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After sitting out the past two seasons due to injury, Jakeem Grant will be looking to resume his career in Philadelphia. The former All-Pro special teamer will be attending the Eagles rookie minicamp, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.
It wasn’t too long ago that Grant was one of the league’s top returnmen. He earned his first All-Pro nod in 2020 after returning 29 punts for 330 yards and one touchdown for the Dolphins. That season also coincided with his best offensive showing, as the part-time wideout finished the year with career-highs in receptions (36) and receiving yards (373).
He earned another All-Pro spot in 2021 after splitting the season between Miami and Chicago. He finished the year with another 300-plus punt return yards and a touchdown, and he also set a career-high with 539 kick return yards. In total, Grant has scored six career special teams tackles (four on punts, two on kicks), and he’s returned 119 punts and 110 kickoffs.
Grant signed a three-year, $14MM deal with the Browns prior to the 2022 campaign, but he didn’t end up getting into a single game with his new squad. An Achilles tear ended his 2022 season before it began, and a ruptured patella tendon wiped out his 2023 campaign.
Now, he’ll be hoping to restart his career in Philly. Second-round cornerback Cooper DeJean and fifth-round wideout Ainias Smith are assumed contenders for return spots with the Eagles. The team is also rostering veteran Parris Campbell, who returned eight kickoffs for the Giants last season. Grant will hope to parlay his minicamp appearance into a real contract, and he would then compete with that trio in training camp.
The Miami Dolphins are still looking to contend for the Super Bowl next season, but they lost a number of important pieces in free agency. That meant that the 2024 NFL Draft was going to be a big one for the team, and the Dolphins did well to add a number of potential impact players at positions of need.
Just how well did Miami draft this year, though? We will grade each one of their selections from the 2024 NFL Draft to find out.
It took years for the Dolphins to put together an elite pass-rushing group, but they finally got that last year with Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips. The duo helped the Dolphins finish third in sacks last season, but unfortunately, both players suffered late season leg injuries that will hold them out for a good chunk of next season, if not all of it.
Additionally, the team lost Christian Wilkens, one of the best interior rushers in football, in free agency. That made the Dolphins desperate for pass rushing help, especially on the edge.
Chop Robinson will be able to hold down the fort until the star pass-rushing duo are able to return. When they are back, Miami will have one of the best groups in the league for getting after the quarterback.
Robinson tested incredibly well during the pre-draft process, and that helped him dramatically improve his draft stock. However, he wasn’t very productive in college, there are question marks about his ability to stop the run, and he still needs to develop a few more pass-rushing moves.
All of those factors make him a boom-or-bust prospect, but the Dolphins’ need at edge was glaring, and they were smart to get one of the pass-rushers with the highest ceiling before the talent at the position fell off a cliff.
The offensive line has been a weak point for the Dolphins for years, and even though they have invested heavily into it in recent seasons, adding another tackle made sense. A run on offensive linemen caused 11 players at the position to go off the board before Miami made its second round pick, but the team was still able to land its blindside protector of the future.
Terron Armstead is getting older, and he has missed significant time in each of the last three seasons. Learning behind Armstead will be beneficial for Patrick Paul, but he may also be asked to step up sooner rather than later.
