The Miami Dolphins had to wait nearly two full nights until they had the opportunity to add the first rookie to their roster this year, as general manager Chris Grier had traded the team’s first and second-round selections as part of a deal for wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
However, when the Dolphins did select linebacker Channing Tindall with pick No. 102, a number of analysts noted that Miami was getting a talented player. One expert that got to see Tindall up close and personal, Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy, recently spoke to the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson about the type of player that the Dolphins drafted.
“Channing has got a really high ceiling,” Nagy said. “There was a game in the beginning of the year, against Clemson, that he may have played only 10, 11 snaps the whole game, but the 10, 11 he played, he got your attention. The Georgia linebacker coach is a friend of mine, and he has been telling me that he loves Channing and that group of linebackers. They had so many [top] guys.”
Nagy, like many who follow college football, understands that a unit that also supported Quay Walker (drafted No. 22 overall) and Nakobe Dean (drafted No. 83 overall) wouldn’t be able to showcase their third linebacker to the best of their ability.
However, it’s obvious that Tindall has the attributes that football coaches covet.
“The things that stick out about Channing are his speed and range and physicality,” Nagy said. “Everyone in the league is looking for guys that can run and hit and cover, and Channing can certainly do that. You fill your linebacker room with guys that run in the 4.4s, and you’re heading in the right direction. He wouldn’t have reached 102 if he played a more prominent role on a lesser defense. He gets clumped in as a byproduct of that particular unit.”
Now that Tindall is in Miami, he’s joining another group of linebackers that clearly have talent, but there are opportunities for a rookie to make a name for himself. By the end of his rookie season, the former Bulldog could be seeing the field more than a number of the veterans in aqua and orange.
