Faust
MVP
Myles Gaskin carves out a role for himself in Dolphins' crowded backfield
It is one thing to say something as a motivator, using the possibility of playing time or an elevated role as a carrot to drive practice performance for an entire team.
It is another for a coaching staff to actually follow through on a pledge to find a role for practice standouts, players who push themselves to their limits every day.
Going back to the 2019 season, Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores and his staff have routinely done that, carving out a playing role for rookies, newcomers and journeymen when they excel on the practice field each week.
Myles Gaskin pushed himself during training camp this summer, making the most of every snap he took with the backups, and his strong camp and continued development apparently opened the door for the 2019 seventh-round pick to be used as the Dolphins’ featured back in Miami’s 21-11 season-opening loss to the New England Patriots.
“Myles has practiced well. There’s a rotation there at the running back with [Jordan] Howard and Matt [Breida]. [Patrick] Laird got a few snaps as well,” Flores said on Sunday, explaining his tailback rotation. “[Gaskin] had a couple of good runs, some good plays in the passing game as well, so we left him in there.”
Howard, the former NFL starter Miami added as a free agent this offseason, started the game. But Gaskin was the first tailback off the bench, playing ahead of Matt Breida, a four-year veteran who Miami acquired in a draft day trade this offseason.
“Myles did a nice job. He broke some tackles,” quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “Not only in the run game, but in the pass game he made some nice plays, so that was exciting to see.”
When Howard was shelved by a hamstring injury after nine snaps, it was Gaskin who got the bulk of the tailback work (39 of 62 snaps), and he turned his nine carries into 40 rushing yards, and four receptions into 26 receiving yards.
“I’ve just been working hard and listening to [tailback] coach [Eric Studesville] and coach Flo in what they wanted out of me in the offseason. I tried to go back to the basics and work hard,” said Gaskins, who acknowledged after the game he didn’t know he was going to be as involved as he was in the season opener.
“I’m just going into every game ready to go. It just kind of happened,” said Gaskin, who gained 133 yards and scored one touchdown on the 36 carries he had in the seven games he played as a rookie in 2019. “I was hoping to do my best.”
His best on the college level made Gaskin 14th when it came to rushing yards in NCAA history, and allowed him to become the second player in the FBS history to record 1,200 rushing yards in four seasons, joining former Wisconsin legend Ron Dayne.
Gaskin, a four-year starter at Washington, rushed for 5,323 yards and scored 62 touchdowns for the Huskies.
But his small frame (5-10, 194) and the amount of carries he had in college (945) meant he was still available when the Dolphins took him with the 234th pick in the draft.
Gaskin struggled as a rookie, failing to show the field vision and elusiveness that made him a success at Washington. However, he apparently figured it out in Year 2, routinely making eye-opening plays in practice, which put him in the mix to earn playing time.
“He invested in himself last year, and it’s paying off for him now,” Studesville said recently. “He’s playing more confident, he’s playing faster, and I think we’re seeing some of the skill set that he’s had in the past.”
Whether Gaskins will remain the Dolphins' lead back likely depends on this week’s showing in practice and Miami’s game plan for the Buffalo Bills, who the Dolphins host at 1 p.m. in Hard Rock Stadium this Sunday.
The Dolphins intend to have a role carved out for all their tailbacks, and the plan is to stick with whoever possesses the hot hand and is delivering production.
“I tell him like I tell all the other players, their role is going to be what they make it, so if you go out there and you continually make plays and handle your responsibility and you’re someone we can depend on, we’re going to find a role for you,” Flores said last month. “I think Myles has done a good job of doing everything he can off the field, on the field to make himself the best player he can be.”
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