained unsigned. And, Adam Shaheen, who missed all of 2022 after a knee issue popped up during a physical, also remains an unsigned free agent.
Only two tight ends remain from last season – Durham Smythe and Tanner Conner. The former is expected to be the team’s starter while the latter will be battling through training camp with Eric Saubert, Tyler Kroft, Elijah Higgins and Julian Hill for opportunities in the regular season.
Conner was an undrafted free agent in 2022 after a collegiate career at Idaho State where he played wide receiver. Like Higgins, this year’s sixth-round selection, he made the transition to tight end at the pro level.
Unfortunately for the former Bengal, he failed to catch a pass in his rookie season. However, in preparing for his second year, Conner told the media at last week’s minicamp that he’s put on roughly 10 pounds of muscle that can be useful for the position.
“Last year was a very stressful year, and I wasn’t eating as well as I should have,” Conner said (transcribed by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel). “So this year, this offseason, I made it a goal to be more routine with my eating. I got in the weight room. I did my whole offseason here with (head strength and conditioning coach Dave Puloka) and the guys.”
It’s not just about the physical stuff, though. Conner also is starting to pick up the intricate aspects of the NFL and Mike McDaniel’s playbook that make adjusting to the league extremely challenging, especially while changing positions.
“Coming into it this year, way more comfortable,” Conner said. “I feel like the game has slowed down for me, at least from a knowledge standpoint. It’s been a big learning curve for me and last year was really rough, but it’s good to see the first-year labor finally start to see improvement this year.”
Luckily for Conner, the role that he’s best suited for appears to be a wide-open competition. He’ll work with but also against Higgins to be the “pass-catching tight end,” potentially playing a role similar to what Gesicki did in 2022.
