The Miami Dolphins are searching for receivers to step up now that Tyreek Hill sidelined by the season-ending knee injury he suffered last week, and it appears one viable option will be second-year receiver Tahj Washington.
Washington, a former USC standout the Dolphins selected in the seventh-round of the 2024 NFL draft, was active for his first ever NFL game for Sunday’s week 5 contest against the Carolina Panthers.
He’s primarily a slot receiver, who has a knack for making defenders miss, which means it’s possible that Washington might be featured in a handful of plays initially designed for Hill.
Expect Malik Washington to serve as the starting receiver paired with Jaylen Waddle, and when Washington moves inside to the slot role the Dolphins will likely have Nick Westbrook-Ikhine or Dee Eskridge on the field as Miami’s flanker.
Waddle will continue to serve in his role as Miami’s split end receiver, playing to the left of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The Dolphins claimed Cedrick Wilson Jr. off the New Orleans Saints practice squad, but the seven-year veteran recently underwent a knee procedure and won’t be healthy enough to play for a couple of weeks. Miami added Wilson because of his knowledge of the offense from the two seasons he played in Mike McDaniel’s offense in 2022 and 2023.
Wilson, tailback Jaylen Wright, cornerback Storm Duck, defensive tackle Zeek Biggers, and quarterback Quinn Ewers were the Dolphins inactives for the Panthers game.
Wright being inactive means De’Von Achane and Ollie Gordon II are the only running backs active for the game. That means fullback Alec Ingold would have to handle carries if both tailbacks suffer an injury.