MIAMI _ Preston Williams is finding that success in the NFL is a lot harder to come by than buzz.
Williams, the gifted rookie receiver, has gone through some serious growing pains in his first four NFL games.
Yes, his stats are impressive. His 15 catches are third most among first-year players. Only four rookies have more receiving yards.
But he has also left 100 or so yards on the field with drops and balls knocked from his hands from receivers.
His two official drops are tied for seventh-most in the league.
And while big-play potential is there (11 of his catches have gone for first downs), he is quite inefficient. Through four games, he is catching just half of his targets and is averaging 6.7 yards per target.
So it's fair to wonder: How much would the Dolphins feature Williams in a normal year?
A lot, Dolphins receivers coach Karl Dorrell seemed to suggest Tuesday in his monthly media availability.
Dorrell insisted that he is "completely" confident that when Josh Rosen throws Williams the ball, it will be caught.
"He's a young, developing, going to be a really good football player," Dorell said. "He's playing in a situation where he's playing 60-plus snaps a game and he's playing like he's been in the league for a while but he's learning really every snap about different corners and how they play. We're playing against some talented defenses. It's been a learning experience each and every week he rolls out there."
Dorrell continued: "I have to compliment him how hard he's playing. He's trying to do everything I'm asking him to do. Does it happen completely? Not so much. But when it's all said and done by the end of this year, we're all going to be really excited about his future. I'm already excited about his future, but I think he's really just tipping the potential of what he can be."
For now, however, it's fair to say the Dolphins' receiving group is not what was envisioned at the start of training camp. Part of that is due to bad luck _ Albert Wilson and Allen Hurns both missed Sunday's Chargers game with injury, and Kenny Stills was traded in the preseason.
But it's also fair to point out the receivers the Dolphins have available to them have struggled. They have three of the 15 worst catch percentages in the league, according to NFL Next Gen Stats _ DeVante Parker at 41.67 percent, Jakeem Grant at 47.37% and Williams at 50 percent.
The group is also not going a great job of getting open. Parker and Williams are bottom 30 in the league in average separation (2.5 yards each), which is the distance between a receiver and the nearest defender at the time of catch or incompletion.
What's more, Williams is bottom 10 in the league in average yards after the catch (2.1).
So why was Dorrell so positive about his group Tuesday?
Because he believes they are trending in the right direction.
"This last week was our best, I think, overall game where I think the group played hard, they functioned very well with the run game and pass game," Dorrell said. "It was one drop. We still have an issue with dropping the ball here or there, but I think there was some improvement. I think as a group we felt it was pretty good."
How does Dorrell, who's in his second stint as a Miami assistant, explain the drops though?
"It's concentration more than anything. And it's experience, both of those things, but it's something that's hard to swallow because I'm not used to that," he said. "Sometimes guys with where they are in their development, it just takes a little bit longer. It's nothing that I'm really thinking is a major issue but I think, given this last week and how we performed.
"I think we maximized almost every opportunity other than the one Preston had. We had guys who were scrambling, catching tipped balls and stuff like that. There were some pretty good things. I think it's going to quickly eliminate itself pretty soon."
